Tens of thousands march in Tel Aviv against ‘Bennett-Abbas’ government
More than 20,000 Israelis gathered on Tuesday night in the centre of Tel Aviv for a protest rally against what they are calling the “Bennett-Abbas” government, led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and supported by the Islamist Ra’am party and its head Mansour Abbas.
The protestors in Tel Aviv. (Elyashiv Rakowski/TPS)
The thousands of protestors gathered at Habima Square and demanded “the preservation of the Jewish identity of the State of Israel,” warning that the country’s Jewish identity was at risk of effacement by the government.
The rally was organized by several right-wing organizations, and was attended by Members of Knesset, public figures, rabbis, activists, and bereaved families and terror victims. Crowds received blue flags, the new symbol of protest against the government and in favor of a Jewish state.
The rally comers said they opposed the ties between Bennett and Ra’am, which they said is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
As a sign of protest against the ties uncovered in recent weeks between members of the government and Hamas in Gaza, activists hung Israeli flags with the Star of David together with the symbol of the Muslim Crescent at several locations across the country, including in the Jordan Valley, the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, and the city of Lod, the recent scene of Muslim violence.
The media has exposed in recent weeks direct ties between Ra’am officials and Hamas officials in Gaza.
During the rally, blue ribbons were distributed to protesters, similar to the orange ribbons distributed during the 2005 protests against the disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
The organizers said that in the coming months, millions of blue ribbons will be distributed to Israelis throughout the country.
“The general public voted with their feet. Tens of thousands came to identify with the struggle and protest against the conduct of the Israeli government,” the organizers stated.
“The government forgets that we are a Jewish and democratic state, that our ancestors fought to establish, and today it is trying to blur the country’s identity. There is no legitimacy to this government and we do not accept it. We will continue to fight for the State of Israel to remain a Jewish state,” they declared.
