Government on recall

Israel: Hundreds of thousands protest against “Crime Minister” Benjamin Netanyahu, by Alexandra Senfft

Kochav Shachar says she is currently a full-time activist. Since June, the 22-year-old Arabic student from Tel Aviv has been taking part in demonstrations against her government, often up to four times a week. On Saturday October 10th, nearly 200,000 people vented their anger. They protested against their “Crime Minister”, against Prime Minister Netanyahu, accused of corruption, indignant at his mismanagement of the Covid 19 crisis. A common slogan is “Lech”, Hebrew for “go”.

“Kochi”, Shachar’s nickname, belongs to the minority of those activists for whom Netanyahu’s demission alone would not mean much progress. They are more concerned with the political and economic forces that keep him in power. Kochi and her fellow campaigners therefore want to link different political issues and encourage discourse about the state of Israel’s democracy. They stand up for human rights and are against the occupation of the Palestinian territories, against racism and structural violence: “We must change the system and practice more solidarity,” Kochi is convinced. “There is lots of hatred here, not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also between right and left, secular and religious people.” She is committed to campaigning for marginalized groups, especially the Palestinian citizens of Israel, but also the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. She also supports the “Culture of Solidarity” movement that works to care for those who are poor, lonely and ill in the pandemic period.

Une grande liberté intérieure »

Alexandra Senfft 59 ans, auteure et journaliste, Allemagne

« Cette crise devrait nous inciter à adopter un mode de vie plus solidaire et plus respectueux de l’environnement. Mais je crains que le retour à la normale ne se traduise, au contraire, par une relance de la production et de la consommation. J’ai personnellement apprécié cette pause dans mes déplacements qui m’a donné une grande liberté intérieure. C’est, bien sûr, très différent pour ceux qui ont peur de perdre leur emploi ou leur entreprise. La société est divisée entre ceux qui prennent cette pandémie très au sérieux et ceux qui remettent en cause la légitimité des mesures prises et propagent des théories du complot. La récession pourrait donner un terrain favorable à l’extrême droite, en particulier sur la question de la contribution allemande à la solidarité européenne. »
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