Supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu are stepping up the violence against demonstrators in the democratic camp, and this requires a response. I am not, God forbid, calling for retaliation and the use of force, but we should definitely consider forming self-defense groups that could ensure the safety of protesters across the country.
Late last month incidents happened that should raise the alarm for everyone, certainly anyone campaigning in the street or on social media to save Israeli democracy from Netanyahu. He's a leader who, in his desire to establish one-man rule, has surrounded himself with yes-men.
Late last month, after Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant – and before he caved to public pressure and reinstated him – hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in an impressive nighttime protest. On social media the following day, right-wing groups, with the direct and indirect encouragement of Netanyahu, his aides, ministers and lawmakers, were urged to support the prime minister and pose a counterweight to the democratic camp.
Tens of thousands of people showed up at a right-wing rally in Jerusalem. This too was an impressive show of force, designed to signal that public spaces aren’t solely the domain of the left and center. So far, so good. The right to protest is a basic value in a free society, the very soul of democracy.
But the two camps are behaving differently. The democratic camp is protesting attempts to change the form of the regime, with no intention of clashing with the other side. But some right-wing demonstrators don’t suffice with taking to the streets to support the government. They also seek to take revenge and hurt anyone they perceive as an enemy.
We've seen many expressions of this. Far-right soccer thugs from La Familia, which the Shin Bet security service and police once considered labeling a terror organization, called for clashes with protesters from the democratic camp. They hoped to sic bikers Hell’s Angels-style on demonstrators in Tel Aviv, but a Shin Bet team pounced on three activists from the Jerusalem demonstration, activists who on social media had called for people to take up knives and guns.
In Tel Aviv suburb Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox mob attacked the car of a doctor who was working with the community. In the Jezreel Valley in the north, right-wingers blocked a main junction and demanded that anyone trying to enter a nearby kibbutz declare their support for Netanyahu. They did this while singing “May your village burn,” a racist slur they routinely use against Arabs.
Self-defense was part and parcel of life in the Jewish community before the State of Israel was founded in 1948. Israel Shochat organized self-defense groups just as he had in the city of Grodno, then part of the Russian Empire, in the early 1900s. He and his wife Manya helped found the Bar Giora and Hashomer defense groups when the Turkish Ottoman Empire still ruled Palestine.
During the British Mandate period before the state was established, the Jewish community had its underground security organizations. The right-wing Revisionist Zionist movement had Beitar.
The left-wing Histadrut labor federation had Hapoel, which battled Beitar and the communists. It was like a militia that continued to operate even after the state was founded, mainly in Haifa under Mayor Abba Hushi. It was supposed to keep order during public events, but it sometimes attacked political rivals.
The Israel Police is the state agency tasked with maintaining public order. The police recognize the democratic right to demonstrate and do whatever they can to protect it. But they’ve had a hard time lately, beginning with the Balfour Street demonstrations outside the prime minister’s residence during the pandemic. And it has been even harder over the last three months after Netanyahu formed a far-right government.
The police’s staffing is limited, and some commanders are influenced by right-wing politicians in the government. This explains the zigzagging by Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, who, under pressure from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a convicted Jewish terrorist, dismissed Tel Aviv District Commander Ami Eshed. Ben-Gvir claimed that Eshed was too soft on the demonstrators, only to return him to his post.
A group called Hashomer Hahadash, made up of right-wing farmers with links to the settlers, could serve as a precedent. It aims to defend farmers against theft and sabotage, mainly against Israeli Arabs, but actually it’s a militia with a youth movement and a pre-military training program. And the Mossad has a special unit tasked with defending Jewish communities around the world against antisemitism and terrorist plots.
If attempts at compromise to blunt the government’s efforts to stage a coup fail, intense clashes between the two sides are likely. If that happens, the pro-democracy groups taking part in these protests must seriously consider having them protected. They can set up an auxiliary force for maintaining order, as at large public events like soccer games and concerts.
This would be no replacement for the police, and such a force mustn’t be armed, take the law into its own hands, use violence or make provocations. It would have one role: to protect demonstrators and maintain order when violent rightists try to disrupt liberal and democratic protests and hurt people when the police aren’t around.
As the Violence Increases, Self-defense Groups Can Protect Israel's Protesters
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11.04.2023
Supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu are stepping up the violence against demonstrators in the democratic camp, and this requires a response. I am not, God forbid, calling for retaliation and the use of force, but we should definitely consider forming self-defense groups that could ensure the safety of protesters across the country.
Late last month incidents happened that should raise the alarm for everyone, certainly anyone campaigning in the street or on social media to save Israeli democracy from Netanyahu. He's a leader who, in his desire to establish one-man rule, has surrounded himself with yes-men.
Late last month, after Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant – and before he caved to public pressure and reinstated him – hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in an impressive nighttime protest. On social media the following day, right-wing groups, with the direct and indirect encouragement of Netanyahu, his aides, ministers and lawmakers, were urged to support the prime minister and pose a counterweight to the democratic camp.
Tens of thousands of people showed up at a right-wing rally in Jerusalem. This too was an impressive show of force, designed to signal that public spaces aren’t solely the domain of the left and center. So far, so good. The right to protest is a basic value in a free society, the very........
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