JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Journalist Inbar Toizer from Channel 12 News sparked controversy after sharing a video on social media on the eve of Israeli Independence Day. The video shows two young Hasidic men collecting donations for a hachnasat kallah (helping fund a wedding for a bride in need). In the footage, her husband is heard speaking disparagingly toward them, while the two appear visibly uncomfortable. The video was posted without blurring their faces, as the couple appeared to lecture them and urge them to enlist in the IDF.

In the video, the couple question the young men in a condescending and dismissive tone after they arrived at their home seeking charity. What began as a routine request for donations, common practice in Hasidic communities,turned into what critics described as a public shaming incident.

סערה ברשת בעקבות הסרטון🥸
עיתונאית חדשות 12 ענבר טוויזר לעגה לשני חסידים שאספו צדקה והפיצה ללא טשטוש את השניים מבוזים, טוויזר שלחה אותם להתגייס לצבא תוך לעג על מצוות הכנסת כלה.
בהמשך מחקה את הסרטון.

ענבר,
לא זו הדרך לחגוג יום חג,
לא זו הדרך להביע את דעתך בנושא גיוס חרדים. pic.twitter.com/5D2fhNVrLg

— חרדים10 (@charedim10) April 22, 2026

Toizer is heard asking: “What’s going on? A bride fund? What do you need?” One of the young men replies: “A bride fund. Some money for a wedding.” She then asks sarcastically, “Why bring in the bride?” to which he answers simply: “To the wedding canopy.” She goes on to ask their age, and upon hearing they are 18, responds: “Are you aware that at 18 you’re supposed to enlist in the army in the State of Israel? Today is Independence Day eve. Do you know the law?” One of them attempts to answer: “Yes, among Hasidim it’s a bit different. We went to enlist now, it’s immediate discharge.”

Media figure Yair Levy drew public attention to the video, and many social media users criticized it as a cynical and humiliating use of the platform to mock the young Hasidic men collecting charity. Critics described Toizer’s tone as arrogant, noting the video ends with her husband laughing as he shuts the door in their faces.

Journalist Aryeh Ehrlich sharply criticized Toizer, writing that while Jewish holidays are usually marked by charity, kindness, and unity, this incident reflected “documented public shaming of two minors… who innocently knocked on the couple’s door to request charity.” He condemned the mockery and described the act as humiliating and cynical.

Ehrlich, revealed that the father of the bride is a resident of northern Israel who suffered a severe blow to his livelihood just days ago. The father works as a driver, but his vehicle, his primary source of income, was completely destroyed by a Hezbollah missile strike.

Despite the heavy financial loss, he responded with resilience and even held a “thanksgiving gathering” for having survived, although compensation from the property tax authority is not expected to cover the cost of a new vehicle.

Ehrlich describes him as a man of dedication and hard work: “In addition to his job as a driver, he teaches in the mornings at a Talmud Torah. Despite the institution facing financial difficulties and salaries not being paid regularly, he refuses to leave out of a sense of responsibility for the children’s education.” As an additional source of income, the father also works as a sofer stam (a scribe of sacred Jewish texts) and is currently completing the writing of a Torah scroll in order to receive the remaining payment for it.

Journalist Haim Levinson, a former charedi, also reacted, saying: “This video shocks me. If this is a real story and someone knows this bride, I’d be happy to connect and give her a wedding gift.”

Toizer responded to the backlash the following morning, saying: “On a personal note: my partner is a reserve officer who returned yesterday from memorial ceremonies at Mount Herzl for six of his friends who fell in Lebanon, by the way, all were religious. We had a pleasant conversation with two 18-year-olds who knocked on our door, and we asked them why they don’t enlist. To everyone who wrote that I humiliated them, we agree on one thing: not enlisting in the army at a time like this is indeed something to be ashamed of.”

The response online was swift and critical. One commenter wrote: “You should be ashamed of yourself. I’m religious-Zionist with many family members serving. I would never treat charedi youths this way. If they are 18, they are practically children.” Another added: “A pleasant conversation? You might need to learn how to read a situation and speak respectfully to people. It would have been simple to say ‘no thank you.’ Filming them and pushing the enlistment issue is disrespectful.”

More harsh reactions accused her of spreading hatred and deepening social divisions.

The father of the groom—and of the young man seen in the controversial video—responded on Wednesday night in an interview with Avi Moskov on Kol Barama:

“We had no idea how we would even begin to cover the wedding expenses. Today, we received many thousands in donations. There are miracles, even if they came in a painful way, through embarrassment. It’s not pleasant, but G-d led us in this way. A photographer called me and offered to photograph the entire wedding for free.”

The father went on to describe the family’s situation:“Our car was destroyed last week by a Hezbollah missile, and God arranged things for the best. Today we received dozens of supportive phone calls from across the spectrum, even from secular people and from the left. I thank G-d that I belong to this people. You can feel the warm embrace, and we are grateful to everyone.”