Russia’s refusal to support the removal of Syrian President Bashar Assad
motivated protesters to gather Tuesday outside the hotel hosting a Russian
embassy party.
The protesters stood near the entrance to the Hilton Hotel
on Hayarkon Street and chanted “Syrian people call for help” alternately in
Hebrew, Russian and English. Russia has used its veto at the UN Security Council
to prevent Western forces from interfering in Syria, but pressure has increased
in recent weeks as government forces continue to massacre innocent civilians,
notably women and children.
Joining the protest was MK Ayoub Kara (Likud)
who was invited to the embassy’s event but said he could not comfortably attend
while the government used chemical weapons against women and children in
Syria.
“I might be damaging myself politically because the policy of the
Israeli government is not to get involved, but I’m here as a citizen,” Kara
said.
The protest coincided with similar gatherings at Russian embassies
worldwide, all aimed at increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Several organizations collaborated to mount what the protesters called an
apolitical rally.
The embassy event was in honor of the Russia Day
holiday. As MKs Afo Agbaria (Hadash) and Orit Zuaertz (Kadima) arrived to the
hotel in taxis, protesters chanted “Member of Knesset, don’t be a part of the
killing of children.” Baroch Oren, a software engineer who attended the protest,
said before supporting Assad’s removal, Russia could start by halting the sale
of weapons to the Syrian government, which are used against
civilians.
This was not the first instance of criticism against Russia’s
blind sale of weapons. Amnesty International organized a protest in April of
hundred of Sudanese refugees before the Russian embassy to voice opposition to
the sale of weapons from Russia to the Sudanese government.