Last Friday, former President Reuven Rivlin dined at the Derech HaGefen restaurant in Jerusalem.
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Yoni, an American ultra-Orthodox man who has been living in Israel for a year and a half, approached him and asked to take a picture of him with his son.
However, the former president's answer shocked him and his wife.
It all started when Yoni and Abigail B. sat down to eat at a restaurant. Towards the end of the meal, at 12:00 noon, former President Reuven Rivlin sat down behind them, accompanied by another person and a bodyguard.
At first, Rivlin was without glasses, and the couple tried to figure out who it was. "We were unable to identify him," Yoni tells Haredim 10. "It was only when he put on his glasses that we realized it was President Reuven Rivlin.".
Yoni approached his bodyguard and asked if he could ask to take a picture of his eight-month-old son with the outgoing president.
The guard replied in the affirmative, and even said that Rivlin takes pictures with everyone - and will also take pictures with his son. Since that was the case, Yoni approached Rivlin and asked to take a picture with his toddler son.
Yoni says that Rivlin looked at him and asked: "Excuse me, were you in the army?".
Yoni replied that he did not serve in the army, and that he arrived from the US about a year and a half ago.
Rivlin replied: "You weren't in the army, so no. I won't take a picture with him. When your child enlists in the army, he will get a picture with me.".
Yoni: "I was shocked. At first I thought he was laughing, but when I saw that he repeated his words several times, I realized that he was serious.".
The father tried his luck one more time. "After the incident, I tried to ask again, and Rivlin repeated his question again: 'You were in the army, you were in the army.' And he said he was not willing to be photographed.
Yoni: "Ask me this because I'm an ultra-Orthodox person? He didn't say hello. He asked straight away if I had served in the army. I couldn't believe that someone who was president until a month ago would behave like this. How can he with all this anger, at me?!
"He was my president, what does he care if I was in the army or not, I'm from this people, he was the president. How can he look at me like that, and put what he feels, everything on me. What does my baby have to do with it? If I said I was an Arab, he would take a picture with me... This hatred in the people of Israel hurts me.".
How did you feel?
"I was very embarrassed, I didn't feel comfortable. I lived abroad, I didn't think this hatred would come from a person who represented Israel. Today, in 2021, there is such great hatred that they don't want to take a picture with my son because I wear a kippah?!""
Abigail, his wife, tells Haredim 10: "We felt humiliated. We turned around and didn't know what to say. I didn't know the hatred was that deep. He wouldn't agree to be photographed, it was personal against us. It's terribly sad.".
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"Whoever talked about free love showed his true face. As president, he couldn't afford to behave like this, not free love or anything.".
The office of former President Reuven Rivlin issued a statement in response to the 10 ultra-Orthodox:
""There was no connection between the question and the photograph.".
""He was in a private meeting and the person came up and joined their conversation. That person was talking about the military past of the person the tenth president was sitting with, and they thought it was because he had served with him. That's why he asked.
""In addition, photography was not appropriate in that situation and was therefore refused, a legitimate act of course.".
Yoni notes, in a high voice, that he did not ask any questions beyond the request for the photo.
