Report on the Anti-war Demonstration in Tel Aviv, 22 July 2006
Written by Michael Warschawski (Alternative Information Center) Monday, 24 July 2006
“First Mass Demonstration Against the War” is the Hebrew title of a well-written and detailed article published in Ha’aretz this morning.
Around five thousands demonstrators, who came from all over the country, shouted loud and clear, their rage against a criminal war which has taken the civilian populations of the Middle East, including the Israeli one, as hostages.
“No to the War,” “We will not kill or die for the US,” “Amir Peretz—They Wait for You in the Hague,” “No to the Destructions in Gaza and Lebanon,” “Children in Beirut and Haifa Deserve to Live”—these were the most popular slogans in the main street of Tel Aviv, shouted with full voice, in Hebrew as well as in Arabic.
Unlike the preceding demonstration, this time there was a substantial presence of Palestinian citizens of Israel, both within the demonstration crowd and on the speakers’ platform. Due to necessary political arrangements, the average age of the speakers were not representative of the composition of the demonstrators or of the activist core of the anti-war movement: many old-timers and party leaders took the platform during the demonstration, while many young activists—not necessarily related to any specific political party, yet who are the core combative spirit of the movement—made up the majority of the demonstrators themselves.
While, as expected, Peace Now refused to be a part of the demonstration—and still does not declare any opposition to the war in Lebanon—several Peace Now (oppositionist) leaders participated, in a personal capacity.
The new challenge is to shift from a series of demonstrations, to a stable anti-war movement, where those who have been the driving force of the active opposition to the repression in the occupied Palestinian territories, and during the last week, to the war in Lebanon (Women’s Coalition for a Just Peace, Anarchists Against the Wall, the Alternative Information Center, Ta’ayush, Gush Shalom, and the refuznik’s movements), will take their legitimate place in the decision making process, side by side with the political parties (Israeli Communist Party/Hadash, National Democratic Regroupment/Balad). This is not an easy task, with its unavoidable generational gaps and differences of political experience, but it is a challenge which can be met, and will be met, thanks to the success of our Saturday’s demonstration.