Gantz blames 'extremist government' for protest violence

Jerusalem protests rage for 2nd day as cabinet set to vote to fire Shin Bet head Bar

Police shove Democrats chair Yair Golan to the ground outside Netanyahu’s home, use water cannons to disperse demonstrators; cops tow cars after activists block Paris Square

By Charlie Summers, Sam Sokol
and ToI Staff 20 March 2025, 5:07 pm Edit
During protests in which police also used water cannons, officers shoved The Democrats party chief Yair Golan outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem, March 20, 2025. (Ofri Eitan/X)

Demonstrators rallied in Jerusalem for a second day Thursday, spurred on by an imminent cabinet meeting to discuss the dismissal of Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, the government’s efforts to renew highly controversial legislation to increase political power over the judiciary, and the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal.

During demonstrations outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home, police unleashed water cannons on protesters, and two policemen were filmed forcefully shoving the leader of The Democrats party, Yair Golan, knocking him and several others to the ground.

In one video of the incident, Golan appeared to be running up to assist a protester after a policeman shoved him, before being pushed by the officer himself.

A protester could be seen sprawled on the ground after he was apparently hit by one of the police water cannons, while another protester was seen bleeding in the face due to a water cannon blast, Hebrew media reported.

Police denied media reports that they had used water cannons filled with skunk-scented water.

Golan promised to “continue to struggle” against the government after being shoved.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. After 38 years in the IDF, a few pushes won’t stop me and us,” he tweeted, pledging not to “stop for a moment” in leading a “determined struggle” to halt the coalition’s judicial overhaul agenda, bring back the hostages and “replace the government.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said on X after the incident that he “strongly condemns” police violence.

Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff and current opposition party leader, “cannot be harmed while demonstrating for Israeli democracy,” Lapid said in a statement, calling on Police Commissioner Daniel Levy to “order an immediate investigation into the incident.”

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz accused Netanyahu’s government of inciting violence after Golan was shoved.

“What we have seen in the last few days was not born in a vacuum,” he tweeted, noting that on Wednesday a taxi driver had rammed into a protester in an apparent intentional attack. “All of this is a direct result of an extremist government that has lost its restraint and is busy widening the division among the people instead of [promoting] unity. Stop before a disaster happens.”

The major protests launched Wednesday came as the government was preparing to oust Bar as well as Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, two officials who have drawn the ire of Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition in recent months. A meeting to approve Bar’s dismissal was to be held Thursday evening, while reports indicated the cabinet could attempt to oust Baharav-Miara next week.

Drawing on the same rhetoric harnessed by US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu claimed Wednesday that Israel’s “leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people’s will” by obstructing the work of his government.

Outrage over preparations to sack Bar and potentially Baharav-Miara, coupled with the resumption of fighting in Gaza that has left the fate of remaining hostages uncertain, has generated greater enthusiasm for the anti-government protests.

Led by a group of Jerusalem-based academics, hundreds of demonstrators marched in the rain on Thursday morning from Hebrew University’s Givat Ram campus to the nearby neighborhood of Rehavia, where Netanyahu’s home is located. The demonstration was organized by Tel Aviv University president Ariel Porat and Israel Bar Association head Amit Becher, among other academics living in the capital.

They joined others near the residence on Azza Street.

Border police officers barricaded part of the street leading to the residence and brought out two water cannons, which they later used on demonstrators.

Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, an outspoken critic of Netanyahu after serving in his government until 2016, also attended the protest.

Earlier in the morning, members of the Civil Rebellion protest group blocked Paris Square in Jerusalem with their cars. In response, police towed the vehicles and arrested some of the activists.

Later on Thursday, protesters planned to march from Azza Street to the Government Quarter, where a demonstration was to be held outside the scheduled cabinet meeting at which ministers would discuss firing Bar.

On Wednesday, at least 12 protesters were arrested during a rally outside Netanyahu’s home after a long day of mass protests. Police clashed with demonstrators as many attempted to break through crowd control barriers and block roads to traffic.

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