'This will not be overlooked': Herzliya mayor slams Otzma Yehudit handing out noose pins at school

Herzliya Mayor Yariv Fisher condemned Otzma Yehudit after a party representative distributed noose-themed pins to students at Handasaim Herzliya High School during a visit on Monday.

"The ugly incident - dangerous to Israeli society - that took place today at Handasaim High School, where an Otzma Yehudit representative distributed pins featuring a noose, represents the crossing of an educational, ethical, and moral red line; this will not be overlooked,” Fisher said in a statement.

He further criticized the distribution of the pins inside an educational institution, saying the incident was particularly disturbing given the students' ages.

"There are things that simply cannot happen within school walls, where many students are under the age of 18," the mayor added.

"We educate our children on love of the land, patriotism, Zionism, and a deep commitment to the people and the state, but we will never be willing to taint their souls with symbols backed by repulsive, violent, and corrupting populism," he said.

Attorney Itamar Kramer, head of the State Education Watch organization, also responded to the incident.

"Those who invite Kahanists to their school get an education in revenge, bloodshed, and death in return,” Kramer said, referring to the Kahanist movement, which has been associated with extremist anti-Arab ideology.

“Just as leftists or Arabs are not invited to religious or ultra-Orthodox schools, I expect state school principals not to invite elements associated with racism and the incitement of violence. There is no obligation to invite them; it is the principal's personal decision,” Kramer said.

According to the school administration, the representative had been informed beforehand that distributing the pins would not be permitted.

Following the incident, school staff intervened and confiscated the pins from students who were wearing or holding them.

Otzma Yehudit defends the distribution of the noose-themed pins

Otzma Yehudit, the far-right nationalist party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, defended the distribution of the noose-themed pins.

"Otzma Yehudit is proud to demonstrate to the young generation in schools the importance of deterrence against terrorism, without fear and without blinking. A terrorist who comes to kill a Jew must die, period.”

"The noose pin effectively illustrates the seriousness of our intentions, as reflected in the death penalty law we enacted." We will continue to be the spearhead in the fight against terrorism.