MK Hanoch Milwidsky (Likud) spoke to Israel National News (INN) about the shock he experienced at the end of Yom Kippur when he learned of the clashes that took place in Dizengoff Square and led to the interruption of the prayer initiated by the Rosh Yehudi organization.
"I opened my phone after the fast and the photographs started to flow in. You come back from the synagogue feeling hopeful and then you see these things that just break your heart; a heavy feeling takes over all of you. I believe that now it is most important not to follow the provocation and violence but, on the contrary, to continue to be confident in our faith in G-d, in our Judaism and continue to uphold it despite the madmen who want to bring us all to a state of bloodshed. This is what they want to do," said Milwidsky.
Milwidsky attacked the leaders of the protest. "This handful of crazy extremists are determined to lead us all to a civil war. They have no more red lines. These events would have been considered obscene and seen as a hate crime against Jews anywhere else in the world – and that's what happened right here in Tel Aviv – a hate crime against Jews because of their faith."
"You cannot whitewash words and talk about two sides. There were people who came to pray and others who attacked them with brutality and antisemitism. This is an act that must be condemned. This is the same group of people who talk about corpses in the Yarkon River, about blood shed, who call half the nation Nazis, who encourage refusal to serve in the IDF and damage Israel's economy. Now they are also attacking every Jewish symbol."
According to Milwidsky, "We are in a battle for the future character of the State of Israel. This handful of madmen wants to destroy Israel as we know it. We need to wake up and realize that this is who we are facing – and take appropriate action."
Milwidsky noted that he is not disappointed with the reactions of the candidates for mayor of Tel Aviv, because he did not expect much from them. "Huldai said that he saw no violence at all. Orna Barbivai says that she will make sure that whoever does not live up to her liberal values will not be in Tel Aviv. There is a name for this attitude – transfer. It is interesting to note that they talk about transfer in the name of liberal values. Deporting people because of their beliefs and opinions is called transfer. This must be condemned."
"The government needs to understand that we are facing a group of people who are determined to undermine the foundations of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and must address the public directly and act against the influence that these funded entities have on the Israeli public. The State needs to understand that we have a problem, and it will not go away on its own. There is a group of people that is working to cause a civil war and we have to understand this. When you understand this, you need to understand what can be done legally against those people who are inciting and rebelling, harming our way of life and personal security," he added.
"At the same time, we must approach the Israeli society and urgently initiate a social process that talks about our identity. We need to come and redefine our Israeli and Jewish identity and open extensive communication about what kind of country we want here. We must not be led by others or expect to extinguish fires, but lead a real social process that talks about how we are coming back to live here together," concluded MK Milwidsky.