On the eve of the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Day, a handful of protesters arrived at the Holocaust Day commemoration event at the Tel Aviv Synagogue "Hikal Yehuda", where Knesset member from the Likud Party, Boaz Bismuth was set to speak. Left-wing protesters who oppose the government waited for Bismuth to arrive and interrupted his speech, based on social media published footage (see below) and reports by Channel 14’s political reporter Motti Castel. Protesters shouted at the MK "Why did you come here?" and "that he won't be here, we won’t allow him to say a word. Shame on you for coming!"

The demonstrators then encountered worshipers at the synagogue who ordered them to stop the personal attack on MK Bismuth and allow him to speak. Others called on them to leave the place and remove the political controversy from this “holy evening, in which also Holocaust survivors were in the crowd.

יום השואה נמצא מעבר לכל מחלוקת פוליטית או עמדה מפלגתית אחרת. את הנאצים לא עניינה העמדה הפוליטית או המפלגתית של היהודים - אלא אך ורק יהדותם.

צריך לשמור על קדושת היום הזה ולא להתעסק בדבר מלבד שורדי השואה וששת המיליון שנרצחו באכזריות על ידי הנאצים שניסו להשמידנו!

נזכור ולא נשכח. pic.twitter.com/5gbG8F8DzA

— Boaz Bismuth (@BismuthBoaz) April 17, 2023

MK Bismuth eventually managed to speak: "I will not treat those who came here against me as enemies. We are brothers, we may disagree but we will never do to each other what they have done to us for years. Our fate is the same, certainly on such an evening, and in the name of such an evening, we are not allowed, in the name of those who look down on us and the holy survivors who are here, to give them such a spectacle."

He further added: "You can turn to me with contempt and I will love you back. I have no doubt that tomorrow morning you will realize that unity is greater than division. We will unite against terrorism, against nuclear power, but there will be no fratricidal war here."

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🗣 Even disputes in Israel are now taking place in synagogues, no taboos hold, all red lines in Israel have been crossed (here, Knesset MK Boaz Bismuth is being harshly booed by " Shame ! ")
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— 🇾🇪 Yemen = 🇺🇦 Ukraine = 🇮🇱 ארץ ישראל = 🤝 (@203_Nations) April 18, 2023

The leading opposition figure, Benny Gantz, who has been polling better than Netanyahu in recent weeks, condemned the shameful event in the synagogue in Tel Aviv and said: "As a son of Holocaust survivors, the photos of MK Bismuth being expelled from the Holocaust Day ceremony in the synagogue within our Jewish state are heartbreaking. I condemn this, and although I understand the differences of opinion and distress felt by many in the nation, I ask everyone to show restraint during these holy days. The fierce and important debates about our character and future we can all conduct after these important days." On Tuesday morning, the Holocaust Memorial Day was marked as is every year with a 2-minute long siren across the entire country.