Journalists attacked by protesters at right-wing demonstration

A glass bottle was thrown toward the Channel 13 News reporters on Thursday night while they were covering the protest in favor of the judicial reform in Jerusalem.

Approximately 200,000 people attended the protest according to on-site reports.

The bottle, thrown by the protesters toward the reporters Moriah Asraf Wolberg and Yishai Porat, did not physically harm them but scared them. Earlier, a group of protesters disrupted the broadcast and cursed at the two journalists.

"The barbaric and violent behavior of a group of protesters will not intimidate us or affect our commitment to our viewers," Channel 13 said in response to the event. "We expect the police to quickly and resolutely investigate the incident and bring the violent perpetrators to justice, knowing that violence against journalists in general and the Channel 13 News team, in particular, has become all too routine. This is an intolerable and unforgivable situation that must be addressed without compromise."

איזה גועל נפש! לא משנה כמה נשמור מרחק, נכבד, עדיין האלימות בהפגנות האלו: בקבוק זכוכית לעבר חבריי @yishaiporat ו @MoriahAsraf pic.twitter.com/OHxWABxz7Y

— Yossi Eli יוסי אלי (@Yossi_eli) April 27, 2023

In March, right-wing activists attacked a team from Channel 13 News led by reporter Liron Shamam while covering a protest against the judicial reform in Or Akiva. 

The activists, holding a Likud flag, shouted at her: "Leftists, you are the enemy. They should escort you to your funeral."

Shamam said at the scene: "We are subjected to endless curses. It's a scary, violent and sad evening. When we talk about a fratricidal war - this is what it looks like." Channel 13 News has strongly condemned the attack on Shamam during the Or Akiva protest coverage.

Has this happened before to Channel 13? 

A similar incident occurred in late January, when the Channel 13 team was broadcasting from the location of a terror attack in Neve Yaakov, Jerusalem, according to Maariv. 

Udi Segal and his colleagues, who were all reporting from the site of the terror attack, were attacked after the broadcast. The journalists were subjected to insults, had fences thrown at them, were told to "get out of here," and had their film equipment damaged.