Largest protests in Israel's history - 500,000 against Bibi

[malaise]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64929563

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis rallied against the government's judicial plans on Saturday night, in what organisers said were the biggest street protests in Israel's history.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the changes - which would curb the power of courts - will restore balance between the branches of government.

Opponents say they threaten democracy.

At one of Saturday's rallies, opposition leader Yair Lapid said this was Israel's "greatest crisis".
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Byebye Bibi - you and the right will lose

[yorkster]

1. Yair Lapid is right. Thx. Malaise....n/t

[Joinfortmill]

2. Bibi is a f*cking autocrat.

[The Blue Flower]

3. "The only democracy in the mideast"

There goes the US rationale for supporting Israel no matter what. Also called "cutting off your nose to spite your face," Bibi.

[malaise]

5. Not really

You can't have apartheid for one section of the population and call it democracy.

Jimmy Carter called that right. Still it's good to see people waking up. Maybe they will eventually defend the rights of all.

[Mosby]

11. Israel is the 29th most democratic country in the world.

If the researchers who create the Democracy Index really believed that 5.5 million Palestinians were disenfranched citizens who are denied representation and voting rights (like in South African Apartheid) they wouldn't be a democracy at all. And they wouldn't list Palestine as a separate country.


FYI "Palestine" landed at 110, because they have unelected leaders.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217712544

[hlthe2b]

14. And the US is now the 30th. Aren't we proud...

[JustAnotherGen]

25. +1

[malaise]

6. Not really

You can't have apartheid for one section of the population and call it democracy.

Jimmy Carter called that right. Still it's good to see people waking up. Maybe they will eventually defend the rights of all.

[Beastly Boy]

21. You can't call it apartheid when all Israeli Arabs vote and get represented in the Knesset

and Isreli government.

There is a clear distinction between the Palestinians with Israeli citizenship and Palestinians in the occupied territories, a fact that makes accusations of apartheid fly out the window. Whatever you call the way Israel treats Palestinians, it is not apartheid and it is not racism. Using those labels when referring to Israel obscures and belittles the real meaning of these terms, as well as the people who have been victims of either.

[H2O Man]

4. Recommended.

[hlthe2b]

7. He keeps pushing his authoritarian dictator direction-- he might want to think back through history

It may be Israel and not 1940s Italy, but history does repeat itself--or at least echoes.

[Warpy]

8. Let's hope they finally get rid of him, he's been there WAY too long

They really need to learn the saying about politicians and diapers needing to be changed often and for the same reason.

[erronis]

9. We used to wash the old diapers and put them back on the bebe. Bibi's diapers are permanently soiled

I don't understand how the Israelis didn't understand that he was a right-wing crook who would try to take over his country....

Just like orban, trump, modi, bolsonaro, etc.

[Warpy]

13. They're full of religious nuts who think Bibi is one of them

and that he's been keeping them safe. Plus, their form of government forces som pretty odd coalitions, and he's always been really good at building those among parties that have little in common. He's a strong man's strong man.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

18. Half a million folks in the streets, for weeks now! Anyone supporting Bibi is fascist.

Democratic nations are hard to corrupt and exploit for power and profit, better fascism where everyone in power is corrupt. …or the facade of democracy, or baby steps towards freedoms,… The West pretends it doesn’t see and keeps on supporting for same reasons.

Saudi anyone?

[lark]

10. Right wing criminals are in charge in Israel and trying to take the reins of USA too.

To hell with every one of them.

[malaise]

12. They are in charge of way too many countries on our planet

It is time for a clean up, but there is so much effin greed and corruption that I don’t know who can sort out this mess.

[Hortensis]

24. Yes. Wherever government is the big troublemaker,

hard-core conservatives are in power. Occasionally LW extremist blocs, but almost always RW.

As in today's Israel, where forces for liberal ideals, including the courts, are having to take to the streets.

Elections are having especially big consequences in this era.

[sinkingfeeling]

15. Are they the same people who voted Bible back into office?

[malaise]

16. Ding ding

We have a winner - many of them

[Beastly Boy]

23. No they are not.

Bibi got 32% of the vote the last time around. I strongly doubt that those 32% would be able to get half a million Israelis out on the streets to protest.

[elleng]

17. Sounds good. Why do they keep voting him in?

[moondust]

19. IMO

many Israeli voters wanted radical strongmen to clamp down on increasing Palestinian attacks and to expand settlements.

~

"The situation in the West Bank is worse than it has been for many years," said Ibrahim Ramadan, the Palestinian Authority governor of Nablus, who said there was a complete breakdown of trust on the part of young men radicalised by daily confrontations with troops and Israeli settlers.

~

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/west-bank-violence-burns-israeli-election-nears-2022-10-11/

[elleng]

20. You're prolly right. Just what the world DOESN't need.

[patphil]

22. just to give perspective based on the populations of Israel and the US.

500,000 protesting in Israel would be equivalent of over 18 million people protesting in the US.

Given the duration of the protests, this is an incredible event. Netanyahoo needs to go.
Note: misspelling is deliberate.

[malaise]

26. Was thinking about that

Really impressive - he can't last with those numbers