N.Y Time: March 28, 2024 6:24 pm

Final pre-election against Netanyahu draws largest turnout since inception

Final pre-election against Netanyahu draws largest turnout since inception

In a final mass protest before the March 23 elections, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Jerusalem on Saturday evening to call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign.

Protesters from all across the country marched from the Knesset to Jerusalem’s Paris Square, which abuts Netanyahu’s residence on Balfour Street. Organizers of the demonstration said some 15,000 protesters attended at first, later estimating that a total of 40-50,000 were there — the highest turnout in months of weekly protests outside the Prime Minister’s Residence. Several Hebrew media reports put the number at 20,000 or over.

“I don’t think that [New Hope party chief] Gideon Sa’ar would have left the Likud and started his own party unless he knew he had support in the streets,” said prominent activist Amir Haskel, referring to a key Netanyahu rival.

In late June, Haskel — a retired Israeli Air Force brigadier general — was arrested by the Israel Police while protesting Netanyahu by Paris Square. His detention sparked widespread outrage and denunciations from prominent public figures, turning him into a symbol of the burgeoning movement.

The following week, demonstrators and police clashed in downtown Jerusalem. Police turned water cannons against demonstrators who broke through a police barricade and marched through downtown Jerusalem.

At its peak in mid-summer, the anti-Netanyahu protests saw tens of thousands take to the streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with thousands more carrying black flags and protest signs on bridges and intersections across the country.

Organizers hailed what they deemed “an awakening among the youth,” as younger demonstrators joined veteran activists such as Haskel, who had been protesting Netanyahu’s alleged corruption for years.

Activists who spoke to The Times of Israel at the time attributed the protest’s success to its wide tent.

While most demonstrators were center-left, a few right-wing voters and Charedi attendees could often be spotted as well, along with left-wingers bearing Palestinian flags. In the festive, freewheeling atmosphere at Balfour, other protesters held drum circles or meditated in the normally busy intersection.

While the race remains close, according to opinion polling, Netanyahu has a good shot of retaining power in the coming vote. In polls released on Saturday by Channel 12 and 13, Netanyahu was projected to win between 30 to 32 seats, although his path to a majority in the Knesset remained unclear.

But for Haskel, who protested against Netanyahu for years, there would be no alternative except to continue demonstrating in the event of a Netanyahu victory.

“I don’t know what others will do, I can only speak for myself. I will remain here and protest — if nothing else than to soothe my conscience, so I can say to myself that I’ve done everything I could for this cause,” Haskel said.