Protestors played dead outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening, to simulate casualties in a demonstration against an Israeli strike on Iran. The protesters, mainly Hadash, Communist Party of Israel and left-wing activists, chanted “No to war” and “We don’t want another war,” waved signs reading “No to an attack on Iran,” “Social justice demands peace,” “Strip Middle East of weapons of mass destruction,” “Dialogue, not bombs” and “Ehud Barak is leading us to ruin.” Some of the protesters wrapped themselves in shrouds and lay on the ground as though they were dead.

Protest in front of the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv against an Israeli attack on Iran, August 23, 2012 (Photo: Activestills)

“We are protesting against Barak and (Prime Minister Benjamin) apparent plan to launch a war that would endanger the entire region,” said Niv Michael, 25, a member of Hadash. “They are trying to divert attention from the budget cuts and the high unemployment rate,” he said.

MK Dov Khenin (Hadash), a fixture of social justice and anti-war rallies in Israel, addressed the crowd, saying: “If this war happens, there won’t be a public debate before and our voice won’t be heard, we’ll all just wake up in the morning, turn on the radio and hear the news.” “History tells us that talk of war usually leads to a war,” Khenin warned, adding that the Israeli home front is desperately unprepared for a war with Iran. Meanwhile, dozens protested outside Barak’s home in Tel Aviv, as they have every day in the past two weeks. “We are determined and sense that we are having an effect. The resistance movement will carry on until an attack on Iran is no longer an option,” one Hadash demonstrator said.

Also on Thursday, dozens of people demonstrated in Merkaz Hacarmel, in Haifa, and outside the Prime Minister’s Residence, in Jerusalem, and chanted, “We want education and welfare – not missiles and war.” One of the protesters, Yuval Shilo a member of Hadash, said: “There is a silent majority that fears Netanyahu and Barak’s maneuver.”