Anti-Netanyahu protest spills over into nearby streets as crowd continues to grow

Protesters have filled all of Paris Square and Ben Maimon Boulevard, as more continue to arrive at the demonstration outside Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence. The crowd, spilling over into the surrounding streets, is far more tightly packed and taking up far more space than at any previous protest.

Several clusters of demonstrators are rallying together. Members of the HaShomer HaTzair youth movement, wearing their distinctive blue shirts with red laces, hold signs and chant against the Prime Minister. Many protesters are wearing the “no way” and “crime minister” t-shirts that have become associated with the so-called Black Flag movement against the Prime Minister.

Close to Ramban Street, some young activists from the far-left Hadash party wave the red flags associated with the Communist youth movement Maki. On nearby Agron Street, Roli and Shoshi, two Jerusalem residents, hold signs saying “united against the detached government.”

“We felt an obligation to be here and show that this is not a protest by anarchists or by the fringe. This protest is by the majority of the people,” Roli says.

“I’m not right-wing, but I wish the Likud would bring back the fair and good people they used to have, and that they would tell Bibi — no further,” he adds.

— Aaron Boxerman