Tel Aviv protesters rail against Shin Bet election probe, call for new government to fire Zini

Some 200 people protest at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square against Shin Bet chief David Zini, accusing him of catering to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by allegedly manufacturing an investigation into claims of foreign interference in last week’s Knesset election.

Speakers call for a new government to unseat Netanyahu and fire Zini, with the Shin Bet’s former attorney general Eli Bechar saying it is “a danger to Israeli democracy” for Zini to remain in office.

In a speech reminiscent of a civics class, former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon also confirms Thursday’s Haaretz report that he met with Zini this week after being invited to consult on the election interference probe.

Ayalon, who has criticized Zini, says he saw the invitation as a “brave” move and “maybe a small step toward mending” their differences.

But Ayalon suggests Zini is beholden to Netanyahu and that the election probe runs counter to the Shin Bet’s task of protecting “the democratic rule of law” in Israel.

“The head of the Shin Bet serves Israeli democracy,” Ayalon says. “Not the ruler.”

Dan Meridor, a former Likud minister whose son Shaul is now a senior member of Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, says at the rally that the government has “polluted Zionism with racism” and that Israeli democracy is “quickly eroding.”

He calls for a government with anyone who “agrees with the core values this country is built on, as written in the Declaration of Independence,” which says Israel will be a “Jewish state” with equal rights for all citizens.

“Whoever agrees — Jew or Arab, Haredi or secular — is welcome to take part,” says Meridor.

The speakers are addressing a demonstration in Habima Square’s southwest corner led by the Movement for Quality Government corruption watchdog, which unsuccessfully petitioned the High Court against Zini’s appointment last year.

The demonstration is distinct from an earlier rally on the square’s southeast corner that demanded a Jewish-Arab government and featured more overtly left-wing tropes, such as chants against “occupation.”

The earlier rally, which drew younger protesters from a number of left-wing activist groups, peters out during the speeches.

When the Movement for Quality Government rally ends with Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva,” a handful of youths who stayed after the earlier rally sit down.

Also during the speeches, about two dozen Netanyahu supporters rally on the square’s northeast corner, behind a cordon of fences police put up in advance to prevent friction.

Using Netanyahu’s nickname, supporters of the premier sing, “Bibi is the king of Israel.”

When a group of anti-government protesters gather outside the cage-like enclosure, officers who stand by the security cordon demand they step back and not create “provocations.”