by Eduardo Storch
We were with my wife in Israel a couple of weeks ago. We spent Passover with my sister and friends.
At Passover, the liberation of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt is celebrated. Currently, the people are fighting again for liberation, but in this case, it is about the new government headed by religious and nationalist extremists.
For 16 weeks, people have taken to the streets across the country on Saturday nights and sometimes even twice a week to fight in an attitude unprecedented in its 75-year history against a judicial coup. They protest against gender segregation, the LGBT community, other minorities and the creation of paramilitary militias led by racist and extremist ministers.
I was aware of these protest demonstrations that have come to summon up to 750,000 people through the news, the newspapers and the messages or videos that family and friends in Israel send me.
However, the publications of many Israeli photographers whom I follow on the networks allow us to capture better the reality of the climate in the streets. I have recently read and seen the excellent photographs that Corinne Spector and Shimi Cohen and many others have attached to their stories.
Thus, two days after arriving, I attended a demonstration that took place in Habima Square, a square located in the heart of Tel Aviv and surrounded by important buildings dedicated to culture, which I will tell you about later. On this occasion, I want to tell you about my experience in the demonstration on Saturday night on Kaplan Street, which has become an icon of the protests. We left the car parked far away because otherwise, it is impossible to get to that place due to a large number of people. It was exciting to see how children, women and men, young and old, some even in wheelchairs were gathering in the street and on the bridges carrying flags, t-shirts and allusive posters.
Large screens broadcast the images of the drones that flew over us and the people who spoke on a large stage. We reached the very epicentre where the songs and music came from. Youths with loudspeakers, bass drums, snare drums and whistles were clamouring for their rights and at one point a giant flag was unfurled above them which they all held and extended. From what the drones were transmitting I could see that on the flag there was a large caricature of the prime minister as if he were the pharaoh of Egypt. The flag engulfed the people in a kind of palpable communion, accompanied by music and chants.
Suddenly red flares were lit creating a very special and fiery atmosphere, so I went under the flag to share and document that very special moment.
The minute of silence for those who fell victim to terrorism in those days and the solemnity of the hymn sung by all was absolutely moving.
I was happy to have been able to participate and share the vibration of the people and make a photographic record of the protest.
At home, I began to download the photos from the camera and coincidentally saw a video on YouTube in which Mika Almog, a writer, journalist and social activist, granddaughter of the late Simon Peres, in which she describes the situation in Israel “The ground beneath our feet is burning!”
So I understood that this was exactly what I experienced when I was under the flag and I want to share it with Progressive Street.
