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.