‘The people at the top are dealing with crazy things’ and not the pandemic, protester says

Protesters from all over the country fill Paris Square outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem this evening to call for his resignation.

“They stole from the poor to give to the rich, what a corrupt government!” protesters chant, as the crowd’s noise rises to a deafening roar.

Gidi Carmon, 23, came from Modiin to attend the anti-Netanyahu protests for the first time. A student at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, he lost a part-time job at the beginning of the pandemic which he used to make ends meet.

“The people at the top are dealing with crazy things instead of the economy and with people’s health, like tax breaks for Netanyahu. It’s time for him to resign,” Carmon, who identifies himself as center-left, tells The Times of Israel.

“Take annexation — it’s not even about right or wrong, it’s about timing. How did they spend so much time on that in the middle of this crisis?” Carmon asks rhetorically, referring to Israel’s declared intent to annex parts of the West Bank.

Joint List MKs Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif join the demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence.

“Corona is less dangerous than the tyranny of Bibi-ism,” Cassif says in a statement.

— Aaron Boxerman