Eisenkot demands probe into assault of activist who removed Yigal Amir release sign
A 76-year-old Yashar Party activist was attacked and hospitalized last week after attempting to remove a sign calling for the release of Yigal Amir, who assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. The incident has prompted party chairman Gadi Eisenkot to demand an immediate police investigation, with footage showing the activist surrounded and assaulted after removing the banner.
Incident details
According to reports from Hebrew media, Ilan Mans, who heads the party's Mevaseret Zion branch, was attacked at the Hemed Interchange on Highway 1 while taking down a sign that read “Yigal Amir will be released.” The sign had been hung by a group protesting Amir's prison sentence, and they were still present when Mans approached. When Mans began to remove the sign, he was confronted and attacked by the protesters.
Footage of the incident shows Mans lying on the ground with several protesters surrounding him and assaulting him. Mans told Walla that police did not arrive at the scene after the attack.
Hospitalization and surgery
Following the attack, Mans was taken to Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem with bleeding in the brain. He is scheduled to undergo or has already undergone neurological surgery, with reports indicating he remains hospitalized. The Yashar Party issued a statement on X/Twitter wishing Mans a “speedy recovery” and calling on police to arrest the attackers.
Eisenkot's response
In a letter sent to Police Commissioner Insp.-Gen. Danny Levi on Monday, Eisenkot demanded a “comprehensive, thorough and rapid” investigation, calling on police to arrest those responsible and bring them to justice. He warned that “violence of this kind, 84 days before election day, could be a grave indication of what awaits us during this period and cannot be tolerated.”
Eisenkot also spoke with Mans on Friday following the attack to offer his support, according to the Yashar Party.
Context: Yigal Amir and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
Yigal Amir murdered former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995, shooting him at the end of a peace rally in Tel Aviv. Rabin died from his wounds shortly afterward. Amir was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, along with an additional prison term. He has remained in prison since his conviction, and calls for his release have repeatedly sparked intense public controversy in Israel.
The incident draws attention to the message on the sign. Calls for Amir's release seek to recast a convicted political assassin as a victim deserving of public sympathy, a framing that should concern Israelis across the political spectrum, according to an editorial in the Jerusalem Post.
Political implications
The attack occurs amid a campaign calling for Amir's release, with the incident coming 84 days before election day. Eisenkot said authorities must send a clear message, particularly during the election campaign, that political violence would not be accepted.
Rabin's assassination shocked the country and remains one of the gravest attacks on Israel's democratic system. Nearly 31 years later, a generation of Israelis has grown up without any personal memory of that night, with Rabin known mainly through the Oslo Accords – agreements that divided Israeli society then and continue to do so today.
Perspectives
Yashar Party / Gadi Eisenkot: Eisenkot has called for an immediate investigation, describing the violence as a “grave indication” of what could await during the election period. He demands a comprehensive investigation and the arrest of those responsible, emphasizing that political violence cannot be tolerated.
Editorial viewpoint (Jerusalem Post): The editorial stresses that police must establish exactly what happened and examine potential failures in the response. It argues that calls for Amir's release seek to recast a convicted assassin as a victim, and that efforts to rehabilitate him fall outside legitimate democratic debate, regardless of one's views on the Oslo Accords.