On Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv and several other Israeli cities to demonstrate against the ongoing war in the Middle East. These unauthorized rallies were met with efforts by security forces to disperse the crowds. Since the war launched by Israel and the United States against Iran on February 28, weekly protests have taken place in Tel Aviv and elsewhere. Initially attracting only a few dozen participants, the numbers have gradually increased, though they remain significantly lower than the tens of thousands who protested last year against the Gaza conflict.
The Saturday demonstrations saw participation from several former parliamentarians and prominent left-wing groups, including Standing Together, Peace Now, and Women Wage Peace. Video footage captured law enforcement officers forcibly removing protesters in Tel Aviv, while similar scenes were reported in the northern city of Haifa. Under wartime security regulations, gatherings exceeding 50 people are banned in Israel, which continues to face daily missile and rocket attacks from Iran and Lebanon.
A spokesperson for one of the organizing groups confirmed that the protests had not received official authorization. In Tel Aviv, security forces pushed back some demonstrators aggressively, knocking several individuals to the ground and restraining at least one protester with a chokehold. Israeli police described the event as an “illegal demonstration” and stated it was dispersed after a Home Front Command official reiterated the prohibition of such gatherings under emergency rules. Authorities arrested 13 people in Tel Aviv and detained another five in Haifa, where police said some protesters blocked roads and ignored officers’ orders.
Standing Together, a Jewish-Arab activist group involved in organizing the protests, issued a statement accusing police of being “instructed to carry out arrests and silence dissent,” adding that the government fears the protest movement’s growth. Participants expressed frustration over the war’s unclear objectives. Yoram, a 52-year-old tour guide who declined to provide his last name, remarked at the start of the Tel Aviv rally, “We are four weeks into the war, and nobody actually knows what is the aim.” Joanne Levine, 76, suggested the conflict was part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “game plan,” emphasizing the lack of a clear exit strategy.
Despite the protests, public support for the war against Iran remains strong in Israel. A poll released on Friday by the Israel Democracy Institute revealed that 78 percent of Jewish Israelis support the conflict, compared to only 19 percent among the Arab Israeli minority. However, opposition to the war has increased from 4 percent in early March to 11.5 percent currently, indicating a gradual rise in dissent.
