30 | JUNE 25 • 2020
Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, Israel
S
ome 6,000 people gathered on a
Saturday evening in a peaceful
demonstration to protest the propos-
al to annex more of the West Bank, slotted
to be executed on July 1. Jews and Arabs
gave heartfelt speeches about the destruc-
tive consequences of occupation; Bernie
Sanders sent in a message from the U.S
saying millions support the attempt to not
give up on peace.
It was a relatively calm night, with few
police arrests (a Haaretz journalist among
them) and a few counter-protesters. This
demonstration meant something, but I’
m
not exactly sure what.
After a 24-hour news cycle, everybody
moved on. This is a familiar pattern: Some
people gather in a show of solidarity and
a burst of adrenaline; then we, the media,
forget anybody was there. The conversa-
tion moves on to whatever crisis is cur-
rently in style. The systems we’
re protest-
ing, then, can pretend we aren’
t protesting
at all and continue doing the same thing
they’
ve always done.
It seemed like this time would be dif-
ferent. The wave of protests around the
U.S has gathered momentum around the
world. Demands are specific and already
bearing fruit. Jewish communities, famil-
iar with the dangers of white supremacy,
are among those turning out to support
black people in their fight for justice.
But in Israel, people idly sit by with
deadly indifference. It’
s easy to watch the
news from America and act as if it’
s all far
away. It’
s easy, like we forget our protests
happened, to forget what they were about.
Salamon Taka was an 18-year-old
Ethiopian Israeli killed by an off-duty
police officer who claimed to feel threat-
ened for his life in 2019. Iyad El-Hallak
was an autistic 32-year-old Palestinian
man killed by a police officer for holding a
“suspicious object” (no weapon was found,
and Iyad’
s caretaker said both she and
Iyad tried to tell the officers there wasn’
t
one) around the same time of George
Floyd’
s murder.
These two deaths were unnecessary, and
they weren’
t the first. Yet when protests
do happen—in Jaffa, Haifa, Jerusalem,
Tel Aviv — there is a wall. Too many of
us don’
t show up. Like with annexation,
while many Israelis don’
t necessarily sup-
port it, we’
re content living with it. Too
many of us respond, “It’
s not OK, but…”
That “but” is the crux of the matter.
That “but” is a deeply ingrained belief that
when a police officer or IDF soldier kills
someone without any reason, it’
s a mistake
they must be able to make—so when the
time comes, they can protect the Jewish
nation against actual threats without any
misgivings. At the end of the day, that’
s
why we’
re here. That’
s why we fight all
these wars — to protect the Jewish nation.
But at this point in history, is protect-
ing the Jewish nation really what Israel
is doing? If we say Black Lives Matter’
s
support of the Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions movement means we cannot
support them as they “go against us,” are
we protecting ourselves or are we refusing
to see the connection between racism all
over the world? We are not different. We
are not, somehow, exempt.
Israel has come uncomfortably close
to the very same people whom we have
a responsibility to not only stand against,
but also act against. This isn’
t about BDS
nor BLM; this is about acknowledging
racism in Israel. Regardless of what we’
ve
experienced in terms of wars and terror
attacks, regardless of what we think is the
right way to solve the Israeli/Palestinian
conflict, regardless of who we think is
against us. Because that’
s our responsibili-
ty as a Jewish nation.
Michael Elias is a young Jewish non-binary poet and
writer, currently studying comparative literature and
history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Thousands demonstrate in Tel Aviv’
s Rabin
Square against Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’
s plan to annex parts of the
West Bank on June 6, 2020.
Eretz
letter from Israel
NIR KEIDAR/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES VIA JTA
What Is Israel
Really Protecting?
As annexation looms and police violence rears, we must refl
ect
on Israel’
s claims to protect Jews all over the world.
MICHAEL ELIAS CONTRIBUTING WRITER