Avraham Porat was documented verbally assaulting a chareidi man on motzei Shabbos during a protest in Petach Tikvah. Among the shouts he leveled at the chareidi was “cut off your beard and remove that carpet that you have on your head”. During an interview with Channel 20, he refused to retract his anti-Semitic remarks.
In response to a question about why he spoke so harshly and vehemently against the chareidi demonstrator, he answered: “Because I have a serious problem with the chareidim (expletives removed), do whatever you want with it, if I have to take another step, I will take another step. No problem, I do not repeat myself and I do not apologize”.
Interestingly, Porat opted to apologize using Facebook. He wrote, “Friends, hello. An apology. Yesterday, after the demonstration in Petach Tikvah ended, I came to defend an elderly woman who was terrified by a chareidi Jew. (I saw the man confront others earlier). My action was an attempt at physical separation between a person who seemed to want to hurt, an active adult tired, cursing, using harsh words and almost in contact with whom I tried to prevent with my body.
“I had a feeling according to his manner of speaking that the above belongs to the people of Kahana / Bennett / Biton and their friends. (And what does he want to look for among the people demonstrating against corruption with no confrontations? Why did he come there?) I admit that in the physical separation, out of fatigue, anger and irritation, I said things that were inappropriate, disrespectful, and I regret them and apologize for them.
What the conservative journalist of Channel 20 have found is just of all the demonstrations and the reasons for them, that is, the government corruption they want to prevent. So, again. I apologize for saying … and we will all meet again at the next demonstration”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
Did you ever hear of “Two wrongs don’t make a right?” Dislike Chareidim all you like, and disagree. But the attacks are inexcusable, even the verbal ones.
“The little I know”:
Like yelling Nazi at soldiers and police !?!
> I came to defend an elderly woman who was terrified by a chareidi Jew
I saw the video of the dialogue and the “chareidi Jew” in question was middle-aged to senior, somewhat pot bellied with a long white beard and white shirt and a barely audible voice. No reasonably sane person could simultaneously feel safe in the midst of the aggressive (illegally loud and illegally over crowded) demonstrators while simultaneously being afraid of this “chareidi Jew”
“I do not repeat myself” — not. He presumably said אינני חוזר בי, which means “I don’t retract what I said.”