FACT CHECK: Viral X Video Falsely Claims Netanyahu Is Arresting Jews Who Are Protesting ‘The Palestinian Genocide’

Christine Sellers | Fact Check Reporter

A viral post shared on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, claims Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is purportedly arresting Jews in Israel who are protesting “the Palestinian genocide.”

Verdict: False

There is no evidence supporting the claim. The video, which shows Haredi Jews clashing with police over military recruitment, was originally published to X in June 2023.

Fact Check:

During a primetime speech on Wednesday, Netanyahu counted himself among “everyone [who] will have to give answers” about Israel’s current conflict with Hamas, according to the Times of Israel. Netanyahu said “the debacle will be checked to the full” after the war has ended, the outlet reported.

“Netanyahu is now arresting Jews in Israel who are protesting the Palestinian genocide. Recently, Netanyahu passed a law that Israelis could not criticize the Netanyahu Administration and that they would be arrested if they said things that ‘hurt morale,'” the X video, viewed over 200,000 times, purports. In the video, a physical altercation between Jews in Israel and the police occurs.

The claim is false, however. The video, which shows Jews clashing with police over military recruitment, was originally published to X in June 2023.

“Arrest attempts at a demonstration at the entrance to a recruiting office on Rashi Street in Jerusalem – a policeman pulled out a Taser,” Itamar Cohen, the social media user who posted the video, wrote. Cohen is the owner of “all-world news,” according to Newsweek. A logo that appears on the top left corner of the video Cohen shared on X matches that of all-world news, the outlet reported.

Another iteration of the video published on X by Torah Judaism on Oct. 24 reveals the Jews in the video were protesting the “Israeli state’s forced military recruitment.”

“In this video, Jews protest the Israeli state’s forced military recruitment. While anti-Zionist Jews were protesting against the Zionist Army at the entrance of the Israeli Armed Forces recruitment office on Jerusalem’s Rashi Street, Israeli police brutally intervened against the Jews,” the video’s caption reads in part.

In addition, Cohen explained to Newsweek that the video shows a group of Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, protesting outside an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recruitment office, noting two people were arrested as a result of the incident.

The X video is neither referenced on Netanyahu’s website nor on his verified social media accounts. (RELATED: No, TikTok Video Does Not Show Palestinian Children Searching Rubble For Food After Israeli Airstrikes)

Check Your Fact has contacted Netanyahu’s office for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.

Christine Sellers

Fact Check Reporter

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