Police arrest man over phallic keychains portraying Netanyahu as ‘dicktator’
Detainee freed hours later, with a police rep accusing him in court of sexual harassment; protester says authorities seek to ‘silence a legitimate act of protest’
by Charlie Summers Follow You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page · The Times of IsraelPolice on Saturday arrested a man at a demonstration in Jerusalem for passing out phallic-shaped keychains dubbing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “dicktator.”
The protester was released hours later, with police reportedly accusing him of sexual harassment.
The 3D-printed keychain that he was handing out depicted Netanyahu’s face atop a penis with the words, “Bibi #1 Dicktator.”
The detained protester was one of several dozen who demonstrated in the capital’s Paris Square, joining thousands in cities across the country demanding the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023.
The rally was broken up by police, who violently removed several protesters from the square.
Police held the detained protester until midnight and sought to bar him for 45 days from Paris Square.
A police representative who appeared in court Sunday morning accused the man of sexual harassment, arguing that he distributed some of the keychains to minors, according to Yoni Nussbaum, the detained protester’s lawyer.
At the hearing, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court partially granted the police’s request, allowing the man’s release on the condition that he not set foot in Paris Square until June 7 or participate in an unlawful gathering until June 21.
The detained protester, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Times of Israel that police arrested him before the actual rally took place.
“Nobody filed a complaint against me or anything, there’s no victim in this situation, but the police decided to use the phrasing of sexual harassment,” he claimed. He said that he had been handing out the keychains during Saturday night protests for many months.
“I’ve shown it to police officers at protests and they’ve even laughed about it in the past,” he said, calling the arrest an attempt by police “to silence a legitimate, albeit provocative, act of protest.”
The protester plans to appeal his release conditions in the Jerusalem District Court.