‘Set a date for elections now,’ demand protesters in Jerusalem

Hundreds gather outside the President’s Residence in Jerusalem for a protest organized by the Safeguarding Our Shared Home group, calling for new elections.

It’s been several weeks that the group, which organized last year’s weekly anti-judicial overhaul protests, has been calling for new elections.

The first speaker is Sigalit Tchernihovsky, whose son, Or Tchernihovsky, was killed at the Supernova desert rave on October 7.

“I’m asking for wiser agreements, for unified thinking,” says Tchernihovsky, who stops several times to swallow tears as she describes 29-year-old “Oriki,” who was “full of light” like his name.

“We want a different kind of leadership,” she demands.

The second and final speaker is Avner Vilan, a former Defense Ministry official who is now the CEO of a startup.

Vilan tells the crowd that he knows it feels unnatural to protest with soldiers on the borders, with hostages still held captive in Gaza, with evacuees not in their homes.

“People told you it’s not fitting to come protest tonight, during a war,” says Vilan. “The problem is, no one will say when the war will be over. The government is running the war as if it’s a TikTok story. How can the IDF win if they have no idea what the plan is for after the war?”

This government can’t do what’s needed, says Vilan. He points out what war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot said about the government during a recent television interview, when he said that the “absolute defeat” of Hamas is a tall tale.

“Our demand is simple,” says Vilan. “Set a date for elections now.”

The crowd claps and begins calling “Achshav! (Now).”

At the end of the protest, people gather with Israeli flags, some tied with yellow ribbons, to march to nearby Paris Square for a separate gathering calling for the release of the hostages.