Women take center stage at anti-government rally in Tel Aviv

In honor of yesterday’s International Women’s Day, an emcee on stage at an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv reads off the names of all the women – alive and dead – who remain in Gaza as Hamas hostages, calling for their immediate release.

Like in previous weeks, the lineup of speakers includes a person who was evacuated from their home following October 7, a retired IDF general, and a reserve soldier.

Yahel Kolander, a sociologist from Beit Hillel in northern Israel who was evacuated with her family because of rocket fire from Lebanon, accuses the government of being unable to protect residents against the Hezbollah terror group.

“You all know that the hostages in Gaza could have been us, and the government knows this as well,” Kolander says. “He who abandoned the south will not save the north.”

Between speakers, the crowd chants: “Elections now!”

Gal Alkalai, a student and a reservist in the counterterrorism unit, tells the crowd “Countries that fail in how they treat women, fail,” speaking out against the government’s funding cuts to the Michal Sela fund, which works to prevent violence against women.

She adds that the conduct of women soldiers on October 7 and during the ensuing war “proved once and for all” that women can serve in all positions in the IDF.

An organizer asks protesters to obey police orders and remain on the sidewalks as the speakers end, a week after demonstrators blocked off Begin Street for hours and clashed with police.