‘Democracy!’ Thousands of cheering protesters make their way toward the Knesset

Cheering “Democracy!” hundreds of protesters spill off a train arriving in Jerusalem. Looking at the packed escalators above them, a number congratulate themselves with a cheer of “Kol hakavod!” or “Way to go.”

“I am worried for the future of my three grandchildren. It will be a dictatorship like Hungary or Poland,” says Etty Pass, 74, from Ramat Gan, who arrived alone. “This isn’t like it was when I was younger,” she adds, sweeping her hand to gesture at the assembled crowd.

“I don’t have vacation days from work, but it was important for me to come,” says Tahel, a working mother from Herzliya. Accompanied by her two young children and husband, Tahel joins countless others who chose to pull their children out of school in order to protest in Jerusalem.

They join the crowd of thousands marching toward the Knesset, accompanied by cheers, Israeli flags, and drumbeats.