A video taken by a protestor from outside of MK Tally Gotliv's home on Monday shows Gotliv and protestors demonstrating outside her door holding a respectful and understanding discussion in contrast to Gotliv's description of the protest later in the Knesset where she described the protestors as "predators", "anarchists" and said she feared for her safety.
סיימתם לטנף על מפגינים גיבורים?אז הנה מה שבאמת היה היום אצל טלי גוטליב.שיחה מכובדת, אמפתיה מלאה של המפגינים וסיכום ברור מצידם שהם יתפנו לפני שהבת צריכה לצאת.ואז היא עשתה על כולם סיבוב. חלאה. pic.twitter.com/ubjPY7Xl6X
— ישראל פריי (@freyisrael1) February 20, 2023
The video shows Gotlive asking the protestors not to scare her daughter.
"I only have one thing to ask you," she says. "I have an autistic daughter who is very low-functioning, and that's known. I take her out to her daily program at 7:35. I'm leaving the door open for you. Do whatever you want, but just don't scare her because, for her, it can destroy her progress."
A protestor then asks if she has anyone else who can take her daughter to her program, but Gotliv responds that there isn't anyone else and the protestors express understanding.
"So just when I leave here at 7:35, be quiet," she continues. "You can stay here, I have no problem with that. It's your right to protest. Just respect her, and when I go by with her, don't say a word, not even a quarter of a word, to her."
The protestors are seen to respond with understanding with all of them agreeing that "of course" they wouldn't scare Gotliv's daughter and one of them saying "we're on her side."
How did Gotliv describe the exchange?
However, when Gotliv later arrived at the Knesset, she described a very different scene.
"Animals, predators!" she shouted during the legislative committee meeting. "This is not how you demonstrate, this is not how you protest. You won't harm my right to privacy in the name of protest. It's scheduled, and it's funded. At 6 a.m., anarchists were waiting for me. If God forbid, I had lost my temper, it could have ended very badly. I cannot defend myself. Stop tearing the people apart, it will end in blood."
There is no video footage from after the conversation, so it is not clear whether the protestors ultimately let Gotliv pass peacefully with her daughter or tried to impede her.
On Monday, politicians from both the opposition and the coalition condemned the reports that the protestors had been violent and not let her leave. Opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the incident, saying that he sent "Tally strength and for her daughter, a hug," while later in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly criticized the protestors during a statement shortly before the beginning of the plenum session in which the judicial reform passed the first reading.