MK Almog Cohen of Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party clashed with protestors on Monday at Tel Aviv University protesting the IDF raid on Jenin and at one point, attempted to tear a Palestinian flag away from a protestor.
The tug-of-war between the Knesset member and the student protestors was captured on camera and shared via social media. Around 30 protestors demonstrated against the IDF raid on Jenin last week that left ten dead. The IDF reported that it had thwarted a large-scale terror attack.
עצרת מול אוניברסיטת תל אביב, בסולידריות עם מחנה ג'נין.חבר כנסת אלמוג כהן ממפלגתו של בן גביר מנסה לתקוף את סטודנטים בעצרת.צילום: אמיר עלי פוירת (ערבים 48) pic.twitter.com/hEDEreOUuW
— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) January 30, 2023
"The National Union of Students condemns the demonstration of support for terrorism that took place this morning at the entrance to Tel Aviv University. We call for a thorough investigation of the incident and the prosecution of the demonstrators,” The National Union of Students said in a statement. “This is a call to violence and incitement that goes beyond the limits of freedom of expression. There is no place for supporting terrorism in institutions academics in Israel."
"There is no place for supporting terrorism in institutions academics in Israel."
National Union of Students
Who is Israeli far-right MK Almog Cohen?
Dubbed "the warrior from the Negev" by Otzma Yehudit Party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, Cohen is a right-wing activist who established an armed civil patrol in the Negev. Cohen served for about a decade in the Israel Police.
Before his election to the Knesset, Cohen deleted his Facebook and Twitter accounts, but he was active on social media before doing so.
He once called Israeli police officers the "attack dogs of post-Nazism" and called the Tel Aviv Pride Parade a “completely animalistic parade of unbridled and unrestrained sex partying while harassing boys and minors” and “a shocking spectacle of sick porn."
Cohen also expressed support for Putin on the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We learned from him what leadership is - make a decision and the world explodes," he tweeted amid the invasion.