Yair Fink
Yair FinkShachar Tamir

Major (Res.) Yair "Yaya" Fink, a candidate in the Labor Party's upcoming Knesset primaries, excoriated national-religious rabbis and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, accusing them of paving the way for a future political assassination.

Fink argued that criticism of how Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency handled the recent arrest and interrogation of Jewish teens suspected in the death of a 45-year-old Arab woman last year encouraged future assassins in the mold of Yigal Amir - the assassin of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

The suspects are students of the Pri Haaretz Yeshiva in Rehalim, in Samaria. Police arrested the students in connection with the death of Aisha al-Rabi last October. Al-Rabi died after the car she was riding in crashed during a stone-throwing attack.

“Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s warm embrace of the families of the youths suspected in the involvement of the murder of Aisha al-Rabi and continuing attacks by other MKs and right-wing rabbis against the Shin Bet are actually paving the way for the next Yigal Amir,” Fink said.

“There is an atmosphere of forgiveness and even empathy shown by the justice minister to those suspected of murdering an innocent woman. She has found time to meet and make personal phone calls with the families of the suspects, coupled with the unbridled attacks of rabbis on the extreme right against the Shin Bet, and acts such as the deletion of the alleged security video by the civilian security coordination of Rehalim, brings us back to the violent period on the eve of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. Even then, the leaders and rabbis of the right showed leniency and restraint in the face of the campaign of incitement in the country. Even if they do not intend to, they are actually preparing for another Yigal Amir and other [Jewish] terror attacks,” Fink added.

Fink called on the prime minister and defense minister to back the Shin Bet. He also urged the government to increase the surveillance of right-wing organizations and extreme-right circles.

A few days ago, Fink led a vigil protest near the entrance to Rehalim.

“The margins of the extreme right are legitimized by leaders in the Knesset. This is a dangerous phenomenon in the State of Israel in 2019 in which there are flags burning and attacks on the Shin Bet and Police. And no one from the right-wing leadership thinks of denouncing it [burning and attacks]. Where do we hear that suspects in a murder case receive VIP treatment from the justice ministry of the State of Israel?”