Jerusalem woke up Wednesday to smoke, sirens, and scorched metal. This is not how a capital under strain should start its day.
The right to protest is a bedrock of Israeli democracy, and the pain of the hostages’ families is real and urgent. But none of that grants anyone the right to set fires in residential neighborhoods or to endanger bystanders. Arson is intimidation, it is reckless, and it undermines the very cause it claims to advance.
Police reported burning dumpsters and tires in Rehavia near the Prime Minister’s Residence. Parked cars were damaged, residents in nearby buildings were evacuated, and it is a miracle no one was hurt.
Thirteen protesters were arrested after barricading themselves on the roof of the National Library of Israel. These are acts that risk lives, destroy property, and fray public trust.
We support the right of every Israeli to assemble and demand action for the 48 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity. Their names should be on our lips, their faces in our minds. Their families’ anguish deserves compassion and attention.
Legitimate civil action has moved governments before. It can move this one, too. But the moment a match is lit in a residential street, the protest ceases to be an appeal to conscience and becomes a threat to the community. That redline was crossed.
The images from the National Library roof were especially jarring. The library is a national treasure, a home to our collective memory. Turning it into a stage for barricades and brinkmanship demeans an institution that belongs to all Israelis, Left and Right, religious and secular, Jewish and Arab.
Protest has many creative, lawful avenues. Occupying rooftops and forcing emergency responses is not one of them.
Leaders across the political spectrum condemned the fires. That is welcome, and it should be unequivocal. Arson is criminal, not political. It does not become acceptable because one agrees with the message on a banner or despises the government in power. Nor should condemnations be weaponized for cheap points. Calling this “terror arson” or using it to attack law-enforcement officials is an attempt to turn a policing issue into a culture war.
We can hold two thoughts at once
On the other hand, pairing a perfunctory rebuke of car-burning with a much louder denunciation of the government misses the moral clarity needed right now. We can hold two thoughts at once. The violence is wrong, full stop. The hostages’ plight remains urgent, full stop. Both demand responsible action.
To the protest organizers, including Brothers in Arms, the message should be straightforward: If you want the broad Israeli center behind you, isolate the elements who are willing to light fires or endanger the public. Cooperate with police to identify arsonists. Insist that your events are safe for residents, commuters, and emergency services. Do not let your cause be defined by the most extreme tactics in your midst. The moment the public associates your movement with scorched streets instead of the faces of the abducted, you have lost the argument you came to win.
To the police: Enforce the law firmly, professionally, and proportionately. Protect the city, keep routes open, and safeguard institutions such as the National Library. Do so with restraint, transparency, and respect for peaceful demonstrators. The line between legitimate protest and criminality is not hard to draw when a match is struck. Draw it quickly, and enforce it evenly.
To the government: Do not hide behind the misdeeds of a few to dismiss the grief of many. Communicate clearly about ongoing efforts to bring every hostage home. The longer the public perceives drift or political gamesmanship, the more fertile the ground becomes for desperate tactics that most Israelis reject. The nation needs a steady hand, honest updates, and a practical path to results.
Israel’s strength has always been the combination of fierce debate and shared responsibility. We argue, sometimes loudly, yet we keep faith with one another, even in war.
The capital deserves better. The hostages deserve better. Our democracy deserves better. Choose persuasion over provocation, civic courage over chaos, light over fire.
Bring the abducted home through resolve, negotiation, and pressure on their captors. Keep Jerusalem safe while you fight for them. That is how a moral society behaves in a time of trial.