Saturday night in Jerusalem means thousands of Israelis are marching again from the entrance of the city to the Prime Minister’s residence at Balfour St in protest against the government. New for this week: Israelis abroad are demonstrating simultaneously in 18 cities worldwide.
“Justice for Solomon [Teka], Justice for Eyad [al-Hallaq]” (Ethiopian and Palestinian victims of police violence respectively) has been the call of the leftist bloc at these protests since the beginning; it’s now become one of the central chants of this protest movement
Another issue that has been absorbed into this amorphous protest movement is that of rape culture and violence against women, following a shocking rape in Eilat recently. “Which part of no didn’t you understand yet? No is no is no is no is no”
And we’re off, with a rendition of “Bibi Ciao”
“Democracy For All”
“There is a right-winger who doesn’t choose Bibi”
Police already struggling to prevent the march from deviating from the path they prefer
A large model submarine emblazoned with the word “liar”, in reference to the as yet not fully investigated “submarine affair” which could implicate Bibi in further corruption
“Revolution”
“We are the hope”
“Bibism = fascism”
Jerusalem’s central Jaffa Street is completely flooded with protestors marching to Bibi’s residence
The light rail has no chance
But a police car forces its way through the crowd
The march has paused at Zion Square in the city centre, and protestors are now sitting and blocking Jaffa Street entirely
“Right-wingers are [our] brothers”
“There’s no difference between one and the other, because we’re all humans”
Balfour might be the destination, but this march isn’t heading there any time soon. Continuing through the city centre, now alongside the Old City
Jaffa Gate in the background
Police have temporarily blocked off the road to traffic as the march finally turns towards Balfour
The march has arrived at Paris Square, where the protests have been taking place each week, but many of these protestors are opting not to enter the square tonight and to remain on the streets outside it in order to make it harder for the police to contain and disperse
The number inside the square is again likely in the tens of thousands, and includes MK Ofer Cassif who just addressed the Hadash bloc
Tonight the Breslov Chasidim have joined the protests, after the government’s decision to prevent this year’s pilgrimage to the grave of Rebbe Nachman in Uman, Ukraine. This sign reads “Netanyahu is against Rebbe Nachman”
Paris Square falls completely silent
No police intrusion yet - by this time last week the protest had been dispersed
A few announcements over the loudspeaker from the police chief but no attempt yet to disperse the several hundred still present in the square
Strangely it seems that the roads have been opened to traffic before the police have dispersed the protestors from the square
Protest and traffic coexisting for the moment
And now the arrests have begun
Another arrest
Police have cleared the roads and pushed the protestors to the pavements around the square. New tactic.
Remaining protesters are now being ushered down one of the streets leading out of the square. That’s it for another week
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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.
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/
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”
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.
[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.
[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…