Israel Frey | |
|---|---|
| ישראל פריי | |
 | |
| Born | 1987 (age 37–38) |
| Citizenship | Israeli |
| Occupation |
|
Israel Frey (Hebrew:ישראל פריי) is anIsraeli-Haredi journalist. He has worked for outlets includingDemocraTV andMiddle East Eye. Frey has been critical of thegovernment of Israel and the actions of theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) and has been arrested several times for his tweets. In the beginning of theGaza war, Frey posted a video of himself praying for Israelis killed in theOctober 7 attacks and Palestinian civilians killed by theIDF; as a result, his home was attacked and he went into hiding with his wife and children. His political views have been described asleft-wing.
Born in 1987, Frey grew up inTel Aviv, Israel, in theGer Hasidic community, anultra-orthodox sect ofJudaism. He has two siblings.[1] His grandfather,Yehuda Meir Abramowicz, was a rabbi and a member of theKnesset (MK) for theAgudat Yisrael party.[1][2] Herefused to enlist in theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) as aconscientious objector.[2] He has two children.[1]
Frey began his journalism career working forHaredi outlets, including RadioKol Chai andKav Itonut Datit [he] newspapers. One of his tweets sparked controversy when he referred torabbis as "scum" for supportingIsraeli settlers. He was fired under pressure from right-wing activists likeItamar Ben-Gvir.[1]
Frey began working atDemocraTV [he] in 2021, an independent station which frequently criticizesBenjamin Netanyahu and theLikud government.[1][3] During theCOVID-19 pandemic, he reported on the lack of observance of COVID prevention rules in the Haredi community.[1][4] He attributed this nonobservance to the importance of communal events in Haredi traditions and rituals.[5][6]
Frey tweeted in support of a Palestinian man who had been detained on suspicion of planning an attack inJaffa in September 2022, praising the man for targeting soldiers instead of attacking civilians.[7][8][4] The tweet sparked a backlash, and he was fired by DemocraTV a few months later.[3] According to Frey, DemocraTV demanded that he delete the tweet. DemocraTV leadership countered that Frey was let go because of misconduct, not due to his tweets.[1][4]
His work has appeared inMiddle East Eye[7] andHaaretz.[9] Frey regularly attended theIsraeli hostage deal protests in Tel Aviv[3] and has posted footage of Israeli police detaining protesters.[10]
In an October 2022 tweet about the killing of an Israeli soldier inEast Jerusalem, Frey wrote that attacking Israeli soldiers is not terrorism. This followed a September 2022 tweet in which he praised a Palestinian man for targeting Israeli soldiers instead of civilians. Frey was arrested on suspicion of inciting terrorism due to complaints about these two tweets and was released after questioning.[11][8][1] His attorney,Gaby Lasky, stated that it was a political arrest meant to scare the Israeli government's critics.[7] Frey said he would not let the Israeli government intimidate him and accused it offascism.[7][4] His arrest was criticized by the Union of Journalists in Israel as an attack on thefreedom of the press.[8][4]
In March 2025 Frey tweeted that a Palestinian who attacks Israeli soldiers or settlers should not be considered a terrorist but a hero fighting their oppressor. He was subsequently detained and interrogated on suspicion of inciting terrorism.[3][12][13] Upon his release, he condemned the arrest as a "witch hunt" and stated that he "distinguishes between condemnable harm to innocents and resistance to security forces."[12]
Five IDF soldiers, mostly from theNetzah Yehuda Battalion, were killed byIEDs inBeit Hanoun in July 2025. In response, Frey tweeted: "The world is a better place this morning, without five young men who partook in one of the most brutal crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, for the boy in Gaza now beingoperated on without anesthesia, the girlstarving to death and the family huddling in a tent under bombardment — this is not enough."[14] The tweet was criticized by many Israelis, including some peace activists.[15] He was arrested the following day and charged with incitement to terrorism.[16][17] While in prison, Frey was classified as a security prisoner, a designation typically given to Palestinian prisoners.[18][19][20] After hisconditional release to house arrest, he pledged to continue criticizing theGaza war.[18]
In the beginning of the Gaza war, Frey posted a video of himself praying theKaddish for both the Israelis killed in theOctober 7 attacks and the Palestinian civilians killed by the IDF.[21][3][22] He received threatening messages as a result[23][24] and he wasdoxxed with his home address shared online.[21][25][26] A crowd of right-wing protesters attacked his home inBnei Brak on the evening of October 14, 2023 with flares and fireworks and attempted to break in.[3][24][25][27] A neighbor convinced the crowd to allow Frey's wife and two children to leave.[26] Frey was evacuated a few hours later with the assistance of the police who, according to him, spit on him and accused him of supportingHamas.[24][28][25] The police escorted him to his car, and he drove away. Upon realizing that he was being followed by some of the protesters, he drove toIchilov Hospital. He was eventually able to escape with the help of a friend and hospital security[24][28][26] and went into hiding.[21][25]
The police briefly detained one protester outside his home for refusing to leave. They later made a statement denying Frey's claims of misconduct.[24] Israeli MKOfer Cassif accused the police of delaying their response to the incident because they did not want to protect a leftist journalist.[29] The incident has been cited as an example of backlash against support for peace and Palestinian rights,[30][31][32] journalism,[33][34][35] andfree speech[36][37][38] in Israel during the Gaza war.
Frey advocates forequality for everyone who lives in Israel and Palestine.[11][8][2] He has been critical of the Israeli government[7][11] and has advocated for Israelis to refuse to serve in the IDF.[3] Frey asserts that Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers are not terrorism,[3][11][39] stating that "it’s legitimate for oppressed people to strike at their oppressors".[1][2] Frey has stated that theGaza war was caused by Israel's "comprehensive plan to crush" Palestinians.[26] He has stated that the full political spectrum of Israeli society, from right to left, is "mobilized" to view Palestinians asISIS,Nazis, and sub-human.[40] Frey's views are described as left wing byHaaretz,The Jerusalem Post, andThe New Yorker.[1][8][41]