One woman, Heather Heyer, was killed on Saturday by what police said was a deliberate attack by a man who rammed his car into a group of people engaged in a counter-protest to the white supremacist rally. Netanyahu, like US President Donald Trump, has come under criticism for not reacting swiftly or strongly enough to the events in Charlottesville. Netanyahu is currently on a brief vacation from his office.Netanyahu’s critics say that as prime minister of the Jewish state, he has an obligation to roundly condemn all manifestations of antisemitism and neo-Nazism, whether they occur in Iran, France or the United States.Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer addressed the events in Charlottesville in a post on his Facebook page on Monday, calling the ramming “an act of terrorism” and saying that “the hate-fest on display there by neo-Nazis and klansmen was utterly despicable.”Dermer said he spoke to Netanyahu about the events and that the premier “asked him to convey Israel’s outrage over the attack and over the expressions of antisemitism and racism.”Netanyahu’s’ “exact words,” Dermer said, “were that these people should crawl back under the rock they came from.”Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who also holds the Diaspora Affairs portfolio, was the first Israeli minister to respond to the events, saying on Sunday that “the leaders of the US must condemn and denounce the displays of antisemitism seen over the past few days.”According to Bennett, “The unhindered waving of Nazi flags and symbols in the US is not only offensive toward the Jewish community and other minorities, it also disrespects the millions of American soldiers who sacrificed their lives in order to protect the US and entire world from the Nazis.”Outraged by expressions of anti-Semitism, neo-Nazism and racism. Everyone should oppose this hatred.
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 15, 2017