Ruby Chen, the father of Staff Sergeant Itay Chen, who fell in battle during the October 7th attack and was abducted to the Gaza Strip, was verbally assaulted on Tuesday outside a polling station in his hometown of Netanya.
Chen, who stood outside the polling station with a large photo of his son and called for voters to vote in memory of the fallen, was approached by a man who cursed at him and called him a "traitor."
"I stand here with a sign of my son, telling them to vote for the fallen, to vote for them," Chen told Channel 12. "A guy from the neighborhood came, called me a traitor. He told me that (former Shin Bet Director) Ronen Bar is at fault."
Chen noted that he did not know the individual who attacked him, and that people who were there told him that he resides in the neighborhood.
The incident occurred after Chen began Election Day alongside other bereaved families at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. The families arrived at 6:30 a.m. and delivered a joint statement to the media, calling on the public to participate in the elections and remember the fallen soldiers when casting their ballots.
Despite the confrontation outside the polling station, Chen said that most of the people he encountered throughout the morning expressed support and offered him words of encouragement.
US-Israeli citizen Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, a tank crew member in the 77th Battalion, fell in battle on October 7, 2023, at the age of 19. His body was taken to the Gaza Strip and returned to Israel more than two years later.