Meretz party candidate, attorney Talia Sasson, filed a complaint with police on Monday that she received a death threat from an anonymous caller who allegedly told her daughter, “We're going to hurt your mother.” Police are investigating the incident.
Sasson, number seven on the New Movement-Meretz joint party list, is famous for a report she wrote in 2005 against Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria. Sasson labeled 120 towns illegal and accused the government of supporting law-breaking by funding Jewish towns. She suggested that the towns be destroyed.
The Land of Israel Legal Forum later released a detailed response explaining that most of the localities cited were perfectly legal.
New Movement-Meretz released a message of support for Sasson following the alleged threat. “Neither threats nor intimidation can cast a shadow over the positions that Sasson stands for – the need to dismantle illegal outposts and the need to protect the rule of law,” the group said. The party called on police to “prevent a situation where legitimate opinions are being stifled.”
Ketzaleh: This is Spin, Slander
Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz, the head of the Ichud HaLeumi (National Union) party, slammed Sasson and Meretz after both insinuated that the threat was made by nationalists angered by Sasson's stance on the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. Ketzaleh accused Sasson of “spin” and “slandering the political nationalist camp."
Nationalist activists have often been blamed for threats and attacks on prominent left-wing figures. Last year nationalist Jews were harshly criticized following an attack on left-wing professor Ze'ev Sternhell, despite the fact that the attackers' identity remains unknown.