Thousands of Israelis participated in a protest march in central Tel Aviv Saturday night, October 24, against the Netanyahu government’s intransigent policies in the West Bank; its refusal to end the occupation; its perpetuation of the diplomatic deadlock; its mad encouragement of undermining the status quo in the al-Aqsa compound; and its consistent fostering of despair among the Palestinians which has led to the resulting violence which we have witnessed during the past several weeks.
Thousands demonstrated in Tel-Aviv, Saturday night, October 24. (Photo: Peace Now)
The demonstrators, many of them from Peace Now — which organized the event — and the Meretz party, along with several members from Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel, marched from Habima Square to the IDF headquarters on Kaplan Street, waving peace flags and holding signs that read “There is no security without a solution,” and “Managing the conflict is killing us.” They chanting slogans like “Two capitals in Jerusalem” and “No closure or checkpoints – only peace is a solution.”
Among the speakers was the head of Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, who accused the government of “taking an entire country hostage in an unnecessary religious war [in which] we are all paying the price. You have turned the state into a violent, racist, and hopeless place. We have come here to call for an end to the hatred and the incitement, for a struggle against racism, and to demand a political solution — two states for two peoples.”
Meretz MK leader Zehava Galon addressed the crowd. “Bibi, you’ve failed. You’ve failed in providing personal security for the citizens of Israel, you’ve failed in proposing any kind of vision for changing the reality,” she said. “The only thing the Netanyahu government has to offer is for us to arm ourselves and pop anyone who looks like a terrorist on the head. This government is calling for a boycott on Israel’s Arab citizens, is allowing people to kill and agitate against members of the Left,” she said. “I’m telling you Bibi – when blood is spilled here in the name of the Holocaust, the finger won’t be pointed at the Mufti, it will be pointed at you.”.
Hadash lawmakers who asked to address the rally were turned away. According to sources in Hadash, Oppenheimer rejected an offer by MK Aida Touma-Suliman’s (Hadash – Joint List) to participate as a speaker in the event. Oppenheimer told Haaretz there had been no decision to boycott the Hadash MKs. “When they asked [to participate], the list of speakers had already been closed. We decided to hold a limited event with only four speakers,” he said.
