Tel Aviv
CNN
—
In a sea of Israeli flags, Yiftach Golov holds one that looks a little different.
Among the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets for the 13th consecutive week on Saturday, Golov raised a brown flag that represents a group called “Brothers and Sisters in Arms.”
They are veterans – many, like Golov, from the elite forces – who now feel they are fighting on a new battlefield: saving Israeli democracy.
“We believe it is our responsibility to go once again to the flag of the nation to put an end to this madness of defending Israel,” Golov said, as he made his way through protesters on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street, between the skyscrapers that house many of Israel’s high-tech companies.
During the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, Golov served in a special forces reconnaissance unit. He had never been particularly politically engaged, focusing more on earning his doctorate in biophysics at Tel Aviv University.
But when the protests against the Israeli government’s proposed judicial reform began in January, Golov attended one and quickly became one of thousands of veterans, and now military reservists, who made the cause their new mission.
Some, including elite air force reservists, have gone even further, threatening not to answer the call to train or even serve in protest against the government’s plans for judicial changes that would give the ruling parties more control over Israel’s justice system.
Others have become very active organizers and protesters. Last week, a group of Brothers and Sisters in Arms demonstrated by carrying a figure wrapped in the Israeli flag on a stretcher, as if carrying a wounded comrade off the field.
Although Golov says he did not take the drastic step of refusing service, he understands the motivation.
“We’re fighting for justice and freedom, just like in American history. Those are the values that are represented and symbolized when we look at our flag, that’s something that’s been missing for the last few decades. So basically, we’re taking the flag back,” he said.
The other members of the group, all dressed in brown shirts with the organization’s logo, come to greet us. They are everywhere at the demonstrations. One of them even leads the “Pink Front,” a group of coordinated drummers who look like they’re dressed for a rave party and who often lead the chants at the demonstrations.
They are now using the skills they learned in the military – how to organize, how to mobilize – to protest. But more importantly, they say they have the same kind of motivation.
“The deep feeling that you are part of something bigger than yourself, that you have the right to sacrifice whatever is necessary, whether it is your career, your health, and especially your mental health,” Golov said. “We all have a mission, you are ready to accomplish it at any cost. You are very determined, you know that you are on the right side, you carry the torch of light. This allows us to stay very motivated despite the fact that we do not sleep for days.”
The Israeli protest movement is made up of many disparate groups, but pressure from the country’s vaunted veterans is seen as a key element in getting things moving.
Last Monday, after weeks of sustained protests and the largest general strike in Israeli history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a pause in legislation to allow time for negotiations with the opposition.
Despite the announcements, protesters are still out in force on the streets. Israeli Channel 12, a CNN affiliate, estimated that Saturday’s demonstration in Tel Aviv drew about 150,000 people. Organizers said it drew 230,000.
Last week’s mass protests and widespread strikes came after Netanyahu said he had decided to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for advocating a delay in passing the law — a decision Netanyahu has since delayed, sources told CNN, due to “the current security situation.”
In his televised speech calling for a delay, Gallant said the suspension of the bill was necessary “for the security of Israel,” citing the refusal of some Israel Defense Forces reservists to train in protest of the government’s plans. He said moving forward with the proposals could threaten Israel’s security.
Under pressure from home and abroad, Netanyahu said he would delay voting on the remaining bills until after the Knesset’s Easter recess in April, “to allow time for a real chance to have a real debate.”
“Out of responsibility to the nation, I have decided to delay (…) the vote, in order to give time for discussion,” he added.
But Mr Netanyahu said the delay was only temporary. He stressed the need for the reform and reiterated his criticism of those who refuse to train or serve in the army in protest of the planned changes. “Refusing is the end of our country,” he said.
Many protesters do not believe the pause is real, or say it is simply a delaying tactic to give Netanyahu some breathing room and encourage protesters to go home before he pushes ahead with reforms.
“We will begin to deactivate only when we are 100 percent sure that the State of Israel will remain a functioning democratic country. Whatever needs to be done for this,” Golov said.
cnn
