‘BLACK FLAG’

Thousands of Israelis Stage Socially Distanced Protest Against Netanyahu’s Policies

The protesters are speaking out against what they see as anti-democratic measures ordered by the prime minister aimed at combating the coronavirus.

Thousands of Israelis stood six feet apart on Sunday in Tel Aviv to protest government policies that they see as a breach of democracy amid the coronavirus pandemic. More than 2,000 Israelis demonstrated in the city’s Rabin Square while adhering to social distancing guidelines, Haaretz reported. The “Black Flag” protests, which started in March, are battling against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s measures aimed at combating the coronavirus crisis in Israel, which include phone tracking of civilians. “It started with the coronavirus, when they [the government] started passing anti-democratic bills,” said Tamir Hefetz, a protest organizer. “I woke up and realized there is no alternative, tomorrow will be too late.”

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid said in a speech to protesters that “a person with indictments can’t appoint a police chief, a state prosecutor, an attorney general, the judges who will deal with his case,” referencing Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was indicted in January on corruption charges. “That is Netanyahu’s list of demands. ... That’s how democracies die in the 21st century. They’re not wiped out by tanks overrunning parliament. They die from within.”