Israelis opposing war receiving 'death threats,' says Knesset member Ofer Cassif
Firebrand Israeli parliamentarian says in Israel 'there is an assault on freedom of speech of those who raise voice against the war' | Member of Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party argues 'region will explode’ if Israel does not get rid of Netanyahu's 'terrible government. Says he supports ICJ genocide case for impartial investigation of Gaza bombardment; save lives. Terms efforts to expel him from parliament 'persecution and silencing' of those who support peace. ● In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Anadolu, Cassif said rejection of Israel's military response has led to "an assault on freedom of speech," including death threats. 💬 “People are arrested for tweets and posts, not in support of Hamas, of course, but in supporting ending the war, or before even cease-fire. Students are suspended from the universities and colleges. People are fired from their workplaces. The police are brutally violent towards the demonstrators,” Cassif said. ● “There is an assault on freedom of speech of those who raise voice against the war ... there are death threats. Because it's not only violence from above, from the government from the prime minister, legitimization of the violence against the protesters, of course by [Itamar] Ben Gvir (national security minister) and the police, which unfortunately mostly became a kind of a private militia of Ben Gvir. But it also penetrates the society as a whole. And you can see that within the society, a growing a part of the public supports, literally and explicitly, violence against those who oppose the war, including death threats." Cassif said everyone will pay a "huge price" and the entire "region is going to explode" if Israel does not get rid of the "terrible government" headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.