Thousands of people took part in rallies around the country Saturday night, June 17, protesting violence against women. In Tel Aviv’s central Habima Square, approximately 500 protesters held signs calling for an end to violence, while similar rallies were held in Jerusalem, Haifa, Afula, Eilat and the Upper Galilee. “We are calling on the Israeli government to hold an emergency meeting to set up a national emergency program to battle violence against women,” read the dedicated Facebook page set up for the nationwide rallies.

Flyer for the rallies held throughout the country against gender violence. The flyer reads: “Protest rally against the murder of women. We won’t be silent as long as the blood of our sisters continues to be spilled.”

According to Joint List lawmaker Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash), who heads the parliamentary committee on the status of women and gender equality: “When there is a recurrence of murders and a lack of exposure of the murderers, like in the last week, anyone can feel that he will not pay a price if he murders.” She continued: “I am calling for an emergency meeting of the ministerial committee for the prevention of violence against women, and for the immediate adoption of the plan drawn up six months ago in addition to taking emergency steps to stop this ongoing injustice.”

Attorney Noa Levy, Secretary General of Hadash in Tel Aviv said in the Habima rally: “The lives of women are cheap in this country. Instead of murders leading to the development of an emergency plan, the far-right government can’t manage to shake the system from its apathy.” She said that the murders were another sign of the “systemic failure of law enforcement and welfare authorities in dealing with these cases of murder of women.”

In September 2014, an inter-ministerial committee was established to combat the problem of domestic violence in Israel. However, despite the government budgeting for the recommendations, they have yet to be implemented.

According to the rallies’ organizers, since the beginning of 2017 a total of 17 women and children have been killed in instances of gender violence. Between 2007 and 2016, 125 women in Israel were murdered by their partners .