Protestors against the judicial reform were violently attacked in Kfar Blum in the Galilee where they were protesting at a conference attended by Economy Minister Nir Barkat.
A video that was posted on Twitter showed a group of people fighting with the protestors, throwing chairs at them and pushing them to the ground. According to Maariv, some of the attackers were employees of the hotel where the conference was taking place.
מפגינים הפתיעו הבוקר את ניר ברקת במלון פסטורל בגליל. לא היה פסטורלי. סדרני המלון הפעילו אלימות קשה נגד מוחים מבוגרים, כולל לוחמי כיפור. זכרו זאת בפעם הבאה שאתם מתכננים חופשה בגליל pic.twitter.com/tRFoiEaLA2
— Ben Caspit בן כספית (@BenCaspit) May 15, 2023
Reports indicate that the protestors were disrupting the conference and were asked to leave before the fight broke out.
Hotel staff, conference attendees clash with protesters
"We entered the hotel to protest, and the employees tried to remove us while shouting and called a few younger employees who threw chairs at us and violently pushed us," the protestors told Maariv.
"We are a group of people aged 40-80 and older, and we entered the hotel to protest," one protestor told Ynet. "Indeed, we are 'anarchists', but we are also residents of the Galilee. They asked us to leave, and we lingered on our way out. When we were in the conference room, a group of bullies came out with a fire extinguisher and sprayed us because we were protesting for democracy. They started throwing chairs, pushing us and throwing us to the ground."
"The people who pushed me and hit me were younger than my children," another protestor who said he fought in the Yom Kippur War told Ynet. "The police were called and backed the hotel's employee. I fought in a war for them and I wasn't scared. I was shot at numerous times in wars, and I'm not scared of these bullies."
"The police were called and backed the hotel's employee. I fought in a war for them and I wasn't scared. I was shot at numerous times in wars, and I'm not scared of these bullies."
Protester
Barkat's team claimed that the minister had been in danger from the protestors as he only had one security guard until the police arrived, which they only did after the fight was over.
The protestors said in a statement that they would file reports against their attackers.