"You'll get a stone on your head": violence against opponents of the revolution radicalizes (according to social media copyright article 27a)
The demonstrators who come every Saturday night to protest the legal revolution in Or Akiva warn that they are being threatened with murder, sabotaging their vehicles, spitting on them and cursing them. They warned the police that it would "end badly," and claimed that those documenting the demonstration were being explicitly threatened. "Whoever films, I'll kill him," one of the assailants is heard telling them in the footage they extracted. "I know everything about you, kids, everything."
"On that night, my friends and I were almost lynched," said Dr. Yolanda Yavor, a resident of Or Akiva and one of the organizers of the protest in the city. She said thugs were looking for her in the crowd while shouting "Where's Yolanda the." Then they threatened her, "If you take a picture you'll get a stone in your head, be careful." She also claimed they were carrying cold weapons: "They have knives and stones."
According to the organizers, this behavior repeats itself week after week, and without enforcement there is also no deterrence. "Whoever stabs tires will stab protesters," one of them told Walla. "The Bibist demonstrators just skipped over the fences that the police put up, and the police just went early and left one detective there who couldn't do anything," said the organizers, residents of the city, Hedva Rokach and Itai Bahor.
Demonstration of supporters of the legal revolution in Or Akiva. March 25 (Photo: Yoav Etiel)
The demonstrations in Or Akiva have been going on for weeks. Demonstrators against the initiative of the right-wing government have never had an easy name, after all, this is a Likud-voting city. 47% voted for the Likud in the last elections and a total of 70% for the coalition parties. If it were up to Or Akiva, this government would not have 64 seats, but 84. A guy doesn't think that explains the phenomenon. "It's just a few older residents and a few teenagers. The vast majority in the city is indifferent to our demonstrations. The residents of the city are increasingly dissatisfied with the Likud."
Nevertheless, the violence against the demonstrators, which has never been only verbal, the demonstrators feel, is intensifying, in the number, duration and intensity of the harassment, to the point that some fear for their lives. "On Saturday it turned into personal and targeted threats against the organizers of the demonstrations in the city," they say. Still, they intend to protest again. After last Saturday they raised money to compensate those who pinched their wheels, they are now raising more money for body cameras for ushers and are considering purchasing lighting devices for the dark corners designated for them by the police for the weekly demonstration and parking their vehicles.
At the same time, they produced an edited video documenting the highlights of the harassment against them last Saturday night, and yesterday (Tuesday) they submitted its products to the commander of the Hadera station, Deputy Commissioner Zohar Maslawi. In the evening, at his invitation, four of them approached and filed an official complaint at the station. They are law-abiding people, but there are those who call for taking the law into their own hands: "The police are not with us, this is a dictatorship police," wrote one of the protesters' WhatsApp groups. It's time to organize our defense and response force. They don't understand another language."
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"Crossing a line". Demonstration against the legal revolution in Or Akiva (Photo: Shlomi Gabay)
Uri (not his real name), a resident of the area who was at the demonstration on Saturday and asked not to be identified, told Walla that "what was different this time was that the violent demonstrators came and called the first names of the protest leaders in Or Akiva. They said, 'We know who you are, we know who your children are and we know where you live.' That's another crossing of a line. One spat in the face of whoever was filming, and they threatened to kill anyone who dared to film."
"The feeling is that the police have abandoned our blood. Although the demonstration ended, the organizers who were folding the equipment had no one to defend them. I admit I'm scared for my life. I feel threatened," Uri added. "Yes, Or Akiva faces a real danger of harm by supporters of the reform. On Saturday night, I felt that two of them were on their way to hit, immediately. Out of fear, I took a step backwards and forwards. By a miracle it ended as it did. But the police ignored our insecurity."
However, Uri makes it clear that this will not deter him. "If we are afraid and stop coming, then the bullying and violence succeeded and the coup won. There is already milling. Suddenly, people in the name of reform are allowing themselves things that they would not have allowed themselves before. We are a violent society, but I feel that here they feel that they have the backing of the police. It's the essence of something much bigger going on."
Demonstration against the legal revolution in Or Akiva (Photo: Shlomi Gabay)
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"As far as we are concerned, this is a mission," say Hedva and Itai, "We feel obligated to give those who think like us the freedom to express it out loud and exercise their democratic right to demonstrate. This shows that despite everything, it is possible to demonstrate anywhere, including in places identified with the Likud." In one of the groups in the city, someone wrote that "the violence is on the fringes and it mainly proves the inability of the coup supporters to create demonstrations in front of the Or Akiva protests. The Or Akiva protest is a fact. A show of power that is far more important than demonstrations in New York, tweets, or all sorts of idle messages on WhatsApp. Each and every one of us can be a part. Just get to Or Akiva Junction on Saturday night and bring your family and friends. We will not be afraid. Everyone is a small light and we are all Or Akiva."
From nearby settlements come to strengthen. "I joined the Or Akiva protest because I believe that every person in Israel has the right to live as a free person without threats to his life, even if he does not vote for Likud, and even if he lives in Or Akiva," says Boaz Peled, a resident of the nearby community of Zichron Yaakov. "The solidarity between all the residents of our region obliges, in my opinion, all of us to repel the political violence we experienced on Saturday night in Or Akiva, just like in dictatorial countries in the Third World. I initiated the establishment of a group to prevent violence in Or Akiva, out of a commitment to this solidarity between all residents of our region."
Tonight, a resident of the city was arrested and interrogated at the Hadera station on suspicion of assaulting a demonstrator. He was later released to house arrest for five days and removed from the demonstrations for 15 days. The Israel Police said in response to the article: "We view violence of any kind with severity and accordingly, every complaint received by the police that raises suspicion of committing a criminal offense is thoroughly examined and handled. The police have prepared for protests and will prepare as long as necessary, with the aim of allowing freedom of expression and protest to every person, regardless of his opinions. As part of the preparations, many police forces are working to separate the various demonstrations and separate crowds. If there is evidence of a criminal offense as detailed, a complaint must be filed immediately and it will be dealt with."
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