This evening’s protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem is being conducted with relative calm, after Tuesday night’s rally saw clashes with police and led to 50 arrests.
Several hundred people are attending the protest, compared to thousands two days ago. As on Tuesday night, the protesters skew young.
Protesters chant “Bibi to jail” and hold signs calling for a “siege on Balfour.”
In addition to chants, there are drums, vuvuzelas, and cowbells.
Ofra, 54, says this is her second time attending the protests, which have been ongoing for several weeks. “There’s a sense as a country that we’ve totally lost our way, and that the people at the top are out for themselves, not for us,” she says.
Demonstrators protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2020 (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Amit, 26, came from central Israel to attend the protests for the first time. A student, he says the economic impact of coronavirus forced him to move back in with his parents.
“I think this isn’t a right-wing or left-wing rally. I’m not really anywhere on the political spectrum. I have right-wing friends here and left-wing friends here,” Amit says.
Avi Ofer, who says he is one of the protest’s organizers, tells The Times of Israel that about 200 people have signed up to spend the night sleeping in a protest tent at the scene.
— Aaron Boxerman
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