Hundreds of protesters rallied at National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Kiryat Arba home on Friday morning, some of them clashing with police.
A protester told The Jerusalem Post that there were about 300 protesters that had been bussed in by organizers from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa.
Only about 30 police officers were present at the beginning of the rally, so the protester said that it would be difficult for law enforcement to stop them from demonstrating. If police attempted to keep them far away, they said that they’d do their best to get closer. The protester organizers said that they were attacked by police.
Serving right-wing settlers rather than the common good
The protest organizers sought to demonstrate against the judicial reform, which they said was being promoted by politicians like Ben-Gvir and Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman to serve the right-wing settlers.
“Let all the leaders of the coup know: we are moving the fight to their court. Gone are the times when you could promote a revolution from your home in settlements and outposts and know that no one would come oppose it,” said the protest organizers. “ Today we came to Ben-Gvir to draw a line. We will not let you turn Israel into a leprous and messianic apartheid state.”
Josh Drill, a leader in the protest movement gave a speech about his time as an IDF officer in the Hebron area, saying how it was the first time he "saw and heard extreme and messianic Kahanist ideology."
"Kahanism corrupts Israeli society, making it more and more racist. The Kahanists are leading this judicial overhaul in order to take over all of the state institutions, annex the West Bank without giving full rights to the Palestinians, and turn the State of Israel into an apartheid state," said Drill. "To create a true alternative, we need to oppose everything that this government stands for. Not 50% and not 70%. We have to resist everything in order to win and create a reality of equality, justice, and peace."
At least 30 groups are involved in the demonstration, including Breaking the Silence, Standing Together, Peace Now, and Combatants for Peace.