Man Arrested for Attacking Yavne City CEO During Council Meeting Released by Court

A man in his 40s from Yavne disrupted a city council meeting and assaulted the city's CEO, who sustained minor facial injuries. The incident occurred amid tensions over the planned closure of the "Knafay Abirim" state-religious school due to low enrollment. The man was arrested and detained overnight, reportedly following instructions from the mayor who involved the police. However, the Magistrate's Court in Rishon Lezion rejected the police's request to extend his detention, with Judge Yuval Kedar ruling there was no justification to keep him in custody despite reasonable suspicion. The judge noted that if the complainant had been someone else, the suspect would have been released with only a restraining order.

City council members claimed the CEO initiated physical contact with the man, while the mayor condemned the violence, emphasizing that the city will remain a place for dialogue and criticism but will not tolerate violence. In response to the attack, the mayor announced that for the next three months, public attendance at council meetings will be prohibited, though meetings will continue to be broadcast online. Additionally, the municipality and workers' committee declared a suspension of public reception and telephone services for two hours the following day as a protest against the assault.

The violence erupted during a dispute involving religious parents opposing the closure of the "Knafay Abirim" school, which had only 11 first-grade students enrolled. Parents questioned why other schools with similar or lower enrollment numbers were not closed, highlighting perceived inconsistencies in the decision-making process. Mayor Roy Gabay called for restraint and responsible conduct, warning against allowing violence to replace democratic discourse.