Israel's Diaspora Minister Makes Obscene Gesture Toward Protesters at NYC Israel Parade

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli made an obscene gesture toward pro-democracy protesters while attending the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York on Sunday. His gesture was widely rebuked on social media.

In a Twitter response to the photo – in which Chikli has now claimed he was telling protesters to smile – Opposition leader Yair Lapid pointed out that between the incident between far-right lawmaker Simcha Rothman and Chikli, the current government never ceases to embarrass Israel on the world stage. Lapid also said that "They don't deserve to be public representatives. They do not deserve to represent Israel."

Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), said that Diaspora Jews deserve someone better than Chikli, who in his role as Diaspora Minister who engages "with the half of the world’s Jews who don’t live in Israel."

This isn't Katz's first foray into the ongoing political turmoil underway in Israel. She previously participated in one of the weekly demonstrations against the planned judicial overhaul and was the first person to address the crowd in English.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Ron Kampeas took to Twitter as well, ironically pointing out the minister was communicating with Diaspora Jews.

The minister did respond to Lapid's post, saying that he only meant to tell someone to smile who was in front of him. He also said Lapid's interpretation says more about Lapid than the minister himself.

Chikli's actions at the parade are the latest in a slew of controversy brought out by the Likud minister. Chikli was most recently visiting Canada, where he was a keynote speaker at Ontario’s Canada Christian College celebrating Jerusalem Day and Israel’s 75th anniversary. Canada Christian College’s president is Dr. Charles McVety, an activist and leader of Canada’s Christian far right.

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Earlier last month, Chikli seemingly endorsed antisemitic attacks on Jewish billionaire and progressive megadonor George Soros via his Twitter account as well.

The controversy began when Chikli defended Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who said Soros, a Holocaust survivor, “wants to erode the very fabric of civilization.”

The pro-democracy protesters have repeatedly implored the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to revoke its invitation to Chikli for Monday morning, due to the minister’s divisive rhetoric and inconsistencies when speaking to an Israeli audience compared to an American one.

At least one member organization, Americans for Peace Now, will not be attending the Chikli meeting. “This government is made up of felons, fascists and fundamentalists who support annexation, oppose human rights, and are leading Israel down a disastrous path. I’m not interested in meeting with any of them,” said Americans for Peace Now CEO Hadar Susskind.

The protesters at the Arutz Sheva conference outside the Hilton Midtown directed a particular amount of ire at Chikli over the gesture, decrying him as “vulgar” and “an embarrassment.”