Anti-government protests

Demonstration by the anti-occupation bloc of Israel's anti-government protests, marking 56 years since the start of the military occupation, on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, June 3, 2023. (Oren Ziv)

Israel’s protest leaders give the anti-occupation bloc the cold shoulder

A protest marking the occupation's 56th year was rejected by mainstream organizers, showing how messages about Palestinians are still being silenced.

By Oren Ziv June 6, 2023

Protest against Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during his visit to Washington DC, March 13, 2023. (Gili Getz)

‘A moment of disillusionment’: American Jews torn as Israel turns 75

Grappling with a far-right government and growing awareness of the Nakba, American Jews revealed mixed feelings marking Israel's independence.

By Emily Tamkin June 2, 2023

Young protesters burn their draft orders for the Israeli army during a protest against the government in Tel Aviv, April 1, 2023. (Oren Ziv)

These Israeli youth are burning their draft orders — and no longer feeling alone

Left-wing high schoolers describe how the anti-government protests have provided a window for the mainstreaming of views long deemed illegitimate.

By Oren Ziv May 24, 2023

Latest

Reuven Abergel, co-founder of the Israeli Black Panthers, speaks to more than 10,000 African asylum seekers gathered in Levinsky Park in support of their struggle, south Tel Aviv, January 7, 2014. (Activestills.org)

An Israeli Black Panther’s call for true democracy

We did not get to taste one drop of the promises in the Declaration of Independence. Now we must gather all the oppressed groups we have ignored.

By Reuven Abergel May 8, 2023

Nearly 200,000 right-wing Israelis attend the “March of the Million” rally in Jerusalem in support of the government's planned judicial overhaul, April 27, 2023. (Flash90)

A pro-government rally reveals the Israeli right’s internal cracks

Netanyahu's far-right partners overestimated their power to pursue the judicial overhaul. Now, they are turning the pressure on the prime minister.

By Meron Rapoport May 2, 2023

Israeli demonstrators protest the Israeli government's planned judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv, April 25, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The problem with ‘reclaiming’ the Israeli flag

By transforming the flag into a symbol of 'resistance,' anti-government protesters exclude Palestinians from their purported struggle for democracy.

By Oren Ziv April 27, 2023

Israelis protest against the government's planned judicial overhaul, in Haifa, March 27, 2023. (Shir Torem/Flash90)

The Israeli right once fought for a strong judiciary. What changed?

Scholar Dahlia Scheindlin discusses the history of Israel's struggles over a constitution, and why political camps reversed their positions on the courts.

By Nate Orbach April 24, 2023

David Ben-Gurion (left) signs the Declaration of Independence held by Moshe Sharett with Eliezer Kaplan looking on at the Tel Aviv museum on Rothschild Boulevard, May 14, 1948. (Israel GPO, PRI OR/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Debunking the myths of Israel’s Declaration of Independence

If Israeli protesters want to cite Israel’s founding document as a moral guide, they first need to acknowledge its failings.

By Tom Pessah April 10, 2023

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during a vote in Knesset, Jerusalem, March 22, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Israeli right’s arrogance has made a new struggle possible

The mass protests have opened the possibility, however slight, that Israelis will begin to demand fundamental changes we haven't seen since 1948.

By Meron Rapoport March 29, 2023

Activists from the Mizrahi left group Shovrot Kirot and the Kan2Come collective block Tel Aviv's Ayalon Highway during the anti-government protests, March 26, 2023. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

The dilemmas of the Mizrahi left in the Israeli protest movement

Prof. Smadar Lavie discusses the possibilities and contradictions of the Ashkenazi-dominated protests against the government, and traces the efforts of a small cohort of Mizrahi activists to make their voices heard.

By Shane Burley and Ben Lorber March 28, 2023

Tens of thousands of demonstrators protest on Ayalon Highway following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, March 26, 2023. (Oren Ziv)

How this protest movement is bringing Netanyahu to his knees

A movement that started out against the government's judicial coup has morphed into a successful uprising. Yet questions still loom about what this moment portends for Israeli politics, and above all for Palestinians.

By Haggai Matar March 27, 2023

A protester stands in front of burning tires on the Ayalon highway, Tel Aviv. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, after he called to pause the government's planned judicial overhaul, March 26, 2023. (Oren Ziv)

Do Israeli protesters really want democracy?

The true test of this wave of protests will come once victory is secured: will the crowds go home, or will they push for radical change?

By Orly Noy March 27, 2023

Israeli protesters clash with police on horseback while blocking Ayalon Highway during an anti-government demonstration, March 16, 2023. (Oren Ziv)

Israelis, welcome to BDS

Though not named as such, BDS tactics have been central to Israel’s anti-government protests. And the hypocrisy is not lost on Palestinians.

By Amjad Iraqi March 19, 2023