Former prime minister Naftali Bennett decried threats made against Arab Israeli journalist Lucy Aharish in a statement released on Monday.
"Sending paid thugs to Lucy Aharish’s private home to terrorize her and her family is a dangerous crossing of a red line,” Bennett stated, referencing an incident in which two right-wing activists attempted to intimidate Aharish at her home.
Such harassment is made even more serious when carried out “with the encouragement or blind eye of government ministers,” Bennett continued.
He asserted that Israel will cease being a democratic state if journalists grow to fear criticizing the government.
“We will also cease to be a Jewish state, because the foundation of Jewish heritage is freedom, free criticism, and checks on absolute power,” Bennett stated.
Bennett shared that he has faced media criticism throughout his political career and that, while the experience was unpleasant, the media’s right to express itself is “the very soul of democracy.”
Right-wing activists detained for harassing Aharish
Right-wing activists Rami Ben Yehuda and Mordechai David were detained by police on Saturday after entering Aharish’s apartment building to harass her, according to a Sunday N12 News report.
According to N12, they were arrested on suspicion of trespass and public order offences.
Aharish faced severe backlash after calling on her fellow Arab Israelis to exercise their right to vote and to demonstrate against government inaction regarding the violent crime in the Arab sector.