Ben Reiff Profile picture
Aug 22, 2020 27 tweets 8 min read Read on X
Saturday night in Jerusalem means another thousands-strong protest against Netanyahu’s government. This time, however, rather than spending the evening at Balfour, we’re marching to Bibi’s house from Meitarim Bridge at the entrance to the city
Protestors blocking roads en route to Balfour
The police refused to grant a permit for this march but it hasn’t stopped thousands from joining. Some police here running to catch up with the front of the march
A car covered in Bibi and Likud posters & flags has arrived to the front of the march. Protestors largely ignoring it
The protest arrives to its destination outside Balfour, as large as ever
“Israel today is yours, Israel tomorrow is ours” [Israel Today is the pro-Bibi newspaper] Image
A message being spread on WhatsApp before this evening was calling on protestors not to enter the barricaded square, in order to make it harder for the police to disperse. Here’s a small group still marching through the streets, chanting “we’re not afraid”
This whole crowd is standing outside the barricade. Police are currently not letting anyone in or out of the nearest entrance of the square to here - they seem unsure how to deal with what’s happening
Image
Police have now made a human barricade to contain the overflow protestors. Lots on horseback behind them. Still not allowing entry into the square from here Image
Police have eventually reacted by removing the main barricade at this side of the square, uniting the inner and outer protests
Among other things, these protests have been notable for the growing bloc centering the core issues of Israel’s Ethiopian community. Here they chant “until when? Avera Mengistu”
“Love Avera as yourself” [a play on the biblical commandment to “love your neighbour as yourself”] Image
Silent disco! (around the XR Red Brigade)
Police already entering part of the crowd with lots of force, as reports come through of a policeman striking a protestor on the head during the march earlier
Red brigade down Image
And up! Image
Police seemingly entering the crowd to confiscate megaphones
Earlier than usual (at 11 on the dot) police have declared the protest illegal and have already started entering the crowd to make arrests
These folks aren’t going anywhere Image
This is the reaction as the police chief tries another announcement over the loudspeaker
Bibi behind bars
Police now entering en masse to disperse
In come the horses
Police using lots of force even as protestors are at the exit
Paramedics wheeling a man with a head wound into an ambulance, as the woman accompanying him says he was waiting 30 minutes for treatment since the police wouldn’t allow the ambulance to enter Image
Protestors have mostly been removed from the square but those leaving from this exit are now marching away together still chanting

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More from @bentreyf

Oct 30, 2023
In a truly jaw-dropping document revealed in full today by @yuval_abraham in @972mag, Israel’s Intelligence Ministry officially proposes the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinian residents in the framework of the current war. 972mag.com/intelligence-m…
The Intelligence Ministry is not a particularly consequential body, and the chances of the plan being put into action appear slim, but the fact that this is being discussed at all among senior Israeli policymakers should cause serious alarm.
The document explains how exactly such a move would be carried out, including with the help of varying propaganda messages targeted at Palestinians, the Arab world, and the international community writ large.
Read 7 tweets
Apr 18, 2022
Something happened last night at a small protest in Tel Aviv which illustrated Israeli apartheid in one of the most blatant ways that I’ve ever personally witnessed. 1/
The protest took place in front of the Shin Bet HQ (Israel’s internal security services) which is right next to Tel Aviv University, on the lands of the depopulated and destroyed Palestinian village of Sheikh Muwannis. 2/
It was a protest against Israel’s policy of administrative detention, by which it detains hundreds of Palestinians at a time without charge or trial. Around 40 Israelis gathered with Palestinians flags and posters bearing the faces of Palestinian minors currently detained. 3/
Read 12 tweets
Mar 15, 2022
This is how Israeli apartheid works:

A judge who lives in an illegal settlement is determining whether to expel 1,000+ Palestinians from Masafer Yatta, where they have lived for generations, in line with the state’s claim that they are “illegally living in an army firing zone”
Read 4 tweets
Feb 21, 2021
Bristol lecturer David Miller’s antisemitism is subtle, and the whole affair provides an excellent example of why it’s so important to listen to Jews on the left when discussing antisemitism on the left. [THREAD]
The right-wing/mainstream Jewish bodies are focusing on his desire to “end Zionism”, which is not inherently antisemitic. Miller and his acolytes know that, and so they argue that the antisemitism accusations are just a pro-Israel smear campaign.
Nothing new here so far. And if that was all, Jews on the left would be coming to his defence - as we have done for a number of others. But Miller goes further than simply a critique of Zionism.
Read 12 tweets
Oct 3, 2020
[Thread:] Throughout his career Netanyahu has maintained power by inciting Jewish Israelis against Palestinians in Israel and the OPTs, which has resulted in countless acts of racist violence by his supporters. Who’ve been the second biggest target of his incitement? The left.
It’s no surprise then that since the current wave of mass anti-government demonstrations began in June, protestors (who Bibi called “anarchists” & “aliens”) have sporadically been targeted with violence by pro-Bibi groups and individuals, especially Beitar ultras “La Familia”.
Earlier this week Netanyahu extended the lockdown regulations to include a ban on protesting further than 1km from home. While stifling the regular demonstrations at Balfour and other epicentres, protestors responded by demonstrating at every street corner across the country.
Read 11 tweets
Sep 6, 2020
[THREAD] Gideon Levy won’t join the current anti-gov protests because, rather than Bibi’s corruption, “the occupation is what makes the Israeli regime clearly undemocratic”. He’s right, but he’s blinded by his own cynicism and failing to recognise an opportunity.
Let’s leave aside the fact that these protests are also dealing with other important issues like the gov’s terrible support for those who’ve lost their livelihoods because of the pandemic, and that mass mobilisations like this are inherently good for politicisation and democracy.
In stark contrast to the much maligned social protests of 2011 which deliberately ignored Palestine/the occupation in order to avoid “politicisation” (one of several fatal flaws to that movement), this time anti-occupation groups are coming strong. 972mag.com/anti-occupatio…
Read 10 tweets

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