Thousands of protesters gathered in Jerusalem outside of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house on Nov. 4, to demand he leave office. Chants were reportedly heard of “traitor” and “jail him,” as widespread criticisms throughout Israel have been laid against Netanyahu for his government’s failure of security leading up to the recent Oct. 7 Hamas attack. These were the first large protests since then due to the focus on the war, despite the major internal upheaval from earlier this year.
Arrests were reportedly made, including of one of the leaders of the protest, Ishay Hadas. Hadas is a prominent Israeli activist, television producer, and the co-founder of the “New Contract” organization, otherwise known as the “Crime Minister” organization. His organization has played a large role in the protests against Netanyahu and his judicial reforms over the past year. It’s unclear how many others were arrested, but Hadas’ arrest may be significant for this reason.
Earlier in the day, Hadas had posted on Facebook a photo of Yitzhak Rabin standing with Jordan’s King Hussein with the text: “Cry for us.” Rabin was the Israeli Prime Minister who was assassinated by radical Israelis for his efforts to strike a peace deal with Palestinians, in what would have been the Oslo Accord. It’s unclear whether or not this protest was timed to occur on the anniversary of Rabin’s assassination, Nov. 4, 1995.
