Shin Bet warns that Iran is running social media campaigns to “divide Israeli society and destabilize it.”
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
An edited image of IDF General Yehuda Fox in a Nazi uniform with a Hitler-style mustache was created and spread online by Iranian agitators looking to increase social tensions in Israel, the Shin Bet intelligence agency said on Sunday.
The picture was posted on Twitter over the weekend by a user with the name Ella Levi. The post included a caption reading “Yehuda Fox is a tyrant dictator who uses dictatorial measures to silence those who publish criticism against him.”
Notably, that text was copied word-for-word from a legitimate post from a settler activist last week.
The image of Fox as a Nazi quickly went viral, and sparked backlash from all sides of the political spectrum. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an investigation into the creator of the picture.
In a statement, the Shin Bet said that it was “highly likely” that the account that published the image is “a fictitious profile operated by Iranian elements.”
The agency added that “for some time Iran has been advancing a comprehensive network campaign, the aim of which is to divide Israeli society and destabilize it, and it is estimated that the publication of the photo… is part of this effort.”
Fox, who has come under fire from some right-wing politicians and settler leaders for his allegedly lax policies towards Palestinian terrorists, has been the subject of intense public criticism in recent months.
MK Limor Son Har Melech (Otzma Yehudit) said in late August that Fox “does not know how to distinguish between Jews and terrorists,” arguing that his protocols towards settlers accused of violence towards Palestinians are too harsh.
She added that he cannot tell the difference “between Jews who are rooted to the land and who are not ready to give it up to terrorists and murderers.”
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