Why Israel’s having some of its biggest protests since the war in Gaza began

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israelis have taken to the streets across the country in recent days in some of the largest protests since the war in Gaza began in 2023. They’re demanding a deal between Israel and Hamas to release all remaining hostages, and also demonstrating against government attempts to weaken the judiciary.

On Saturday, more than 100,000 people turned out at protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities, according to organizers. For several days in a row, thousands marched toward and surrounded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem, waving Israeli flags or carrying signs calling for new elections and accusing the Israeli government of working against its people.

In Tel Aviv, protesters have repeatedly blocked a main highway and demonstrated outside the central government complex in the city, holding posters with pictures of the faces of hostages still held in Gaza or signs demanding a ceasefire now. “If there’s no deal, we will burn the country down,” one group chanted recently.

Polls show a majority of Israelis are against the end of the ceasefire and want negotiations to continue. Many feel this return to war is a betrayal and that Netanyahu and his government are forsaking the remaining hostages, leaving them to die in Gaza. Israelis are also protesting what they say is a threat to their democracy, as Netanyahu has renewed his push for overhauling the country’s judicial system.

Shira Efron, research director of the nonpartisan Israel Policy Forum, says the Israeli government’s return to war dovetails with Netanyahu’s need to appease his far-right political partners to maintain his coalition.

“The Israeli public is exhausted. It’s in trauma,” she says. “The Israeli government is adamant about returning to war, and this is not disconnected from the politics of it.”

“We do not accept this reality”

Omer Vinkur, a 26-year-old student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, marched near the prime minister’s residence on Sunday wearing a sticker on his shirt with the number 533 — the number of days that hostages have been held in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel. He said he showed up to remind the government that there are hostages in Gaza, and that it has a responsibility toward them.

“We do not accept this reality,” he said. “And we do not accept the theft of our country, and the theft of our security. We came to say this loud and clear.”

Ami Dror, an Israeli businessman and activist, led many of the protests against judicial reform back in 2023, before the war in Gaza started. He recognized that the protests then — and now — have little influence on the government’s decisions, but still he said it’s important to show up.

“Those in power can say whatever they want. But we have tools,” the 52-year-old said at a protest Sunday in Jerusalem. “We have marches, protests, and also civil disobedience — when we decide to shut the state down — and that’s exactly what needs to happen.”

At a demonstration Saturday night that packed the streets of central Tel Aviv, Einav Tsangauker, whose son Matan is still being held by Hamas in Gaza, spoke to the crowd saying that Netanyahu chose to strengthen his political future by “sacrificing” the remaining hostages and restarting the war.

“This is a real alarm,” she said, encouraging protesters to keep showing up every day until a new deal is signed. “You are our chance to get the hostages out of the hell in Gaza.”

While most Israelis are protesting the resumption of the war in regards to the safety and wellbeing of the Israeli hostages, a growing number are also acknowledging the suffering and killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. At that same protest Saturday night in Tel Aviv, a few dozen held a kind of vigil for children killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza, holding photos of them in the crowd along with memorial candles. Others carried signs that said “Stop the Genocide,” referring to more than 50,000 Palestinians who have been killed in the war, according to Gaza health officials.

The government denies accusations of genocide. And Netanyahu has said those claiming that the offensive in Gaza is for political gain “have no shame” and accused them of echoing “Hamas propaganda.”

What to watch on Israel’s judicial overhaul

The Netanyahu government’s efforts to remake the balance of power in Israel are back at warp speed.

Its initial attempts at a judicial overhaul sparked mass street protests in 2023 and calls to refuse military service, with warnings from Israel’s security chiefs that the domestic unrest could entice Israel’s regional enemies to attack the country. When Hamas did attack Israel, Netanyahu’s government vowed to freeze the judicial overhaul while the country was at war.

Now, after Israel broke a ceasefire with Hamas last week — in what the government said was an effort to force the militant group to release the remaining hostages — and returned to war in Gaza, Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition is resuming those efforts, and the street protest movement is gaining momentum again.

“Amidst the return to fighting in Gaza, the Minister of Justice is taking advantage of the public’s eye being off the ball to hastily overhaul Israel’s judicial system,” wrote Guy Lurie of the nonpartisan Israel Democracy Institute.

Protesters say they’re especially concerned about several recent moves: the government’s efforts to fire the attorney general and domestic security chief, who both serve as watchdogs on the prime minister’s policies, and legislation expected to pass Thursday that would grant the ruling coalition more partisan influence over judicial appointments.

Deflecting criticism over his government’s decisions, Netanyahu said Saturday: “There will be no civil war, and the State of Israel will remain a democratic country.”

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Itay Stern contributed to this report from Tel Aviv. Yanal Jabarin contributed from Jerusalem.