Welcome to ‘Bibistan’

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Several international media houses have been carrying reports of ongoing protests in Israel, with Jewish people rallying against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, known by his childhood nickname of ‘Bibi’.

His latest coalition, formed after last November’s election, is the most far-right-wing government since the formation of the state of Israel 75 years ago. The new administration immediately declared its intention to limit the independence of Israel’s judiciary, enabling parliament to interfere with court decisions and appoint judges, rather than the populace electing them, etc, etc. Top legal figures saw these changes as a threat to democracy, and since early this year there have been mass protests every weekend in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities; crowds have grown every week, sometimes estimated to number around a half-million angry Jews.

This past weekend, there was a 70-kilometre march from Tel Aviv that ended outside the parliament in Jerusalem. It lasted four days, with hundreds of thousands of Jews participating, and carrying so many Israeli flags that would have kept the manufacturers in Far Eastern sweatshops busy for many weeks.

The protesters brandished signs in Hebrew, and many more in English to attract support from overseas. In fact, there have been protests of support in Jewish communities abroad, including a very large gathering in San Francisco earlier this month. Israeli protesters are chanting slogans about losing their democracy, and that the proposed weakening of the judiciary will turn Israel into a dictatorship.

From watching several television reports, there doesn’t seem to be any Palestinians nor Israel-Arabs participating. Then again, they no doubt believe that they are already living under a dictatorship. To add to his myriad problems, Mr Netanyahu had to have a pacemaker fitted, and many of his opponents were joking about being surprised that he even had a heart.

Whether you love him or loathe him, he has quite a history of survival, and getting up after being knocked down, but these massive protests by his fellow Jews from every walk of life, including union members and military personnel, may yet be his biggest obstacle of a very controversial political career. One banner that caught my eye at the weekend summarised the feeling nicely; it read: ‘Welcome To Bibistan’.

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada