Journalist and former Knesset member Miki Rosenthal made a shocking statement Sunday night on the program “War Zone” on Channel 13, targeting a nonprofit organization that distributes free tefillin to children:
“I would strangle him with tefillin,” Rosenthal said in response to a commercial by the “Chiyucho Shel Yeled” (“A Child’s Smile”) organization. He repeated the comment twice more—while using hand gestures to demonstrate the act of strangulation.
The commercial in question promoted the organization’s initiative to provide free tefillin to children, some of whom are from bereaved families. Host Baruch Kara, who presented the advertisement, expressed reservations about the script but emphasized that the organization is doing a good deed.
Following Rosenthal’s statement, immediate objections were raised by other panelists. Journalist Uri Misgav said: “Why add such nonsense to this?” and Baruch Kara himself said: “You went too far. That’s a disgusting, stupid, and ugly comment.”
However, instead of apologizing, Rosenthal continued making shocking remarks. In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, he attacked Chabad Hasidim and referred to the Lubavitcher Rebbe as a “false messiah.” According to him,
“The Rebbe’s foolish followers promote his candidacy as a false messiah and defile the land by plastering his pictures everywhere.”
He further wrote:
“Along the way, they’ve become a missionary movement that targets minors. From the moment tefillin are used to commit an offense, they lose their status as sacred Jewish ritual items.”
The subject of placing Tefillin has recently gained significant publicity after secular boys in a school in the Sharon region placed a tefillin stand in their school and the principal confiscated the Tefillin. The boys complained that there is no rule preventing placing Tefillin in school.
This week, Education Minister Yoav Kish issued a directive stating that every student in Israel can place Tefillin in school and should not be prevented or disturbed from doing so whenever he wishes.
