concern for women’s rights
New anti-government protests in Israel
Israelis protest in Tel Aviv against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government. photo
© Tsafrir Abayov/AP/dpa
This time, women’s rights were at the center of the weekly protests against Israeli government policies. Many warn against attempts by strictly religious forces to restrict this.
According to media reports, more than a hundred thousand people demonstrated in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv against the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government and for women’s rights. The protests took place for the 33rd consecutive Saturday night. All speeches were given by women. The Israeli ESC winner Netta Barzilai (“Toy”) sang the Israeli national anthem at the demonstration. Signs by women read something like “Hands off my rights” or “Israel is not Iran.” Rallies also took place in other Israeli cities.
In recent weeks, reports of attempts to restrict women in public spaces in Israel have accumulated. According to media reports, for example, in the city of Ashdod, a bus driver directed a group of teenage girls to the back of a bus and gave them blankets to cover themselves. In another incident, a woman was reportedly barred from boarding a bus altogether.
Another protest march planned
Several strictly religious parties are represented in Netanyahu’s government, which advocate more gender segregation in public space and regularly make advances in this direction. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu said after the incident in Ashdod: “The State of Israel is a free country where nobody will restrict who can use public transport or dictate who sits where.” Anyone who does this must take responsibility for it.
Another protest march for women’s rights is planned for Thursday evening in the strictly religious town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.
Mass protests against government policies have been taking place in Israel regularly for more than six months. At the end of July, as part of a highly controversial judicial restructuring, the coalition passed a law that restricts the Supreme Court’s options for action. Critics classify the government’s actions as a threat to Israel’s democracy.
After a deadly attack on two Israelis in the West Bank town of Huwara, Israeli security forces searched for the alleged Palestinian perpetrator on Sunday. According to media reports, the dead were a 60-year-old father and his 28-year-old son. The two men were in a car wash when the perpetrator opened fire on them at close range.
Drone intercepted from the Gaza Strip
Netanyahu spoke of a “cruel attack” on Sunday. The bill will be settled with the perpetrator, he said during the weekly cabinet meeting.
The Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, and the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad spoke of a “heroic” attack. He was “a natural and legitimate reaction to the crimes of the occupation”.
Israel’s missile defense system intercepted a drone flying from the Gaza Strip on Sunday. The UAV flew from Palestinian territory towards Israel but did not enter Israeli territory, the army said.