Anyone who has been following events in Israel from abroad can be forgiven any ensuing bewilderment. Last year, Israelis began massing in front of government buildings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Saturday nights, protesting changes to the judiciary that the Netanyahu regime wanted to make. The demonstrations brought people of all ages into the streets to express their discontent with the current corrupt regime and its ruinous domestic policy.
Since 7 October, a truly Black Sabbath, the protests’ focus has shifted. Those who oppose Netanyahu and his coalition of rabid clowns still are calling for his ouster. They have additional causes to inflame their wrath. To the list of his crimes, they add the Prime Minister’s incompetent conduct of the war on Hamas and his failure to secure the return of the hostages in Gaza.
When HL and I joined our friends at the close of Shabbat, there were two consecutive demonstrations. The usual one on Kaplan Street was very well organized, with video screens, sound equipment, a slate of speakers and even an old surplus army tank beside tables of T-shirts and hats printed with relevant Hebrew phrases. People gathered near the stage, which was close to the Kiriya, the headquarters of the security forces.
Those groups supporting the hostages’ families held a separate protest after 9 PM. Their priority was bringing home the captives. Political and military goals were secondary at most. With the heightened emotions surrounding the hostage issue, some demonstrators had been confronting the police, with violent results.
Most of the protesters were middle-aged or older, and I felt comfortable among them. Daniela and I had talked about my accompanying her to Kaplan Street some day. Then it was happening, no longer a mere wish. Knowing the context, I could follow most of what was said in Hebrew. Elections Now is a simple enough slogan.
Younger people arrived as the speeches, punctuated by shouted assent and blaring horns, continued. Daniela and Ari were veterans of these rallies, and they thought that the crowd was larger that night than it had been for weeks.
I was happy to add my voice to those calling for change, even though I cannot vote in Israel’s elections. We do what we can, and raise one another’s spirits in the process.
Especially inspiring was our friend Z.'s presence. She came to the demonstration on a bus with a group from her home in Karkur, 60 kilometers north of Tel Aviv. I have always admired her commitment to opposing injustice and caring for others. I had not seen Z. for years, and the demonstration was a most apt setting for our reunion.
Z. is on the left, also on The Left, beaming.
Ari and HL
The tank parked along the route to the Kiriya
Throughout Tel Aviv, there are large toy bears, painted to look bruised and bloody, bound to benches or tied up in trees.
They are yet another reminder of the hostages, and of the cruelty that they have been enduring for all these months.
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