An Israeli citizen tried to physically attack Economy Minister Nir Barkat in a hotel in Boston on Thursday, his office said.
The attacker was restrained by Barkat’s security team and the attack was thwarted, without physically harming the minister.
A video that surfaced from the event shows a group of protestors following the Knesset member and his team through a hallway, with Barkat’s security team pushing people away. In the video, one person can be seen breaking through the team of security officials and running toward Barkat before quickly being swarmed by security and thrown to the ground.
A separate video showed the protestor being put in an ambulance and transferred to a hospital for medical care.
MK Barkat was not injured and Boston Police arrested the attacker.
Barkat speaks out on the attempted attack
A statement released by Barkat’s office, “A number of protesters tried to physically reach Minister Barkat and tried to repel the security guards of the Personal Security Unit. Thanks to the minister’s security guards, physical harm to the Israeli government was avoided. The Israeli Consulate General filed a complaint with the police against the attacker – who was arrested.”
Israeli media reported that MK Barkat himself made a public statement regarding the attempted attack. “Political murder is a matter of time in the State of Israel. Under the auspices of the protest, there are those who spilled the blood of elected officials. We are on a slippery and dangerous slope. I thank the security guards of the Personal Security Unit who repelled the attacker and prevented harm to me. Violence is the erosion of the foundation of democracy,” he said.
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