National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Police Commissioner Dani Levy met on Sunday with Dovi Yudkin, the brother of Cpt. Israel Yudkin, who fell in battle in Gaza.
Minister Ben-Gvir initiated the meeting after Yudkin was violently assaulted the night before by police officers during a demonstration outside the home of ex-Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.
During the meeting, it was emphasised that the policy of the ministry and the police is to allow every Israeli citizen to exercise their right to protest, while maintaining public order, responsibility, and sensitivity.
Ben-Gvir and Levy emphasized that "there is no room for any kind of violence and any violation will be dealt with accordingly."
Yudkin thanked the Minister and Commissioner for the invitation, and said he "appreciates the police and the officers for the holy work that they do daily, for the security of Israel's citizens."
At the conclusion of the meeting, according to Minister Ben-Gvir’s office, Yudkin thanked the minister for accompanying the family since his brother’s death and for assisting in the family’s successful campaign to have the phrase “May God avenge his blood” inscribed on his brother’s tombstone.
After he was assaulted, Yudkin wrote, "I am now at a demonstration against the woman who betrayed and lied in every foundation of democracy - the wretched Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. This woman lied to the Supreme Court; this woman lied to the government. This woman lied and humiliated all the values of the IDF and IDF soldiers. Even after she was caught and confessed to her crimes, this woman continued to move around freely and thereby caused the destruction of dozens, hundreds of pieces of evidence that we, as citizens in a democratic country, are unlikely to see."
"Instead of sitting in prison, this woman sits at home with her family and enjoys her freedom and surely continues to hide evidence. She is currently hiding in her home. I came to demonstrate in front of her house as a citizen to whom democracy matters, and suddenly a police officer approached me and began pushing me every which way, while being filmed, and within a few seconds I found myself receiving punches and kicks to my body and head by a group of police officers who acted like bullies, without any authority and with no regard for the law," he said.
"After a few minutes while I was handcuffed, the station commander arrived and understood that the officers had committed serious crimes and, in order to cover for that, demanded that they release me and return all the items taken from me."
"I will file a complaint with the Police Investigations Department. Understand, this criminal woman is free in her home, while I, as a law-abiding citizen, find myself receiving murderous blows from those who are supposed to enforce the law, from the body that was supposed to arrest her already on Wednesday two weeks ago."
"There is an excess of force and motivation among police in the field when it comes to ordinary citizens, but when it comes to major criminals who laugh at all of us, the law and enforcement are suddenly different. A shame," he concluded.