Category: Politics

Less than 24 hours after the demonstration I attended against the war – it broke out by a blitz by the Israeli Air Force. A counter attack of rockets fell on Israeli towns. It dominates the news worldwide.

So, 8 hours after the war broke out, also the voice of the minority was heard. I attended another demonstration, with the same type of crowd, but in much bigger numbers. 

 

More than a thousand people marched from the Cinemateque to the gates of the “Kirya” – Israeli Defense Minstry in Tel Aviv. PM Olmert was visiting there at the same time and talking to reported about the operation.

The slogans were the same, and also the main speaker was the same guy – Dov Khenin. The message changed, since the war already was in action. 

He called for an immedate cessation of hostilies. 

Currently, the fighting is still going on, and only the radical left wing parties are against it. The Israeli left Meretz party currently supports it. They’ll probably change their mind in a few days, when they’ll understand that it leads to nowhere. They always wake up too late.

Anyway, for whoever is reading this overseas, I’m writing a second post about (almost) the same issue so soon, just to stress that there is also a different voice in the Israeli street, currently a very small minority.

 

 

 

More (bad quality, sorry) pictures from the second Anti Gaza War Demonstration.

The stakes are high in the Gaza strip. Black clouds of war loom over it. Not everybody is supportive of an invasion. Though I think it’s currently only a war of words, I stood with protesters this afternoon in an antiwar demonstration.

Like in the protests during the Lebanon war, the red colors dominated the scene. With the general elections coming in 6 weeks, there were signs that were directed to the elections.

The red Hadash party was behind this protest. Member of Knesset Dov Khenin was there, holding a sign, and then speaking in front of about 200 people that gathered.

He said there’s another solution to the sorry state of Quassam rockets on Sderot – not a military one. He called for a real “Tahadiya”, including a prisoner swap and resuming negotiations with Mahmuyd Abbas (Abu Mazen).

 

The slogans that were shouted over and over again throughout the protest were similar to the those during the Lebanon war: “In Gaza and in Sderot, children want to live” (literal translation from Hebrew) sounded exactly like “In Beirut and in the Krayot, children want to live”. 

The difference is that this time it’s in the south and not in the north, and that this time I went to protest before the war breaks out, and after our army is in the mud.

Well, there are other differences as well, but that’s enough for now.

More pictures from this preliminary Anti Gaza War Demonstration

I hope to upload some videos later on this weekend. Happy Holidays!

Updates: As you all know, the war broke out, and I’ve been to more demonstrations:

Gaza War – More than 1000 Israelis protest are against it

Gaza War – 10,000 Israeli Protesters Couldn’t Stop the Invasion

Gaza War also affects the price of oil.

Lots of Israeli politicians are speaking loudly about invading Gaza. This follows the expiration of the Tahadiya agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Well, since there are less than 50 days till the elections, these statements should be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone wants to be tough and strong before the elections on February 10th.

The government did NOT decide to invade Gaza in its meeting yesterday. They’re just making noise about it, to be seen as tough guys. I must say that this attitude had an effect on Hamas – they announced a 24 hour ceasefire – officially due to an Egyptian request.

The army is NOT ready for this invasion, as it wasn’t ready for the Lebanon war in 2006. I think that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense don’t trust the army after that was 2 years ago.

Right wing opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu is promising a stronger approach in his election campaign, and the leaders of Kadima are dragging along – bot only with their mouths…

The kidnapped Israeli soldiers are being buried today, after the swap yesterday. The kidnapping, two years ago, sparkled the war. Bringing their bodies back home is a closure for that war and is a major news event. Still, the media is dwelling with the corpses and the funerals way too much.

Everybody knew that they are dead. The evidence showed that. PM Olmert said that he wouldn’t bargain for coffins, way back in 2006. The government began a process of declaring them as dead, as a tactic in the negotiations with Hizballah. Hizballah played a cruel game and never said a word about their situation.

Despite being aware of the imminent results, the media expressed some hope in the days before the swap. After the swap, there’s an obsessive coverage of every small detail around the funeral. Too much information about the look in Barak’s eyes or the speeches of grieved family members.

Headlines of Internet sites, which switch between items very frequently in Israel, are switching between funeral details. TV, which I don’t watch, is showing these issues all the time.

I would prefer a more humble and dignified approach in memory of the soldiers, and in memory of all the other victims of that war.