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The demonstrations following the suspicion of 16-year-old rape are outrage over years of violence and fear

The cries of the demonstrators in Tel Aviv emphasize the connection between the shocking case in Eilat and the daily reality of women in Israel. They did not need stage amplification or speakers. The sign "Every rapist has a name" that was filled with names throughout the protest said it all: "This is not one sad case, it happens here again and again"

• Demonstrations
• Ounce
• Eilat
• Tel Aviv Jaffa

Daniel Dolev

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Noa Yaron and Hadas Shmueli arrived from Ramat Gan for a demonstration last night (Thursday) in Habima Square in Tel Aviv. Noa walked around with a mostly blank sign, on the top of which was written "Every rapist has a name," and on the bottom "It's not your fault." The rest of the sign was blank, at least at the beginning of the evening, but Noa walked around with a marker and invited the women to write the name of their rapist. As the demonstration continued, the sign filled with names, first in neat columns and then in density as the place began to run out.

"We came because there is a repeat policy here, promiscuous rape victims on the ground," Yaron said. "Whether it's a justice system that gives disgraceful punishments, whether it's the police who do not know how to investigate sexually assaulted victims, or whether it is hospitals that do not have acute centers for victims."

"It's a lot of pain for so many of my girlfriends who have been attacked, raped, hurt," Shmueli continued, a pink bandana tied over her face like a mask. "The fact that it is still embarrassing, that there is nowhere to turn, that no matter what we do - we are blamed. There will always be someone who will say, 'But look what you did, look what you wore, look how you behaved, why you went to Eilat with a friend, why you drank.' She described that "they will always try to somehow turn it into a victim. The dry law says that whoever is raped should get 16 years in prison. There is not a single rapist in this country who got it. And that is why we are here. To fix it."

The sign holding Shmueli reads "30 men stood in line to rape a 16-year-old girl." The number 30 stars in the signs carried by the protesters, and has become a symbol of the shocking case, but it is not certain that this is the number of men involved in the case. The narrator came from the first suspect arrested, who may have deliberately exaggerated to try to remove, in his own eyes, his own responsibility.

But it does not matter, because the demonstration was not just a burst of rage over one extreme case, the details of which have not yet been clarified - but about years of violence, fear, shame, disregard and helplessness in almost every area. In culture, in law, in communication, in language.

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To the full article

In conversations with the demonstrators, along with support for the girl and shock from the case, names and cases from the past come up again and again. Ronen Beatty, Eyal Golan, Natan Eshel, the boys Maya Napa. Some were convicted, some were acquitted, but the line that connects them is clear to anyone who came to shout in Habima Square. "Something is so wrong here," says a 60-year-old protester who prefers not to identify. "The truth is we had to go out even earlier. When the bastards came and landed Maya Napa, then we had to go out with all our might, but we were silent. So we are guilty. I want to tell this girl that we are guilty, because we as a society were silent." Her partner adds: "We are shocked, and we are broken. And this girl needs to be supported. That is enough."

When another demonstrator is asked what she would like to say to a girl from Eilat, she pauses for a moment, then replies: "That she is not alone, that she is not guilty, and that she will not face the shame and guilt." She added that "a terrible thing happened, but if she survived such a thing, she can probably survive a lot of things and she is strong. There are very many men and women who will be happy to help her and restore her trust in human beings, because not everyone is like that."

Although the majority in the demonstration is clearly female, there are also quite a few men in it. "As a man, of course I come more from the side," says Jonathan Sachs, 21, from Givatayim. "For women it's something much more personal. For them it's really existential fear. Fear of walking the streets, fear of trusting people, fear of hanging out, getting drunk. And I personally come more from a place of support because I do not experience these things. But at the base it is of course a struggle Ours as a society. "

It is a demonstration without a stage, without amplification and without speakers, and shortly after the event begins, it disconnects from the square and becomes a march that blocks the already busy boulevards of central Tel Aviv on Thursday evening. Many of the vehicles honk at a rhythm as a sign of identification.

In one of them sits Tamar Vinai, who came to Tel Aviv from Lehavim and got into the heart of the march. "We are looking for parking and Yashar is joining," says Tamar. An hour and a half later, at the blocked intersection of Huberman and Dizengoff streets, I see them again, after keeping their promise - and joining the protesters.

Throughout the evening, the rhythmic readings emphasize the connection between the shocking rape in Eilat and the daily reality of women in Israel. Slogans like "it's not one sad case if it happens here over and over again" or "rape culture starts from the corridors of government".

"Something very extreme and horrifying happened," says Yael from Tel Aviv. "That could also be a wake-up call to an ongoing state of ignoring the phenomenon of rape culture. It's a lack of understanding of how much that happens in women's daily lives is very much related to policies, priorities, lack of budgets and wrong messages in terms of treating women." She said, "While this may seem like something that only relates to the private life of one 16-year-old, it's not like that. It touches the lives of all of us."

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