Although the suffering of the Palestinian population has capturing the attention of media and leaders worldwide, voices expressing empathy for Gazans are still a minority in Israel.JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images
Emmanuelle Elbaz-Phelps is an Israeli-French journalist based in Tel Aviv.
On Saturday evening, during TV primetime, activists from Standing Together, a Jewish-Arab movement for peace, stormed the live Israeli broadcast of Big Brother. Three young women, wearing “We’re Leaving Gaza!” T-shirts, sat on the stage while the anchor was heard saying: “Everything’s fine, everything’s fine.” They, on the contrary, wanted the Israeli public watching the show to know that everything isn’t fine – far from it. Hauled away, one managed to shout: “The war has to stop!”
One of the protesters, Ariel Dukelski, told Democrat TV: “Inside Big Brother’s house, the show with the highest ratings on TV today, the residents are arguing about the cigarette budgets and ice pops, when only an hour and a half away, children are dying of hunger, there is mass extermination and the hostages are left to die.”
The protests – which the activists vow to continue – have escalated after the decision last week by the Israeli security cabinet to “take control of Gaza City.” While the suffering of the Palestinian population is capturing the attention of media and leaders around the world, voices such as the ones of Standing Together, expressing empathy for the civilians of Gaza, are a minority in Israel.
However, the majority of Israelis – 74 per cent, according to a July poll from Channel 12 – want to see the end of the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages. The recent videos of two young emaciated hostages, Rom Braslavsky and Evyatar David, have revived a sense of urgency. The families of the hostages, exhausted but nevertheless determined to do everything possible to save the lives of their loved ones, are calling for a nationwide strike on Sunday.
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High tech companies, the Israel Bar Association, universities and some municipalities have announced they would take part in the strike. “It is our moral duty,” said a statement by the University of Haifa.
Momentum is building as Israel buckles under the weight of 22 months of war. Women’s organizations are banding together and speaking out. “The fighters in Gaza, our sons, are asking us to call for the end of this war,” Moran Michel from the new coalition Wars End When Mothers Rise told me. “This war serves no security or diplomatic purpose, only a political agenda.”
According to media reports, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has also pushed back, arguing that the plan to take over Gaza City might be a “death trap” for soldiers and further endanger the hostages. Reserve and retired Israel Air Force pilots are also calling for the war to end.
Enav Zangauker, mother of hostage Israeli Matan Zangauker, cries by a fake coffin during a protest in Tel Aviv.JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images
However, during a news conference last Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a point of showing not everyone in Israel opposes his military strategy. He read a note a reservist soldier wrote to his wife: “We are very strong, motivated and capable to do any amount of reserved duty necessary to beat Hamas.” The Prime Minister’s aim was to show that even though the streets might become packed over the next few days with people opposing the war, and specifically, the plan to invade Gaza City, there are also soldiers who support him and his decisions. “We are able to finish Hamas and we will finish Hamas,” said Mr. Netanyahu.
In an interesting twist, his far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advocates for a total occupation of Gaza, expressed his disappointment with Mr. Netanyahu’s plan. “I have lost faith that the Prime Minister is able and willing to lead the IDF to a decisive victory,” Mr. Smotrich said. The plan appears to leave the door open for a partial hostage deal, which could halt the military operation. Nevertheless, Mr. Smotrich is not threatening to quit the government. For now, Mr. Netanyahu remains politically strong and in a position to ignore the loud voices rising from across the country.
At last Saturday’s weekly rally for the hostages, organizers said 100,000 people took to the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities. This Saturday, a significant turnout is expected, and Sunday’s general strike will likely get wide support.
Every Israeli wishes Hamas would end the war by releasing the hostages, disarming and relinquishing power in the Gaza Strip, but they also know such outcomes are unrealistic from a terrorist jihadi organization. Therefore, they are turning to their government to find a way to end to the longest war in Israel’s history. Not only has it failed to achieve its objectives by now – destroying Hamas and bringing back all the hostages – but it has also sunk the standing of Israel internationally.
Large numbers will be out on the streets this weekend. The government will hear, but it doesn’t mean it will listen.