Odeh: 'Weak opposition offers no moral alternative to gov't'

2,000 protest government and Iran war in Tel Aviv, exceeding court-ordered limit

Rally at Habima Square rally estimated at double the permitted number; heavy police presence, but no violence or arrests; protests also take place in Jerusalem, Haifa

An estimated 2,000 people attended an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, exceeding a 1,000-person court-ordered limit, though police did not intervene as they have in previous weeks, when they cited security restrictions due to the war in Iran.

It was the sixth consecutive week of protests by various left-wing groups opposed to the Iran war and other protest organizations railing against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alleged corruption and his government’s bid to overhaul the judiciary and exempt ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from military service.

Alon Lee Green, one of the main organizers of the rally, claimed 10,000 people were at the protest in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square.

The Haaretz and Ynet outlets both put the figure at 2,000, still twice the number set in a Supreme Court ruling on Friday.

The limits were due to missile fire at Israel from Iran during the previous six weeks. After a shaky ceasefire began last week, the court increased the number of permitted participants, but left a cap in place as a precaution.

About a dozen Border Police vans were parked near the square’s southern end, and police also took over a small mound overlooking the protest.

Haaretz reported that right-wing provocateur Mordechai David led dozens of activists who attempted to enter the square but were blocked by the protest organizers.

Border police escorted Ben David from the square, but he was able to gain access from another point.

He was eventually detained along with another right-wing activist, both of whom were released about an hour later, Haaretz reported.

Hundreds also gathered for an anti-government rally in Jerusalem’s Paris Square.

Three people were arrested for allegedly crossing a police line, Haaretz reported. They were later handed a fine and released.

Hundreds also protested in Haifa, where the court had set the limit at 150. There were other, smaller protests at other locations, Haaretz said.

In Tel Aviv, Green declared that “the government is creating a perpetual emergency situation that leaves us in the shelters and enables it to pass ‘coup legislation.'”

MK Ayman Odeh, head of the Arab-majority party Hadash, assailed opposition parties for failing to present a “moral alternative” to the government.

“I believe that you don’t need Jewish-Arab partnership for war, but you need Jewish-Arab partnership for peace,” he said. “We have a problem, which is that we have a weak opposition that doesn’t offer a moral alternative to the government. The moral alternative to this government is peace.”

Protesters cheered and chanted, in Arabic, “Peace, freedom, social justice.”

Friday’s Supreme Court ruling on the number of people allowed at the protests came in response to petitions from anti-government protest groups against police and IDF Home Front Command restrictions on gatherings, which were rigorously enforced during the recent war.

Last Saturday, the court issued an interim order obligating police to allow up to 600 protesters in Tel Aviv just hours before the protests began, though police said the demonstration quickly exceeded the limit. They declared the event unlawful, violently dispersing the crowd and making 17 arrests.

The court emphasized that even if protests exceed the permitted quotas, it does not necessarily give police grounds to disperse the demonstrations, noting the fact that Habima Square is located directly above a large bomb shelter that can accommodate thousands.

The Home Front Command amended its guidelines after the ceasefire between the US and Iran was reached on Wednesday, lifting restrictions on schools and workplaces and allowing gatherings of up to 1,000 in certain areas. Stricter restrictions still apply in much of northern Israel, including Haifa, as the conflict with the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon is still ongoing.