Yashar! Candidate and Likud Youth Chief Clash at Rehovot High School Panel
A heated altercation nearly turning physical erupted at a Rehovot high school between Yashar! candidate Nir Hagbi and Likud youth chief Hadar Muchtar over controversial remarks regarding Hagbi's son, who was killed on October 7.
The election campaign in Israel delivered another tense incident on Tuesday, this time in front of high school students in Rehovot. A heated altercation that nearly turned physical erupted during a political panel at the Science High School between Nir Hagbi, a candidate on the Yashar! party list, and Hadar Muchtar, head of the youth headquarters for the Likud campaign.
Nir Hagbi, a member of Kibbutz Kissufim and a reserve colonel whose son Yonatan was killed in the October 7 massacre, reacted with fury to remarks made by Muchtar during the event. During the escalating argument, Muchtar was heard shouting, "I raised money for his child." The statement provoked immediate outrage from Hagbi, who shouted back in front of the students and attendees: "You will not exploit my son for political spin.
As recalled, in August, Likud Chairman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Muchtar's appointment as head of the party's youth campaign. The move followed backstage political drama when Muchtar was barred from running in the Likud primaries due to a lack of seniority approval, which was blocked by internal pressure from ministers and MKs seeking to preserve a more establishment-oriented candidate list.
