Israel’s National Security Ministry has confirmed to JNS that his department is investigating incitement complaints against a leftist Charedi journalist who stated that “the world is a better place” following the killing of five strictly-Orthodox IDF soldiers in Gaza.
The IDF confirmed on Monday that Staff Sergeant Meir Shimon Amar, 20, Sergeant Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, Staff-Sergeant Noam Aharon Musgadian, 20, Staff-Sergeant Moshe Shmuel Noll, 21, and Sergeant-Major Benyamin Asulin, 28, were killed when an explosive device was detonated near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
All five men were from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, one of the army's first Charedi units, while 12 others were injured while recovering their remains.
In the wake of the announcement, Israeli Frey, formerly of left-wing oultet DemocraTV, wrote on X: “The world is a better place this morning, without five young men who participated in one of the most brutal crimes against humanity.
“This is a call to every Israeli mother: do not be the next to receive your son in a coffin as a war criminal. Refuse.”
“We have a zero-tolerance policy on incitement, and we are looking into the tweet by Israel Frey, who has already been arrested twice by police but unfortunately has not been indicted,” a National Security Ministry official told JNS in response on Tuesday.
The attorney general has also ordered a criminal investigation into Frey's actions in connection with the tweet, Israel Hayom reported on Tuesday.
Frey has been under police investigation since March, when he was arrested for allegedly praising a would-be terrorist who was apprehended before he could carry out an attack against Israelis.
“A Palestinian who harms an IDF soldier or a settler in the apartheid territories is not a terrorist. And it’s not a terror attack. He is a hero who struggles against an oppressor for justice, liberation and freedom,” tweeted Frey, who has more than 100,000 followers on X. He was sacked by DemocraTV following his arrest.
The ministry official confirmed that Frey had been arrested on suspicion of incitement on two occasions, but said: “The state attorney is dragging its feet, meaning he’s free to continue.
“We will look again into holding him accountable also for the latest tweet.”
Shai Glick, the director of B’Tsalmo, a conservative human rights group, filed a new complaint against Frey with the police and sent a letter to the attorney general’s office. In the complaint, B’Tsalmo alleged that Frey’s tweet violated two laws: one against celebrating terrorism and another against encouraging draft dodging.
Frey did not reply to JNS’ request for comment by time of publication.
However, he did reply to critics on on X, including those on the left, who accused him of crossing a line by disrespecting the grief of the families of the fallen soldiers.
“The sanctity of the bereaved is the greatest generator of bereavement,” he wrote, adding: “If, instead of offering condolences to war criminals, we had condemned them, tens of thousands of children would still be alive beyond the fence.
“The consensus around the uniform is the membership card of fascism. Refuse. Resist.”
