Anti-Netanyahu demonstrations grow under lockdown – The Forward

Some 600 people packed an intersection in the Yehuda HaMacabee neighborhood of northern Tel Aviv on Saturday night: new parents with babies strapped to their chests, women raising black flags, retired couples and children banging on pots and pans. “Balfour is here,” read the signs hanging from the balconies of apartment buildings, as protesters raised their fists to the night sky and shouted “Go away! Get out! Get out!”

“Balfour” is the name of the street in Jerusalem where the Israeli prime minister’s residence is located, and where crowds of up to 15,000 people have been gathering weekly since June to demand the expulsion of its current occupant, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have only intensified since the second shutdown of the country. pic.twitter.com/CidMlgsgAU– The Forward (@jdforward) October 11, 2020

But with Israel looking towards a serious increase in coronavirus cases, Netanyahu imposed new movement and assembly restrictions last week, including that no one can travel more than a kilometer – about half a mile – from their home to participate in a protest. In response, the “Black Flags” group that had organized the Balfour protests called for local block party-style protests in neighborhoods across Israel up to three times a week.

Israeli media reported that Saturday was the largest yet and organizers said that some 200,000 people participated in 1,200 announcements.

“This is much more effective,” said Sharon Tal, 44, director of an organization that helps asylum seekers, as she left her apartment building with her husband, three young children and their dog. When you hear the demonstrations that start right outside your door, Tal explained, “sit on your guilty conscience. You can’t stay home. “

The slogan “Get Out,” which uses the two-letter Hebrew word “Lech,” has become the latest rallying cry for Netanyahu to step down. The protests center on his upcoming trial on corruption charges and his government’s embattled and confused response to the pandemic. Israel faces record unemployment, and Netanyahu’s critics view him with fear of cracking down in haredi enclaves where coronavirus rates are highest for fear of offending his Orthodox coalition partners.

Netanyahu has repeatedly criticized the protesters as anarchists, and has even called them “aliens.” He also blamed the protests for spreading the virus, although public health experts say there is no such data linking the demonstrations to the outbreaks. Meanwhile, there has been only limited crackdown on large gatherings, often unmasked, in haredi enclaves that have been found to spread the virus.

In fact, Netanyahu’s opponents argue that the kilometer rule is aimed more at crushing protests than protecting Israelis from the virus. But if that was the strategy, it seems to have failed, as more and more people hear one of the characteristic chants of the new movement: “Come down from your balcony, the country collapses” (rhyme in Hebrew, “Titzu me’hamerpeset, hamedina koreset ”).

“This is the only way we can share our opinion, the only way we can assert our democratic rights,” said Ofri Vaisman, 45, a manager of a start-up, and stopped beating a wooden spoon on a small pot to marvel. in the scene around her. “It really strengthens the feeling of belonging.”

Netanyahu’s Likud Party issued a statement saying the protests “cannot cover the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu is successfully leading the blockade that is reducing morbidity.” He said that “the left can continue to protest and Prime Minister Netanyahu will continue to save the lives of the citizens of Israel.”

Back in the Yehuda Ha’Macabee neighborhood, Or Alcon said that he and his wife had been regulars at the Balfour protests and were now in the neighborhood every time they happened. But Alcon said his sister, who was on the street Saturday night with their young children, was joining the protests for the first time.

“A lot of people who wouldn’t think of going to Balfour come here,” he said.

The Balfour demonstrations sometimes resulted in violent clashes with the police, who set off water cannons and used physical force to disperse the protesters. Some of the more recent and local demonstrations have also been met with clashes between protesters and the police, including on Saturday night at HaBima Square in central Tel Aviv.

At the Yehuda Ha’Macabee rally, Tel Aviv police and military border police officers were present on motorcycles, vans and a patrol car, but did not interfere with the protests.

“We are here because we really fear for our democracy at this time when they limit our right to come and protest and at the same time look the other way while ultra-Orthodox communities do what they do,” said Alcon, a 35-year-old. -Old lawyer. “It’s heartwarming and gives you a lot of strength to see your community show up, come together and show what they really think.”

Officials say the Haredim account for about 40% of Israel’s coronavirus cases, more than triple their share of the population. As in New York, some people in haredi communities have disobeyed social distancing rules and continued to participate in large gatherings during the recent high holiday period.

Israel went from being an international poster on how to control the spread of the virus to a warning after a strict lockdown in early spring gave way to a hasty and careless reopening. At the end of September, it had one of the highest infection rates in the world, although deaths have been lower, perhaps due to the relative youth of the state’s population, especially in the Haredi community, where large families are common.

“It’s not real leadership, it’s all political considerations, not professional,” complained a protester, David Shahar, 75, a retired banker, who made a “flag” by tying a black T-shirt to a pole. “You see so many young people here tonight. they are the most economically affected by this crisis ”.

Among the now ubiquitous black flags were also pink flags, meant to symbolize a return of hope and compassion in Israeli society, organizers said.

David Ber, a 52-year-old writer who spoke out Saturday, said it was the fourth time he protested in the neighborhood in the past 10 days.

“We are fed up, to use an American expression,” he said. “The feeling here is that we are united, those of us who feel financially hurt, those who fear for democracy. And people like me who think Netanyahu is corrupt.

“It is very moving to be here,” he continued. “Every time the crowd grows. And you don’t feel alone. I’ve never seen anything like it in this neighborhood and I’ve lived here my whole life. “

Dina Kraft is a freelance journalist in Tel Aviv.