The Darkenu movement on Thursday positioned an exhibition titled "Case 5,000" at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, "in memory of the 5,000 victims of the coronavirus," a statement by the movement read.
The exhibition, composed of 5,000 memory candles, is meant to mark the victims of the virus in Israel since the pandemic broke out, which on Thursday nearly reached the 5,000 mark. It is also meant to criticize the Israeli government and to demand an inquiry into its management of the pandemic.
"The failed management of the coronavirus pandemic that has led to a heavy and painful price requires the establishment of an inquiry committee," executive director of Darkenu Yaya Fink said.
"We won't allow the members of the government to evade or ignore the increasing public demand to establish an inquiry committee," he added.
More than 20,000 Israeli citizens have already signed a Darkenu petition that demands an inquiry into the failures of managing the coronavirus pandemic, according to Darkenu.
A similar initiative to that deployed by Darkenu was seen during last Saturday's protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, when protesters marked the number of COVID-19 victims on notes which they scattered throughout Habima Square.
Later, rising numbers were projected on the wall of the adjacent building of Israel's national theatre, reflecting the victims of the pandemic, alongside the text: "That is not a success, it's a failure."
כמה מאות מפגינים בשעה זו בכיכר הבימה בתל אביב בהפגנה של הדגלים השחורים במחאה על התנהלות הממשלה בתקופת משבר הקורונה. על קיר התיאטרון מוקרנים מספרי המתים וגם על הרצפה יותר מ-4600 מדבקות עם מספרי המתים pic.twitter.com/J8869NDsPc
— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) January 30, 2021
According to its website, Darkenu has 400,000 active supporters and is the largest non-partisan civil society movement in Israel.
"We organize, amplify, and empower the moderate majority of Israelis to exert influence on government policy and on the public discourse, ensuring our nation acts in line with the wishes of citizens, the spirit of Zionism, the principles of democracy, and that it remains grounded on a foundation of mutual respect and responsibility," the movement's website states.
Last October, when the number of deaths caused by the virus were less than half of what they are today, the movement erected yet another artistic exhibition in memory of the pandemic's victims, placing 2,000 candles in Jerusalem's Paris Square near the Prime Minister's Official Residence.
כיכר פריז כעת. תנועת "דרכנו" הדליקה 2000 נרות לזכר קורבנות הקורונה. צילום: דרכנו pic.twitter.com/9nPq9YyDX5
— Inbar Tvizer ענבר טויזר (@inbartvizer) October 12, 2020