Yoav Bar-Shai, an IDF reservist whose car was set on fire by left-wing protesters, has emphasized that he does not support the anti-government protest.
During the Wednesday morning demonstration, protesters set fire to garbage bins near the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, aiming to create a "ring of fire" around the area.
According to Bar-Shai, the protest spokespeople attributed statements to him that he never made. Bar-Shai also announced that he is forgoing the donations collected for him by protest activist Yaya Fink.
“For an entire day, my phone and my wife’s haven’t stopped ringing. Our car was burned as a result of arson by protesters, and since then we’ve entered a world we don’t recognize. The world of media. An entire world made up partly of good people, but partly, unfortunately, made up of people who distort reality,” Bar-Shai said.
He also said that he visited the hostages’ families’ tent after being invited by Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest. “I told them they didn’t need to apologize to me, and I understand that this isn’t their way,” he recounted.
Bar-Shai clarified that a subsequent statement falsely attributed support for the protest to him: “After the meeting, a message was released by the spokespeople or PR team without my knowledge or consent, from those who offer media coverage for the protest, and in it they put just words in my mouth as if I supported the protest.”
“It’s important for me to say that I am filled with hope and faith that the hostages will return. I will put on my uniform again soon to help make that happen, but I am not part of the protest and I do not support it. In my view, this is not the way,” he said.
He added, “It pains us that our private situation was used as political spin by both sides. We oppose incitement, defiance, and division between the sides. It’s so sad and frustrating that those spokespeople or PR people also burn the truth.”
“As a Zionist, a democrat, and a reservist, I strongly oppose protests that call for refusal to serve and include violence, and make life bitter for neighborhood residents over the years, each time under a different banner.”
Bar-Shai added that he has relinquished the funds raised for him by one of the protest leaders and requested that the donations be redirected to rehabilitate wounded soldiers.
“We hope the money will go to the rehabilitation of injured soldiers and that the message will be to set boundaries for any protest.”