by Eve Young
Protesters held signs that read, "Governance without limitations is a danger to Israel," and "There is no victory without Lieutenant Hadar Goldin."
 |
Thousands of protesters marched from the Knesset towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Aza Street home, filling the roads around the residence Wednesday.
Another group of protesters from the Shift 101 protest for the hostages blocked the road by Jerusalem's Paris Square.
At least four were arrested as part of the protests, according to Maarach Otef Atzurim, a civil organization that provides legal aid to protesters.
Protests were originally planned after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he intended to advance the firing of Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Chief Ronen Bar, a move seen by many as a direct threat to Israeli democracy, in part because the Shin Bet is leading the "Qatargate" investigation of Netanyahu's office.
Calls for protest only intensified as Israel returned to attacking Gaza early Tuesday, with protesters calling to prioritize bringing the hostages home and charging the government with returning to war as part of political calculations to maintain its power rather than for the good of the country.
Protesters marched into Jerusalem from Motza before gathering outside the Knesset Wednesday morning and hearing from speakers, including heads of regional councils, who called to bring the hostages home.
Those gathered called out against a "fascist" government and against a dictatorship.
The protest included groups and individuals focused on the hostages, stopping the perceived reignition of the judicial overhaul, and ending the war.
An alumnus of the Eshkol Regional Council high school, located in the council where many of the communities that Hamas brutally attacked are located, came to the protest to call on Israel's leaders to bring the hostages back.
Tomer, the alumnus, said that 102 people from the community of alumni from the school were kidnapped on October 7, and he had come to Jerusalem to call on Israel's leadership to do something he said was basic - bring the hostages home.
Max, a reservist who is part of the Soldiers for the Hostages movement, came to the protest to hand out flyers and call on other reservists to draw a line regarding their service. The group consists of soldiers who served during the war and have now been pushed to their limit, Max explained.
"There is a limit to how much we are going to continue to obey orders when these orders are very clearly killing our hostages, not bringing us any closer to the goals that were described at the beginning of the war," Max said, adding that the decisions that are being made now by Israel's leadership are being made for political reasons.
Masses also gathered in Habima square Tuesday night, with organizers saying tens of thousands were there, to hear former heads of Israel's security bodies, including former Shin Bet head Yoram Cohen, former Israel Police chief Roni Alsheikh, and mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, Einav.
The crowd then marched to the IDF's military headquarters to join a protest calling to bring the hostages home now.
Wednesday protests
Numerous
protests are planned throughout Wednesday, with some protest
organizations calling on participants to stay in Jerusalem for multiple
days. WhatsApp groups were opened so that protesters could connect with
people who live in Jerusalem and are willing to host them.
Eve Young
Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-846659
No comments:
Post a Comment