Major anti-government protests return to Tel Aviv as criticism of Netanyahu mounts
Thousands of anti-government demonstrators filled a central thoroughfare in Tel Aviv on Saturday, the same street where demonstrations roiled the nation before the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, in the biggest display of anger toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in months.
In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 Hamas-led attacks, which Israeli officials say killed some 1,200 people, the country was in shock and anti-government protests were suspended. The protesters said at the time that they felt the need to be united as a nation, and many demonstrators were drafted into the military reserves or volunteered to help in the war effort.
But as the war has passed the four-month mark, anti-government protests have become increasingly fierce. On Saturday, calls for immediate elections rang out over the deafening noise of air horns. In the middle of a drum circle, a red flare was lit that played marching melodies. Flag-waving demonstrators stared down half a dozen police officers on horseback.
“The people must rise up, and the government must go,” said Yuval Lerner, 57, referring to Netanyahu's right-wing governing coalition. He said that even before the war, he had lost confidence that the government had the country's best interests at heart.
Major anti-government protests over plans to weaken the country's judiciary were a routine occurrence before the outbreak of war in Israel. Tens of thousands of demonstrators then gathered on Tel Aviv's Kaplan Street, the same street as Saturday night's protest.
Karen Saar, 50, who wore a sweatshirt with the words “deposition now,” said the return to Kaplan Street was symbolic. “It's the Kaplan protests,” she said, repeating the locally used phrase. “We have returned the protest movement to where it was before the tragedy and the war.”
The protests against Mr Netanyahu and the government are separate from the increasingly divisive public debate over the state of affairs in Gaza regarding the hostages captured by Hamas and other groups on October 7. There are still more than 130 hostages in the enclave, including at least thirty who are presumed dead, according to Israeli security services. There have also been regular demonstrations demanding the government prioritize their release.
On Saturday, a protester told the government he believed the time was right to return to the streets. Shahar Danziger, 45, who carried a flag for Brothers in Arms, a grassroots organization made up of Israeli military veterans and reservists dedicated to helping those affected by the war, said it was difficult to start protesting again until recently when some of his colleagues served as reservists.
Initially, “we set up to help in times of war,” he said. “But now is the time to demonstrate.”