Day 338 Of The War: Throwing Dust/Sand In Our Eyes

It’s hard not to dwell on the symbolic meaning of arresting the young woman who allegedly threw sand in Ben Gvir’s direction when he appeared at the beach in Tel Aviv on Friday. She was taken into custody and spent the entire Shabbat in jail. This is precisely the kind of measures oppressive regimes impose on their citizens to intimidate and deter them from exercising their democratic right to protest. Last night, after Shabbat ended, the young woman was brought before a judge who, contrary to the police’s request, found no reason to keep her in custody and placed her under temporary house arrest. Outside the courthouse, hundreds of people protested for her release. If this weren’t our reality, we might find some comic relief in the incident.

After a devastating week, the leaders of the various factions of the Tel Aviv demonstrations decided last night to unite in one massive protest, demanding the immediate return of the hostages. It was held at Begin Gate, about 200 meters north of the traditional Kaplan demonstration in Democracy Square, where some of the hostage families hold their own protests. Uniting forces was the right decision, and the protest was immense. It continued for hours, and when I left, people were still arriving. The police, stationed near the train exit on Begin Highway about 100 meters south of the Kaplan intersection, were inspecting all the protesters as they attempted to enter the protest site. It took forever.

We heard, as happens every week, that some protesters were arrested. They were all released in the early hours of the morning, but we learned from the radio that the police asked them if they were paid to protest and whether they received money from Ehud Barak. Needless to say, these conspiracy theories shocked the protesters, who usually spend their own money to support the cause of restoring democracy in Israel. We are fortunate to have such dedicated freedom fighters among our citizens.