Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90
Noa Goldenberg during a hearing at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court following her detention after allegedly throwing sand at National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on a beach in the city, Sept. 9, 2024
(JNS) — A 27-year-old woman accused of throwing sand at Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on a beach in Tel Aviv last week was charged on Monday.
According to the indictment filed in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, Noa Goldenberg “threw a ball of sand” at Ben-Gvir and his security entourage while the minister was walking with family members at Geula Beach.
She is charged with assaulting a public servant and interfering with a police officer performing his duty, which is punishable by up to three years in prison.
Police took testimonies from Ben-Gvir, members of his family and other eyewitnesses.
“The accused unlawfully attacked the complainant with a spoon that scooped wet sand from the sea into a ball of hard mud in her hand, and threw it at the complainant. She hit his back, and his head, as well as those around him,” according to the charges.
Police said she initially denied involvement in the incident, but that after being shown evidence, she acknowledged her actions.
Goldenberg acted because she “felt dissatisfaction that the complainant found time to take a walk with his family at the beach during a war.”
Regarding the charge of obstructing the police officer in the performance of his duty, the indictment that she “began to run away into the depths of the sea, while the policeman was shouting at her to get out of the sea and refused to come out for several minutes.”
Goldenberg’s attorney, Nir Alfasa, was quoted by Channel 12 as saying that “an indictment is far more serious than the circumstances as we know them warrant. We are talking here about the throwing of a mud ball that hit his head. The October 7 war is described here [in the indictment] to give it [the incident] the appearance of severity, even though it happened and they went to the beach the sea as a [normal] daily act. He arrived there without security considerations or an attempt to make the area sterile.”
Alfasa added, “This incident has been blown up so much that it’s outrageous to see that they used the war to make the indictment worse. This is a [prosecutor’s] office that fulfills the wishes of the minister of national security, and also the prosecutor’s office sees fit to file an indictment when the complainant is the minister in charge of it.”
Goldenberg’s mother, Sharon, was quoted by Channel 12 as saying that “according to the indictment, my daughter stayed 10 meters away from Ben-Gvir and threw a ‘ball of mud’ at him. The police also claim that the minister’s dignity was damaged by the sand ‘on his back and head.’
“Unfortunately, there is a video of the incident, which documents the minister when he is completely clean of every grain of sand. I hope that the minister will soon recover from the incident and return to the important task that he has been successfully fulfilling for two years, which is maintaining the security of the citizens of Israel and public order.”
Goldenberg was held in the Neve Tirtza Women’s Prison in Ramla. The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court ordered her released to two-day’s house arrest after a hearing on Saturday night.
Judge Menachem “Mario” Klein ruled that Goldenberg can post bail and be prohibited from contacting Ben-Gvir for 30 days.
“It is true that after the destruction of the Temple, it was determined that the prophecy has been given to fools, but a few months before the Islamo-Nazi attack on the communities surrounding Gaza, I warned that if ‘we do not depend on each other, we will end up hanging next to one another.’ It is hoped that this time my words will be heard and taken into consideration by everyone,” the judge wrote at the end of his ruling.
