Protestors took to the streets in multiple cities in Israel on Saturday, April 4th, condemning the war against Iran and the ongoing military action in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. Although the Israeli High Court of Justice issued an order allowing the demonstrations to take place, police in Tel Aviv declared the protest unlawful, violently dispersing the crowd and arresting 17 demonstrators.
The arrested protestors were handcuffed and loaded onto a police bus, at which time a bomb siren alerted people in the area to immediately enter a shelter. Even though the demonstration was directly above a shelter capable of protecting 5,000 people, police did not allow the arrested demonstrators to enter the shelter, instead holding them in a glass-windowed building lobby that would be completely vulnerable to missile attack. According to one anti-war demonstrator, Alon-Lee Green, the police told him, “It’s your problem you decided to protest in the middle of a war.” Green explains, “This is a risk of our lives. This is something that is breaking also the law. No one is allowed to prevent you to be in a shelter when there’s a siren. And the police is breaking the law in Israel.”
Although most Israelis are still in favor of the war, this support is on the decline, with just 50 percent of Israelis “strongly supporting the war,” down from 74 percent in March. Support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is also decreasing as these wars continue, with 68 percent of Israelis currently reporting low trust in their government. As one demonstrator, Ofer Cassif, who was assaulted during Saturday’s protest stated, “We know that the real interests of the governments are against the interest of the peoples, and we do whatever we can in order to protest and stop this bloodshed.”
These imperialist wars serve no benefit to the people living in the region, but only cause death, destruction, and instability. People who are just trying to go about their lives in Israel and Iran have much more in common with each other than they do with the rich and powerful who choose to start these wars. Even under intense police repression, to the point of risking their lives, the anti-war movement in Israel continues to grow. We stand with the growing number of people who are willing to speak out against endless war being waged in their name.
Image credit: Itai Ron
