A minute before we dim the lights on our country and move on to the Kohelet procedure, it is important to say unequivocally: There is a people here - and it is the most beautiful and photogenic there is. Good people halfway to Jerusalem, who understood the magnitude of the hour and decided to fight with a lot of worry and frustration in their eyes, but also with a sea of hope and determination.
From the pouring rain of January to the scorching sun of July, opposition to the legal revolution has been with us for seven months, but it turns out that this weekend has recorded another peak in the annals of the historic protest, which is fighting tooth and nail to block any attempt to turn Israel into a dictatorship.
What began on Tuesday night, with a handful of demonstrators spontaneously leaving Kaplan Democracy Square, has become, in less than two days, one of the largest protest events in Israel. Suddenly, a never-ending crowd of people arose and decided to make a pilgrimage to the Knesset.
The march of demonstrators against the reform on Route 1 // Photo: Michelle Braunstein
In the terrifying heat of Friday afternoon, while most of the Israelites were deep asleep, 40,1 stubborn people gathered with flags and formed an endless caravan of marchers, painting the edges of Highway 9 blue and white. From the Machal Memorial towards Shoresh, young people, families with small children, grandparents with walking sticks, veterans of all wars and yes, even people in prosthetics, all insisted on covering <> kilometers and functioning as the gatekeepers of democracy.
Marching and shouting in a hoarse voice 'D-M-O-K-R-T-I-E' and the words of the national anthem: "To be a free people in our land." For three hours, the human flow toward Shoresh Forest did not stop for a moment, as hundreds of people with hearts of gold in every shady corner handed out bottles of water, fruit and thousands of popsicles, at a pace and frequency that would not shame stopping points at the New York City Marathon.
The beautiful nation of Israel emerged in the form of hundreds of volunteers, who came from all over the country and insisted on spoiling the marchers with masses of sugar. Apparently, the marchers did not exactly manage to burn calories, but there were quite a few surprising connections when a volunteer in a headscarf and wearing a "Democracy" shirt insisted on handing out challah and wine to those who only agreed to taste. "I'm from Ma'ale Adumim, but we also have red lines beyond the Green Nest," she explained. It turns out that until you encounter the matter in a tangible way, it is impossible to understand and grasp the magnitude of the hour.
Free love
After a three-hour march and without too many dehydration incidents (Bibi, you have someone to learn from...), tens of thousands gathered in Shoresh Forest, where a culinary festival, a kind of never-ending food fair, awaited them. Those who managed to evade the huge traffic jams at the entrance to the forest took part in receiving a powerful Shabbat, all this 24 hours before the invasion of the Holy City and before the settlement near the Knesset.
A few inches in front of me, it was hard to avoid a young couple with bright eyes, who encapsulated the critical hour. "No one will be able to understand the unconditional love that exists here. We must treasure the moments deep in our hearts," said the tough husband. "It feels to me like the declaration of the state, we will always know that we fought until the last second," concluded his second half, taking two steps back just to wipe away the tears.
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