Israeli protesters are back on their feet. Missing is a unified voice.
| TEL AVIV, Israel
At the intersection of Tel Aviv鈥檚 Kaplan and Begin streets, some demonstrators were putting up posters that called for immediate elections.
Thousands of others, wrapped in Israeli flags or beating drums, listened to a speaker urging the military conscription of the nation鈥檚 ultra-Orthodox religious population to share the burden of war.
From a few hundred yards away, one could hear the anguished and angry cries of 鈥淒eal now!鈥� by the families of hostages seized by Hamas one horrible day in October, demanding the government negotiate their release.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onAmong the ingredients that successful protest movements need are unity and clarity. Huge pro-democracy demonstrations in Israel last year had that. Six months into the war in Gaza, the ranks of Israeli protesters are growing. But their agenda is overflowing.
The two demonstrations eventually merged, as the political rally joined up with that of the families.
Once the protesters got home that Saturday night, they watched on their TV screens the surreal unfolding and interception of Iran鈥檚 missile-and-drone barrage. On Sunday, everyone was back at work and in coffee shops.
Israelis currently are dealing with so many issues simultaneously that protesters, among them many of the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets last year against the Netanyahu government鈥檚 proposed judicial overhaul, don鈥檛 really know what to shout about loudest.
Before the war in Gaza, demonstrators had the 鈥渧ery concrete target鈥� of saving democracy by preventing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from implementing his reforms, explains Professor Tamar Hermann, a senior research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute.
But at demonstrations since the war began, protesters 鈥� generally older people 鈥� are from almost 80 different minor groups calling for a variety of things, including Mr. Netanyahu鈥檚 ouster and the formulation of a day-after-the-war plan.
The 鈥渙verarching principle,鈥� Professor Hermann says, is that of dissatisfaction with the current government.
Fatigue, focus, guilt
But the lack of focus, an immense tiredness, and even guilt about holding political rallies when soldiers are dying for the country are sapping the protests鈥� energy and participation, attendees say.
鈥淲e鈥檙e juggling so many balls; it鈥檚 hard to keep track of all of them,鈥� says Uriel Abulof, an associate professor of political science at Tel Aviv University. 鈥淲hat we are seeing ... is an ongoing and growing exhaustion, a deep fatigue, because we have been doing so much for such a long time. Many people are, simply put, tired.鈥�
From January 2023, Israel was roiling with protests against the proposed judicial overhaul, which detractors said would weaken the nation鈥檚 democratic checks and balances. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets on Saturday nights, in Tel Aviv and other cities.
The protests peaked in March that year, after Mr. Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who called for dialogue and a pause in legislation that he said was endangering state security. Some 400,000 citizens and a general strike brought the country to a standstill.
Mr. Netanyahu blinked; Mr. Gallant was reinstated.
Then on Oct. 7, a stunned nation was thrust into mourning, and war against Hamas. The protests stopped in a show of unity, and many demonstrators were called up to fight.
The protest movement pivoted, mobilizing its network to set up an army of volunteers who fed, equipped, and transported soldiers; provided hot meals and clothing for evacuees from front-line communities; worked abandoned farms; and stepped in where state institutions failed.
鈥淪ense of frustration鈥�
Some two months into the war, however, anti-government protests resumed and have been gaining momentum since. Considering the scope of the government鈥檚 and army鈥檚 failure to keep citizens safe and to bring many of the hostages home, the demonstrations might be thought surprisingly mild.
South African-born Jonathan Schwartz, a lawyer and grandfather, has taken part in almost all the anti-Netanyahu protests 鈥� both before and after the start of the war.
The demonstrations are 鈥渢otally lacking energy,鈥� he admits. 鈥淭here is a sense of frustration.鈥�
Mr. Schwartz, whose son, daughter, and nephew were called up for military reserve duty after Oct. 7, says the fact that the war is ongoing is a key factor keeping people at home.
He goes to these rallies because he feels he has 鈥渘o choice,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think they will succeed.鈥�
His brother-in-law, Maxie Garb, who used to march alongside Mr. Schwartz in the protests, hasn鈥檛 been attending the political rallies since the start of the war.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel comfortable going to political demonstrations while we still have hostages [in Gaza] and soldiers dying in the war,鈥� Mr. Garb says. Demonstrating now will not make a difference, he adds, and the priority should be getting the hostages back.聽鈥淥nce the fighting is over, everybody will come out in force, and there will be very big demonstrations to change the government.鈥�
To have an effective grassroots movement, says Professor Hermann, you need the power of numbers, which is not yet manifest at the recent demonstrations, because people 鈥渁re focused on getting their life in order鈥� amid the trauma of Oct. 7 and the exhaustion of war.
鈥淧eople [are] coming back after many days in military service; there are those that were evacuated from their homes; people are focusing on their family, businesses, and their psychological situation,鈥� she says.
The protest 鈥渕uscle鈥�
Nevertheless, the protests have been gaining momentum. Tens of thousands of people in front of the Knesset, Israel鈥檚 parliament, in Jerusalem March 31 at the start of a four-day demonstration, for which protesters and hostages鈥� families pitched tents.
On April 13, just before the Iranian strike, scores of thousands of people rallies in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a muscle you need to stretch again,鈥� says Lee Hoffmann Agiv, field operations manager for Bonot Alternativa. Her women鈥檚 rights advocacy group created the stunning displays of women dressed in red 鈥渉andmaids鈥� attire during protests against the judicial overhaul.
People will come out in full force once the time is right, she says, forecasting that that could happen in May, when the Knesset reconvenes and after the nation marks Memorial Day and Independence Day.
Others, like Tel Aviv University鈥檚 Dr. Abulof, think the trigger will be when opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot leave the emergency wartime government.
鈥淚 believe we will have two very intensive months,鈥� at the end of which 鈥渨e鈥檒l have to finish the job, make the government step down, and go to elections,鈥� says Ms. Hoffmann Agiv.聽鈥淲e have no choice; that鈥檚 the money time.鈥�
