Police, protesters clash in front of Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv

By +972 Magazine November 22, 2011 | Edit

This post has been updated, 23 November, 2011.

By Noam Sheizaf and Dahlia Scheindlin

Protesters clashed with police on Tuesday evening after a demonstration against a string of anti-democratic legislative initiatives recently brought forth in the Knesset. Some 200 people demonstrated in front of the headquarters of the ruling Likud party, blocking King George Street in the center of the city. Police sprayed the protesters with pepper spray and at least one person was arrested.

The protesters had marched from a larger demonstration of about 2000 people held earlier in the evening at the square of the Habima Theater at the end of Rothschild Blvd., the birthplace of the summer tent protest. The demonstration had been called in opposition to a series of laws that are widely perceived to threaten democratic freedoms. The most recent of these was the new version of Israel’s libel law, which passed the first reading in Knesset on Monday; but the leaders of the protest read out a series of laws currently being debated, including legislation to change the makeup of the panel that chooses Supreme Court judges and the process of their confirmation, legislation against foreign funding for NGOs, and laws passed earlier this year, such as the laws allowing acceptance committees for small communities in Israel.

Police, protesters clash in front of Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv

Demonstration Tuesday evening in Tel Aviv. Sign reads, "The right won't silence me." (photo: Dahlia Scheindlin)

Protesters, many wearing masking tape or masks over their mouths to symbolize the repression of freedom of speech, railed against what they called the extreme right-wing government, chanting “When the left gets together, the right gets frightened!” and “The response to the legislation – revolution!” and the main refrain: “No-confidence!” By contrast to the social protests of the summer, this was an explicit anti-government protest.

More photos of the demonstration, all by ActiveStills:

Protesters and police clash in Tel Aviv November 22, 2011 (Photo: Oren Ziv ActiveStills)

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TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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