Israeli Protesters Mass in Jerusalem to Call for Elections

gedaliyah@lemmy.worldmod to News@lemmy.world – 248 points – Israeli Protesters Mass in Jerusalem to Call for Elections
nytimes.com

The protesters demanded an end to the war and the release of hostages from Gaza, and also called for elections that many hoped would oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Good.

I didn't expect this strong and transparent sign of opposition, but now that it's there, I like it.

This isn't a new phenomenon. Netanyahu was already deeply unpopular before October 7th and large scale protests have happened before.

However, it's important to note that these are not anti-war protests. Most Israelis still support the military action in Gaza; They're just protesting the fact that Netanyahu hasn't done a good enough job of bringing the hostages home.

These protesters are being antisemitic.

Actually no, since they only want the return of the hostages. That's kosher as long as they don't call for the cessation of Israel's genocide, which they haven't.

That’s kosher

How about you don't equate Jews and Israelis what with many of us Jews being against Israeli imperialism and genocide?

Edit: Feel free to downvote me. Using terms like that implies just one thing to me: It doesn't matter how much I am against what Israel does, it doesn't matter how much I condemn them, I will always be forced to take partial blame for whatever they do because of the culture I was born into.

Does it matter that I was born and raised in Indiana? No. Does it matter that I've never set foot in Israel? No. Does it matter that I don't even have any close relatives in Israel? No. Does it matter that I can't even read the Hebrew alphabet anymore? No.

All that matters is Jew = Israeli and Israeli = Jew.

But sure, I'm making too big a deal out of it. Think about how Americans from South Asian cultures would feel if you regularly associated curry and Modi's government.

Also, would you use the term 'halal' to say something similar when a predominantly Muslim country does something bad? Because I've sure never heard it.

Okay I did not mean that. I guess the context could make it confusing, but I was using this meaning of kosher:

2: being proper, acceptable, or satisfactory

The fact that the topic is Israel is actually a coincidence.

Also, would you use the term 'halal' to say something similar when a predominantly Muslim country does something bad?

Actually as an Arab Muslim I could easily see halal being used in a similar context in an Arabic conversation, but that's neither here nor there.

I feel like I have seen you make this comment before. Possibly more than once. I am Hally to see you so committed to a joke that is both a) not yours, and b) not funny.

Remember, only democracy in the middle east

I mean it is though, (unless you count Iraq and Turkey), that's why this protest against the war and for an election is even allowed to happen.

I think the point is that "it isn't" if people are clamoring on the streets for an election that never comes.

I guess we'll see what happens next

Israel has had something like five elections in the last three years. Getting a free and fair election is not the challenge.

Having people protest in the street is not, to my knowledge, how elections are initiated in any modern democracy.

Israel is a coalition government with at least a dozen different political parties (including Palestinian/Arab parties), which is why Netanyahu has managed to hold power despite most people disliking him; he is extremely effective at coalition building. Someone who opposes him may accept their party joining his government if their minority party is granted important concessions.

That is also what makes him so dangerous. He seems willing to make a deal with any fringe individuals who can help guarantee his power. The likes of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, literal right wing terrorists, have been given influential government roles dispite representing just the most radical voting bloc.

Wow, it sounds like a worse decomacry than our first past the post shit in Canada

I mean, imaging getting the same hated head of state no matter who you vote for

Coalition government offers a greater voice to minority voices, which is often a good thing. FPTP and two party systems are a race to the middle, which often leaves out people, but sometimes succeeds in diminishing extremists.

I'm not really aware of a system that effectively includes minority voices while deminishing extremists, although a robust constitution helps.

Unpopular opinion: Ranked choice is not much better than FPTP. It's basically indistinguishable except in the case that a third party gains enough support to displace another.

The election is almost guaranteed to happen though, all they're protesting over is the timing.

Netanyahu is claiming he wants to wait till the war is over. The protestors are saying that he's just using that to keep himself out of jail.

The longest Netanyahu can draw this struggle out is October 2026. Another election is guaranteed, Netanyahu isn't going to suddenly make himself dictator with his tiny popularity.

Many people thought that guy in Germany wouldn't. Many people claim Trump in the US won't if reelected...

Scary times we live in, not sure if count any crazy shit out.

Guaranteed until this "war" stretches on and he needs to delay the election because Hamas just launched a new attack and he needs to stay in government to deal with them.