Protest on Kikar Rabin

Two weeks after the end of the Lebanon War, Israel is angry, the people are in shock at the abysmal failure to reach any tangible results in this battle. The people were galvanized into action and the JNI was there to participate...

Kikar Rabin, Tel Aviv 8:00 pm, the turn out was good, crowds spilling out of the Kikar onto the streets. The mood was one of frustration and worry. The Israeli citizenry has finally come to the realization that their leaders have failed them in their time of need. People had come here to protest for a change in direction; in the choreographed speeches, talk of new elections were declared.

Eitan Cabal, an Avodah MK came to show support, but he stayed on the edges of the protest and seemed more interested in shaking hands then raising his voice against the government that his party was a partner to. He saw the JNI sign, "Enough is Enough" at which point he quickly turned away to find another outstretched hand in which to shake.

The spirit was waning as the protest continued, one could feel a sense of powerless, a disenfrachisement that gave the event an eerie feel to it. A Ben Hecht quote I had remembered kept streaking across my mind,

"The Ben-Gurionites (Israeli Establishment) know all the tricks - how to bamboozle a people and keep the trumpets of righteousness pealing. They know also how to orchestrate the word 'smear,' and how to hide guilt in the strut of impotence. But, chiefly, the leaders of Israel, know that moral indignation in the public is usually a brief passion. Usually a few headlines, a few editorials, a few denunciatory rallies and parades with hand made posters, will suffice for its full expression. After which, the rebellion will subside to a cafe' and engage in parlor mutter. And, presently, to a repentance for ever having existed at all."

What was most revealing about this protest was not that this was a mass of people who wanted to tear down this government, but that this was a protest that wanted to reveal this government: with our handmade signs and loud voices we participated in revealing the blatant failure that is found in current Israeli governance.