Israeli protesters gathered last night at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, in part in protest over the coverup by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the failures of October 7 and his renewed attempt to end the independence of Israel’s judiciary. Former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon accused his administration of being “led by a messianic minority” and of perpetuating the war to maintain its rule. “This evil government is a rebellious government— which we must overthrow. It betrays the values of [Israel’s 1948] Declaration of Independence, it tramples on the judiciary and leads an eternal war towards the end of the Zionist vision.”
Reut Edri, whose son was murdered at the Nova Festival on October 7, and who is one of the founders of the October Council, said that his group is “declaring war from this stage. Not because we have a choice, but because we are being fought.” She addressed Netanyahu’s attempt to spin the failures of October 7 as that of others, absolving himself. She challenged him, saying: “You send your minions to the TV studios to repeat the same sentence: ‘He is responsible, he is not guilty.’ Go ahead, establish a state commission of inquiry and prove it.”
Right-wing influencer Roi Star attempted to disrupt the gathering by sounding a megaphone siren to disrupt the gathering. (He had done the same a week ago.) When two men attempted to escort him out of the protest, he let loose with pepper spray, against them and others in the area. Police subsequently arrested him along with a 75-year-old protester who allegedly attacked the right-wing activist.
Shimon Buskila, another member of the October Council whose son Yarden was murdered on Oct. 7, spoke at the Haifa protest: “After the greatest disaster in the history of the country, they are trying to sell us committees on behalf of the people. Makeshift mechanisms. Beautiful covers whose sole purpose is to prevent the truth from being revealed.” Further: “When we are fighting for the truth, a tribute event is being held in the Knesset that only invites hostages and bereaved families who align with the coalition and the prime minister. This is not what unity looks like. This is what exclusion looks like.”
Avi Dabush, CEO of Rabbis for Human Rights and a survivor of the October 7 attacks at Kibbutz Nirim, also spoke, saying: “I believe in an Israeli democracy that is not afraid of criticism and self-examination, that does not evade a state investigation for 827 days, that understands that true power is measured by responsibility, correction and adding good to the world.”
