Dr. Yolanda Yavor, a 50-year-old lecturer and prominent anti-government protest figure, was arrested on Friday morning on suspicion of incitement following a social media post calling for a “rebellion” and urging action against what she described as Israel’s “traitorous” leadership.
Her detention was extended by another 24 hours on Saturday until Monday at noon, pending a hearing, after she turned herself in on Friday, following two days in which officers were unable to locate her.
According to reports, police opened an investigation after Yavor posted a historically charged image from the Romanian revolution next to text asserting that “dictatorships are not toppled at the ballot box” and calling on demonstrators to fight “the traitor, the mouthpieces, the collaborators, and the militias… with all our strength and by all means.”
Her post also included the line: “We said ‘democracy or rebellion,’ remember? Well – rebellion.”
These statements formed the basis of police suspicion.
To act 'by all means'
Police said Yavor’s phrasing – particularly her depiction of the leadership as “traitors” and the call to act “by all means” – moves beyond political speech into rhetoric that could encourage violent action.
Investigators told the court at the detention extension hearing that her posts reached large audiences, creating a “real and immediate” risk in the current climate of heightened national tension.
Per reports, police argued that the imagery she chose, the keywords used, and the explicit invocation of rebellion all demonstrate intent serious enough to justify detention and prevent interference with the investigation.
In a previous arrest several months ago, Yavor was detained after sharing footage of riots abroad with the caption “only this.” She was released to house arrest, and the matter did not proceed to an indictment.
On Friday afternoon, dozens of protest supporters gathered outside the Haifa courthouse, waving Israeli flags and chanting against what they called “political persecution.” Demonstrators said the arrest represented “a red line” in policing political dissent, while others called it proof of an intensifying crackdown on protest leaders.