Author and poet Yehonatan Geffen was attacked in his home on Moshav Beit Yitzhak over the weekend. The unknown assailant knocked on Geffen's door, called him a "leftist traitor" and a "murderer," threw eggs at him, and punched him in the face. Geffen's associates said that despite the violent incident, he was feeling fine. Geffen filed a complaint with the police, and officers from the Sadot Police Station have begun searching for the suspect. No one has been arrested yet in connection with the attack. Police believe that the attack was related to Geffen's performance at the Zappa club in Tel Aviv last Wednesday, where he made harsh remarks about the election results. Geffen told the audience that "March 17 will be declared the 'Nakba Day' [the term the Palestinians use to refer to the founding of Israel] for the peace camp. To all those who put ballots for [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] into the box: Don't cry when your kids die in the next military operation." "Once again, you've elected a leader who is promising us death, not life -- fear, not hope," Geffen said. Geffen's son, Aviv, a well-known musician, tweeted about the attack on his father: "It's easy to attack a person; it's hard to attack an idea." His elder daughter Shira, a writer and actress, said that "when someone shows up and attacks my father in his home because of his opinions, there is only great sadness and real fear for the future of this place." Geffen's cousin Yael Dayan, a former government minister, told Israel Hayom that "you can disagree with him, but he has a right to speak. I expect that the matter will be dealt with severely." New Likud MK Nava Boker said in response to the attack that "it's time for all of us to uphold the culture of discourse, and stop the violence. It's time for unity and civilized dialogue." Boaz Ben Zion, Geffen's agent, said that "the incident was unfortunate, and I'm sure the police will do their work."
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Writer Yehonatan Geffen attacked in his home, called 'murderer'
Police searching for assailant, suspect attack might have been motivated by Geffen's bitter remarks to a Tel Aviv club audience about the election results • New Likud MK Nava Boker: It's time to stop the violence and uphold the culture of discourse.