Thursday, January 16, 2025, 10:21 This morning (Thursday), right-wing activist Yair Ansbacher was detained by police and taken into the police station after hanging two signs on the Western Wall in Jerusalem. One of the signs read, “Whoever is on God’s side, come to me.” The symbols of the Twelve Tribes of Israel were depicted on the other. Ansbacher’s intent was a display of encouragement in light of the deal which the government had agreed to for the release of the hostages from the Gaza Strip. He was later released by the police under restrictive conditions.
Honenu Attorney Daniel Shimshilashvilli, who provided Ansbacher with legal counsel, stated, “My client wished to raise morale in Israel at this complex time, and he found himself detained by the police. However, the police should have taken my client’s understandable anguish at the terms of the deal into consideration and released him at the site after clarifying the situation.”
In the video clip below, Yair Ansbacher is seen in the upper-right corner unfurling two signs; Video credit: Western Wall Heritage Foundation