Hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied Saturday evening as part of ongoing demonstrations against the far-right government, with tensions elevated ahead of Memorial Day and Israel’s 75th Independence Day next week.
Hadash chair Issam Makhoul at the Anti-Occupation Bloc demonstration in Kaplan Street, Central Tel-Aviv on Saturday evening, April 23, 2023 (Photo: Zo Haderech)
Protest organizers stated that about 380 thousand protesters came out in the 16th week of protests, with 165 thousand in Tel Aviv, 3,500 in Rehovot, two thousand in Holon, 5,500 in Kiryat Ono, 28 thousand in Netanya, seven thousand in Rishon Lezion and 400 in Eilat. In Herzliya, were reported around 13 thousand protesters at the demonstration in the city. In Haifa, there at least 30 thousand demonstrators and 15 thousand in Jerusalem.
Anti-Occupation Bloc activists, among them Hadash and Communist Party of Israel members, rallied on Saturday night in several locations among them Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Herzliya, Beer-Sheba, Netanya, Kfar Saba, Carmiel, Hod Hasharon, HaGomeh Junction in Upper Galilee, Tzemach Junction at the Sea of Galilee and Pardes Hanna–Karkur.
At the main protest in Tel Aviv, members of bereaved families set up a makeshift memorial with candles to commemorate fallen soldiers. The families urged far-right politicians to stay clear of cemeteries on Memorial Day, which begins Monday.
Police said around 20 of the protesters entered Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway, near the Hashalom Junction, but were quickly dispersed by officers. In another incident on Yitzhak Sadeh, several protesters attempted to enter the Ayalon Highway, but also were blocked by officers, according to police.
In Jerusalem, thousands marched to Paris Square, near the prime minister’s official residence, from their usual Saturday night gathering point outside the President’s Residence. Former Education Minister Limor Livnat, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and an outspoken right-wing critic of the government’s judicial overhaul plan, accused the government of promising “security, peace and governance” while solely focusing on the “coup to crush the legal system.” Elsewhere, some 2,000 protesters gathered at the Karkur Junction in northern Israel, where weekly demonstrations have been held. Some 300 protesters marched from Karkur to the nearby junction.
Anti-Occupation Bloc activists, among them Hadash and Communist Party of Israel members, rallied on Saturday night several locations among them Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Herzliya, Netanya, Kfar Saba, Carmiel, Hod Hasharon and Pardes Hanna–Karkur.
Today, Netanyahu canceled his participation in a Sunday evening event sponsored by Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), in honor of Israel’s 75th Independence Day – because of the huge protests planned inside and outside of the Expo Tel Aviv convention center. Thousands of protesters were planning on surrounding Expo Tel Aviv where the conference is expected to take place.
