New site for anti-Netanyahu protest: His childhood home
A group of protesters adopted a new site over the weekend: Netanyahu’s childhood home in Jerusalem’s Katamon neighborhood.
By GIL HOFFMANPolice clash with protesters during demonstrations near the residence of Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, 14/07/20(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Demonstrators against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have protested for weeks outside his official residence in Jerusalem and have demonstrated in the past outside his offices in the Knesset and the Prime Minister’s Office.But a group of protesters adopted a new site over the weekend: Netanyahu’s childhood home in Jerusalem’s Katamon neighborhood, a quiet residential area known for its large population of native English speakers.The protesters said they chose the site because Netanyahu’s brother Ido sold half of the property to Michigan millionaire Spencer Partrich for NIS 8.4 million, and the prime minister still owns the other half of the empty home and reportedly uses it for confidential meetings.“This apartment is a symbol of Bibi’s hedonism and his corrupt relationship with tycoons around the world,” said Sigal Azaryahu of the “Crime Minister” protest movement. “Why can’t we demonstrate there? There has been all this corruption with no transparency.”Azaryahu and a group of 10 of her friends left the protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence, came to Katamon and demonstrated with a makeshift megaphone at 10 p.m., wearing their “Crime Minister” shirts and chanting slogans against the prime minister.Neighbors said they were shocked to see their quiet street turned into a protest site. They called the police to complain, and policemen arrived, along with Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) agents. The neighbors said they were especially disturbed to hear the protesters mock that the traffic circle outside the house is named for the prime minister’s brother Yoni, who was killed while heading the commando unit in Operation Entebbe in 1976.“This is a quiet neighborhood,” said a woman who lives nearby and asked not to be named. “Even when [Netanyahu’s son] Avner lived and worked here, it was taken in stride. Starting a protest in a residential neighborhood and disturbing the peace is wrong no matter what the cause is.”But Azaryahu said the neighbors were very nice and encouraging to her group. She said they even revealed to them that Netanyahu’s son Yair had just been in the building.“We didn’t want to bother the poor neighbors,” Azaryahu said. “The Anglo-Saxons who live there should understand the importance of demonstrations in democracy. We aren’t anarchists. We are all over 60, and we love the country.”
