Activist Naor Narkis Criticizes Israeli Society, Publicist and Media Researcher Responds

Naor Narkis, an activist, entrepreneur, and founder of the "Returning with Wisdom" movement, has sparked controversy on social media with his observations from a recent trip to southern France. Narkis, who previously ran in the primaries for the "Democrats" party in July 2026, finishing 22nd, described an encounter with a protest in southern France. He claimed that most of the protesters were Muslim women who, in his view, resorted to religious violence. Narkis contrasted this with France's efforts to unite around its secular identity against political Islam, asserting that Israeli society is moving in the opposite direction by embracing religious narratives. He stated, "It's amazing that in Israel, we are seeing the opposite process. Instead of us gathering around the secular Western identity against the Middle Eastern religious chaos, we Israelis are adopting the Islamic narrative. Covering women, a government that is outraged by a woman's bare shoulder and worships anyone who covers up or anyone who observes Shabbat or separates challah. Our swearing and stabbing youth, these are the miserable and broken youth of the Muslims here." Prominent publicist and media researcher the publicist and media researcher responded to Narkis's sharp remarks with a brief comment: "Bottom line, you are a fascist who doesn't like tefillin."