Activists Protests EU’s Meddling, Vandalize Their Tel Aviv Office

Two known Israeli activists on Sunday vandalized the entrance to the European Union's (EU) offices in Tel Aviv and spray-painted slogans at its entrance. The slogans called for the ousting of the EU from Israel and condemned its funding of programs and organizations they perceive as anti-Israeli. Emanuele Giaufret, EU Ambassador to Israel, stated that the lobby of the EU Delegation was "vandalized with threatening slogans on the walls." No one was in the office as they are closed on Sunday. "This incident is deplorable and has to be condemned. We will continue to do our job," he added. The vandals, two women, Sheffi Paz and Merav Hajaj, admitted to their actions publicly and said they were carried out in protest of the EU's meddling in Israeli policy and politics. The European Union "bank-rolls the murderers of the children and the organizations of the infiltrators. Its time they stopped," Paz said. Paz is an activist against the African illegal work immigrants who have taken over south Tel Aviv, of which she is a resident. The EU has thwarted an Israeli program to send the illegals back to their countries of origin. Hajaj lost her daughter, IDF soldier Shir Hajaj, in a terror attack in Jerusalem in January 2019. The EU is a major contributor to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which uses the funds to promote terrorism. Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz stated he was "appalled by and condemn the disgraceful vandalism of the EU Mission in Israel. Israel is committed to maintaining the security of all diplomatic missions." "The Israeli police are investigating the case, and I expect the culprits will be swiftly brought to justice," he added. Paz and Hajaj admitted to their actions and posted a photo of themselves eating together at a restaurant before turning themselves in to the police. Paz later said she was charged by the police with conspiracy, the destruction of real estate and damage to property. She was also ordered to stay away from the EU's offices for the next 15 days. "They [the EU] should be strangled with their terrorist funds," she concluded. The EU has long been criticized by Israeli officials and activists of its excessive interfering in the Israeli arena, almost always in favor of it adversaries.