Thousands in Jerusalem protest Netanyahu’s firing of Gallant for second night
Einav Zangauker, Yehuda Cohen join silent sit-in outside PM’s residence; former head of religious boys high school delivers plea for Haredim to enlist at protest outside Knesset
Thousands of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem and at dozens of locations around Israel on Wednesday evening as they geared up for a second night of protests after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant a day earlier.
In Jerusalem, demonstrators gathered near the Knesset as they demanded that Netanyahu rescind the decision, which will come into effect on Thursday evening, 48 hours after the premier handed Gallant a one-sentence letter informing him of his dismissal.
The prime minister said that he had fired the defense minister, a longtime rival within the Likud Party, due to mutual distrust that Netanyahu said “helped the enemy.”
The move was largely seen by critics, however, as motivated by political considerations, including efforts to pass legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox men from mandatory military service, which Gallant had opposed.
Spontaneous protests with tens of thousands of participants erupted Tuesday night following Gallant’s ouster, including chaotic demonstrations that shut down major highways in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem, but drew far smaller crowds than massive rallies sparked by Netanyahu’s first attempt to fire Gallant in March 2023.
Organizers were hoping to draw larger crowds on Wednesday, planning a more polished event where activists protested in support of Gallant and many of the issues he had split with Netanyahu on.
At the Jerusalem protest, activists called for a deal to release hostages held in Gaza, urged the cancellation of a planned bill enshrining draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students in law and demanded a State Commission of Inquiry into the failures surrounding the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught.
The three issues were highlighted by Gallant on Tuesday night as the main areas of disagreement with Netanyahu that ultimately led to his dismissal.
A Channel 12 poll on Wednesday night found that 55% of Israelis were opposed to the firing of Gallant, with 32% in favor. Thirteen percent had no opinion.
Rabbi Jeremy Stavisky, the former principal of the Himmelfarb High School for religious boys, addressed the crowd outside the Knesset with an impassioned plea for Haredi men to enlist in the IDF and complete the mandatory military service that is required of them.
Stavisky’s son-in-law Yinon Fleischman was killed when a tank overturned on the border of northern Israel last October.
“Has morality disappeared from our religious life?” asked Stavisky. “Every time I see the cynical ‘we will die and not enlist’ sign, an image of my son-in-law Yinon flashes before my eyes.”
He questioned the motives of the parties in the coalition that have lent support to the two ultra-Orthodox parties in their efforts to preserve the exemption of ultra-Orthodox males from military service after the High Court ruled earlier this year that there was no longer any legal framework for doing so.
“How has the Religious Zionism party neglected the Torah of Rav Kook?” he asked, referring to one of the founders of the religious Zionist movement.
Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon also took to the main stage outside the Knesset, voicing disbelief over the bombshell dismissal of Gallant.
“Who would have thought that the prime minister would replace an experienced defense minister with an inexperienced one during a never-ending war on seven fronts in order to preserve his coalition?” Ya’alon wondered.
Ya’alon, who served as defense minister under Netanyahu between 2013-2016, also addressed the ongoing investigation into illicit access to IDF intel and leaks from the Prime Minister’s Office, implying that Netanyahu had directly overseen efforts to sabotage any potential hostage deal “so that [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir don’t break up the coalition.”
Following the speeches outside the Knesset, protesters set out toward Netanyahu’s private residence on Azza Street, where demonstrators were taking part in a sit-in protest to call for a deal to release the hostages.
Dressed in white and sitting silently on the ground, participants at the sit-in were in stark contrast to the louder, more boisterous protests elsewhere in the city.
The sit-in was attended by Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan Zangauker was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Yehuda Cohen, father of Nimrod Cohen, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Applause and chants of “You are not alone!” welcomed the two parents as they arrived at the sit-in on Wednesday evening.
עינב צנגאוקר ויהודה כהן, שילדיהם חטופים בעזה, הגיעו הערב למחאה מול מעון ראש הממשלה שברחוב עזה והתקבלו במחיאות כפיים וקריאות: "אתם לא לבד, אנחנו איתכם". בשעות האחרונות מתקיימת ברחוב מחאה שקטה של נשים בלבן הקוראות להשיב את החטופים pic.twitter.com/HaXhsLHf2x
— Inbar Twizer ענבר טויזר (@inbartvizer) November 6, 2024
The march to Azza Street was fronted by drum-playing members of the progressive Pink Front group, which led the crowd in popular protest songs as they walked.
Protesters also returned to the streets of Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, albeit in fewer numbers than the night before, when they successfully held up traffic for several hours in both directions on the Ayalon Highway.
Traffic was temporarily blocked at the Ra’anana Junction in central Israel Wednesday, as dozens of protesters stood in the street waving Israeli flags and calling for the dissolution of the government.
