Israel, anti-Netanyahu protests on Martyrs’ Memorial Day

From our correspondent
JERUSALEM – Be’eri Kibbutz guards were not among the Israelis who lit the torch to mark the 76th anniversary of the state’s birth. like Actor Idan Amidi was not thereThe hero of the series “Fauda” and was injured during the fighting in Gaza. Just as it did not explode out of control, while Air Force planes that traditionally fly over cities remained on the ground. like There is no audienceThe ceremony was filmed and recorded on television.

Alternative ceremony

The twelve torchbearers are chosen to perform “heroic” deeds. The team from the village where Hamas terrorists killed more than 130 people on October 7 did not accept this honor precisely because Not even this year — After seven months of massacres, after 220 days of war — Benjamin Netanyahu’s government He wanted to mitigate the glorification of actions by acknowledging the shortcomings and mistakes committed.

“For us, there is no point in participating without remembering the tragedy and the reality of it The state abandoned us before and during the twenty-four hours of the attackAmidi explains the refusal by saying that he has met many heroes “since that Black Saturday, so I will stay at home to honor their memory.” The families of the kidnapped people organized Alternative function Where they extinguish the torches of “abandonment, lack of respect, and neglect to light the torches of hope.”

Protests

From sunset to sunset, from the day of Ezikharon to the day of Atzmaot, from the day on which In memory of the martyrs of battles and the victims of terrorism To those who celebrate Israel’s independence. Yesterday morning, the ceremony began at 54 military cemeteries after two minutes of stagnation, standing with their heads bowed wherever they were, there was only the sound of sirens. after, The families of the hostages and the dead soldiers did not remain silent in Gaza. In Ashdod, police set up barricades a distance from where minister and settler leader Itamar Ben Gvir was scheduled to speak, leading to scuffles even before his arrival.

In response to a man who shouted at him to leave because he was a follower of Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was banned from entering Parliament in the 1980s due to racism and incitement to violence, a policeman responded by pushing him, “I am also a Kahane.” Others They shouted at Ben Gvir: “Shame, you did not serve even a minute in the army.”. The far-right government promised not to politicize the events, yet decided to send ministers to all parts of the country. The most important ceremony, held on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, was presided over by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: When he uttered the first words, Hundreds left in protest. “We are determined to win the war,” Bibi, as he is called, repeated. The Prime Minister continues and continues to strive for “total victory” which even the General Staff does not seem to consider possible now, at least without a plan for the post-conflict period and management of the areas already captured by the forces. fight.

Revealing the Turkish President

The Palestinian death toll exceeded 35,000, a UN escort vehicle was hit, and two foreigners are said to have died. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that more than a thousand Hamas members are hospitalized in Türkiye. The mediators are supposed to meet in Cairo, but Netanyahu has already told Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, that he is not ready to accept an agreement that would lead to an end to the war. For the first time – writing a digital magazine Axios – It would be though Willing to accept an (‘unofficial’) role of Palestinian Authority Which would operate the Rafah crossing with Egypt from the Gaza side.