Israeli expats hold anti-Netanyahu rally in San Francisco
Dozens of Israeli expatriates living in the Bay Area demonstrated Friday in San Francisco in solidarity with ongoing protests in Israel against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The dozens of demonstrators who took part held signs with slogans against Netanyahu that referenced his indictment on corruption charges and accused him of harming Israel’s democracy. The rally was held near the Golden Gate Bridge, in a nod to recent demonstrations held at bridges and highway overpasses across Israel each weekend.
In a video from the rally, demonstrators sang the popular song “Kol Ha’Olam Kulo Gesher Tzar Me’od” — “the whole world is a narrow bridge.”
The event was put together by an activist group called UnXeptable, who say Netanyahu’s legal woes make him unfit to serve as prime minister.
לפנות בוקר (שעון ישראל) באזור המפרץ בסן פרנסיסקו. המחאה מתפשטת ליבשות נוספות.
פורסם על ידי מחאת היחידים ב- יום שבת, 1 באוגוסט 2020
The demonstration in San Francisco came as anti-Netanyahu protests were again to be held Saturday evening across Israel. In addition to the rallies at bridges and overpasses, demonstrations were also set to be held outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem and Netanyahu’s private home in the coastal town of Caesarea.
Protesters have for weeks been holding regular rallies outside the Prime Minister’s Residence as well as in Tel Aviv and other areas, calling on the premier to resign due to his indictment on corruption charges. They have been joined in recent weeks by people protesting the government’s economic policies during the coronavirus pandemic, with crowds in the thousands and rising.
Recent protests have seen an alarming spike in violence, with attacks by right-wing counter-protesters, and scuffles between anti-government demonstrators and police.
Netanyahu is on trial for a series of cases in which he allegedly received lavish gifts from billionaire friends and traded regulatory favors with media moguls for more favorable coverage of himself and his family. The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing, accusing the media and law enforcement of a witch hunt to oust him from office.