Anti-Israel activists clash with deceased hostage Ran Gvili's family at Netanyahu Miami shul speech

Anti-Israel activists clashed with the family of deceased hostage Ran Gvili outside the Shul of Bal Harbour on Wednesday, according to footage published by social media influencer Joseph Waks and photographs posted by the 50501 activist movement – amid protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to local leaders and the Jewish community at the Miami house of worship.

Gvili’s aunt Tami Tzioni told N12 that the fallen police officer’s parents were unharmed in the incident, but there was fear that a greater incident could have occurred.

“You can see how hard it is for Talik; it hurts her to be there, and people don’t even pay attention to it. You can see the pain on her face in everything that happens there,” Tzioni said in a Thursday interview with N12.

The South Florida chapter of the 50501 activist group said on Instagram that Netanyahu was “wasting US tax dollars in sunny South Florida and in Gaza. Remember, folks, your tax dollars are funding the war and universal healthcare for Israel.”

Protesters affiliated with Central Florida Queers for Palestine gathered a few hundred meters south of the synagogue, in order to “resist international war criminal” Netanyahu.

“1, 2, 3, 4, Occupation no more,” chanted the activists. “5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state.”

The anti-Israel group complained that its activists were surrounded by riot police and Zionists during their demonstrations.

The Miami Beach Police said on Facebook on Wednesday that it supported a multi-jurisdictional security deployment led by the United States Secret Service and Surfside Police Department in order to facilitate Netanyahu’s synagogue visit. SPD issued a statement announcing that there would be intermittent and extended road closures in relation to New Year’s Eve events and the presence of a person receiving US Secret Service protection.

Netanyahu told participants at the Bal Harbour event that Israel had the capability to fend off attackers, thanks to “incredibly brave soldiers like Rani Gvili” who the prime minister deemed “a hero of Israel.”

Talik had joined the prime minister on his flight to Florida, and in a Monday meeting, he assured both parents that every effort was being made to ensure his return.

Gvili’s aunt, however, told N12 on Thursday that, as far as the family was aware, physical searches were not underway. Authorities were attempting to search for more information, she said.

Gvili’s parents joined Netanyahu in a meeting with Trump later on Monday.

The Hostage Forum told the Gvili family that Netanyahu was “doing everything” he could to bring home the officer, who fell fighting terrorists during the October 7 massacre. The family presented Trump with a bullet casing from the Yasam officer’s firearm, and urged both state leaders not to move onto phase two of the Gaza ceasefire plan without pressuring Hamas to fulfil its obligations.

“Time doesn’t heal my broken heart; it only reduces the chance of bringing Ran home,” Talik said in a statement. “Every diplomatic meeting, especially one with the leader of the world’s greatest superpower, must end with only one result: real, direct progress toward completing the deal and bringing Ran home.”

Gvili’s father said that the family welcomed Trump and Netanyahu’s personal involvement, but that “victory will only be achieved when all the hostages are brought home. The people of Israel will not accept leaving Ran behind.”

Gvili’s aunt told N12 that the family was strengthened by the meetings with the US officials, but that they hadn’t heard what they had hoped for, namely that they would not yet move onto the next phase. However, she noted that when Trump had claimed he would return the hostages in the past, he had succeeded.

The Hostage Forum announced on Wednesday that it was ending its operations, but that a small team would continue to support the Gvili family.