Three ways Netanyahu tries to delegitimize protests against him

PM has not engaged with protesters • Public Security Minister Ohana wanted police to block demonstration in Jerusalem.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israeli Police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the Prime Minister's Residence, Jerusalem, July 25, 2020 (photo credit: NOAM REVKIN FENTON/FLASH90)
Israeli Police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the Prime Minister's Residence, Jerusalem, July 25, 2020
(photo credit: NOAM REVKIN FENTON/FLASH90)
Thousands of people have been taking to the streets of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and – starting this past weekend – other spots across the country to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s management of the coronavirus crisis and that he remains in office despite standing trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
Netanyahu has refused to engage with the protesters. Instead, Public Security Minister Amir Ohana wanted the police to block the demonstration from taking place outside the Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem.
These are some of the claims Netanyahu has made about the protests in recent weeks:
1) On Saturday night, he posted a screenshot of Channel 12 News on his Facebook page, claiming it exaggerates the size of the protests. The picture was of Tel Aviv’s Charles Clore Park, which was mostly empty at the time. “This is an embarrassment, an embarrassment, an embarrassment,” he wrote. Later that evening, almost 1,000 people would be there.
Netanyahu refused to admit that at the exact same time as he posted the picture from Tel Aviv, the largest demonstration to date was taking place in Jerusalem outside his official residence. In addition, for the first time, there was a protest outside his private home in Caesarea. He did not share those photos.
2) On July 19, after another night of protests outside his residence, Netanyahu tweeted: “The secret is out. A Palestinian flag at a demonstration organized by Ehud Barak, the partner of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, yesterday outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem. An embarrassment and disgrace.”
The tweet was accompanied by a photo of the so-called “secret” lone Palestinian flag waved by a protester on the street outside the Prime Minister’s Residence during the Saturday-night protest, which was attended by thousands of Israelis.
There is no proof that former prime minister Ehud Barak has been involved in the protests. That did not stop Netanyahu from using Barak’s name as well as Epstein’s is an attempt to defame the protesters.

3) On July 15, Netanyahu shared a video from a protest in Jerusalem in which a protester yelled at Channel 13 journalist Avishai Ben Haim – a known supporter of the prime minister – that he should go “kiss Bibi’s a**.”
“The shameful attack yesterday at the left-wing protest against journalist Dr. Avishai Ben Haim, alongside the violence that raged there against the police, needs to be condemned. This is a disgrace and embarrassment,” the prime minister tweeted.
The cursing directed at Ben Haim was condemned across the political spectrum, but Netanyahu’s opponents took issue with the categorization of the protest as “left-wing.” Many right-wing activists, including Likud members, have publicly said they have participated in the protests.
The protests have drawn a wide range of people – from the Right and the Left – demonstrating for a variety of reasons. Some are opposed to Netanyahu, some to the deadlock with the Palestinians and some against the way he has managed the coronavirus crisis.