Man Charged With Assaulting Former PM Bennett With Salt Shakers

Police have filed charges against Elya Azrad, a 26-year-old resident of Bnei Brak, for throwing salt shakers at former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during an election event in the city last week. Azrad faces charges of simple assault, attempted assault, and behavior likely to disrupt public order. He is currently under house arrest, and police are seeking to keep him there until the legal proceedings conclude.

According to the indictment, Bennett was speaking with people at a restaurant when Azrad approached and threw a glass salt shaker towards the table. The projectile struck two women on Bennett's staff. Azrad then allegedly threw another glass object, similar to a salt shaker, which fell near the table. He was immediately apprehended by police and Border Police officers present at the scene.

Earlier this week, the Tel Aviv District Court ordered Azrad's release to house arrest, rejecting a police appeal against a lower court's decision. Judge Shmuel Melamed noted that the "reasonable suspicion against the respondent has significantly strengthened" after reviewing video evidence of the incident but did not grant the police's request for continued detention.

The previous day, Magistrate Judge Tirtza Shaham Keenan ruled that while there was reasonable suspicion, the risk Azrad posed to Bennett could be mitigated by house arrest, especially given the close security detail afforded to a former prime minister.

During the appeal hearing, a police representative warned that "violence between political camps has previously led to the fatal injury of a prime minister" and argued that Azrad's actions were "dangerous to the public and harm democracy." The incident occurred last Thursday evening while Bennett was speaking with yeshiva students. A statement from Bennett's party indicated that one of the salt shakers hit a campaign staffer's head, requiring treatment from emergency medical services.

During a detention hearing last Friday, a police representative stated that when confronted with the accusations, Azrad responded with profanities directed at Bennett and attributed his actions to divine will. The police also noted Azrad has a prior criminal record for drug offenses, for which he served a prison sentence.