An anti-judicial reform protester in Israel went viral on Sunday night for protesting dressed as Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator character Aladeen.
The man, dressed in faux military garb, a fake beard and a wig announced through a bullhorn “Believe in the reform, it will do good for you. Democracy is the real enemy.”
He continued his satirical monologue by poking fun at Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for his heavy accent in English which he exhibited on his first speech delivered in English in the US a couple of weeks ago.
His final comments in reference to the movie proclaimed that “a country with democracy is like a girl who has hair on her malawer. It is not necessary.”
This is not the first time that anti-judicial reform protestors have used fiction to highlight their issues with the reform. A consistent scene at judicial reform protests is women dressed in the iconic red outfits of handmaids from the novel The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.@subremeleader Real DICTATORSHIP is on its way #דניאל_יונה⚽️ #fyp #foryou #wadiya #supremeleader #democracy #פוריו #meme#parati ♬ Boy's a liar Pt. 2 - PinkPantheress & Ice Spice
As previously reported by The Jerusalem Post, Bonot Alternativa (Building an Alternative), the group behind the Handmaid’s Tale protests, emphasized that the costumed demonstrations are not only a response to the proposed judicial reforms.
The group’s leaders have emphasized they are also a protest against violence against women, such as murder and sexual assault, as well as many other issues in Israel, including the divorce laws and sex-segregated public events. So even if a compromise is reached soon on judicial reform, the women in red are likely to continue protesting.
Protests against the judicial reform
Weekly protests have been carried out in a public outcry against the judicial reform. On Sunday, the protests reached a new boiling point. In response to Prime Minister Netanyahu firing the Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, thousands took to the streets.
Tal Spungin and Hannah Brown contributed to this report.