Chairman of the Jewish Home, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, referred to the episode on satirical Israeli TV show "Eretz Nehederet" in which he was ridiculed by being presented wearing tefillin in the form of horns.
"Laugh at me as much as you like, but at tefillin and articles holy to Israel - no. I am proud to be among the mezuzah-kissers and tefillin-layers," Bennett wrote on his Facebook page. “I am a proud Jew.”
The show "Eretz Nehederet" sparked a storm after a skit in which a performer on the show was presented as Naftali Bennett imitating Israeli Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai. The tefillin on his head were meant to resemble Barzilai’s hairstyle during the song competition.
Minister Aryeh Deri responded harshly, writing on Twitter: "This evening, an insulting and offensive piece was broadcast on the Eretz Nehederet program which ridiculed and mocked tefillin, the holy commandment for which Jews throughout the generations sacrificed their lives to be able to fulfill. If something like this had happened in another country, they would cry anti-Semitism. But here, in the Jewish state, it passes in silence. Disgrace.”
The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, condemned the incident as well, saying that "The use of religious articles in a mocking and insulting manner is terrible. It is unacceptable that such a thing be broadcast in the Israeli media and this is not culture or entertainment, it’s mockery of tefillin and of religious objects and a trampling of the feelings of millions of Jews.”
Rabbi Lau also said that he expects the program to issue an apology and not to air similar material in the future.