Israelis protest for 34th week in a row
Protesters demonstrated on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv and across Israel for a 34th consecutive week as dozens of Israelis protested outside UN Headquarters in New York City.
(Times of Israel) – Dozens of Israelis protested outside UN Headquarters in New York City as Defence Minister Yoav Gallant met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
It comes after protesters demonstrated on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv and across Israel for a 34th consecutive week against the government’s plans to overhaul the judicial system.
Standing across from the UN, the protesters chanted “Dem-o-cratia” and “We’ll never give up” to the beat of a snare drum, with the noise reaching the UN’s main entrance.
The crowd wore shirts from Israeli protest groups and carried signs that said, “Be a leader, not a coward,” and “Gallant: We saved you from Bibi, now you save us from Bibi”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant earlier this year after the defence minister spoke out against the divisive judicial overhaul. The dismissal set off massive protests throughout Israel, and Netanyahu later reversed the decision amid heavy public pressure.
The anti-overhaul protesters, led by the expat activist group UnXeptable, have hounded Israeli officials during visits to the region throughout the year, and demonstrated outside Gallant’s hotel early on Monday morning.
“Gallant owes his position as defence minister to us, to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who protested in the streets when he was dismissed by Netanyahu for merely doing his duty to safeguard Israel. We’re here to remind him of his pledge,” protesters said in a statement.
With the legislative push to weaken the judiciary on hold amid the Knesset’s summer recess, anti-government demonstrators in Israel have increasingly highlighted other grievances, including recent incidents of discrimination against women and the sway religious parties hold on the ruling coalition.
Continuing to branch out, protesters in Tel Aviv on Saturday night also highlighted surging violent crime in Arab communities, as the government faces increased criticism over its response to record homicide numbers.
The keynote speaker at the main protest on Kaplan Street was the Arab mayor of Tira, Mamoun Abd al-Hay.
“Blood is flowing in our streets, and what do the governments of Israel do? Dismantle the police, halt budgets that are supposed to go toward education,” al-Hay said.
“I have been mayor for 15 years … this is the worst government that has ever been.
“Whoever appoints [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir to keep us safe, doesn’t want to keep us safe. A minister who doesn’t want us in the country will protect us? A minister who hates Arabs will protect Arab children?”
Meanwhile, a judge has ruled that MK Simcha Rothman of the far-right Religious Zionism party cannot demand restraining orders against 400 activists who he said were going to protest against him during his holiday this weekend.
Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Naeel Mohana initially shrank Rothman’s request from every member of a WhatsApp group dedicated to hounding him over the judicial overhaul – called “Searching for Rothman in the Golan Heights” – to just three specific activists.
But Mohana then also rejected the request to issue restraining orders against the trio, saying that the protest is legitimate free speech and he saw no reason to curtail it.
However, the judge also suggested that protests against Rothman when his children are present be limited, to avoid their pictures being taken and distributed against their parents’ wishes.
Rothman, one of the architects of the government’s divisive judicial overhaul program, has had a number of run-ins with protesters, including a May incident in which he snatched a megaphone from a protester marching behind him while walking in New York City.
Earlier this month, hundreds of protesters gathered near a moshav where Netanyahu and his wife were holidaying in the Golan Heights.
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