It was the most polite protest I’ve ever been to in Israel. Officially, it wasn’t even a protest, but a rally. Nearly all of the speakers on-stage at the Druze solidarity rally protesting against the nation-state law were careful to remain totally within the national consensus. “We never go to protests,” a Druze friend said to me. “It’s like we feel we need permission to do so.” But away from the stage, the insult felt by the Druze Israelis who had arrived in their tens of thousands at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, was clear. “I’m a Likud member,” said Louay Mula, from the town of Yarka, in northern Israel. “But now, after Bibi made he made as second-class citizens, he has to go.” His cousin, Hussein Mula said he also voted Likud in 2015, “but now I won’t be voting for any party. I feel I don’t have civil rights anymore, so why should I take part in this charade.” >> Basic Law or basically a disaster? Israel’s nation-state law controversy explained ■ Druze Solidarity Rally Could Make or Break Netanyahu’s Election Campaign | Analysis ■ Netanyahu Cons Druze and Incites Jews to Protect Controversial Nation-state Law | Analysis ■ Netanyahu's Morning-after Bill | Analysis Nearby, a young man stood wearing a T-shirt which he had designed himself, in the colors of the Druze flag and the slogan “Grade B Officer.” As a serving officer in an elite Israel Defense Forces unit, he asked not to be named, adding: “I know that if someone identified me here, at a political protest, while on active service, I can be reprimanded. But I don’t care anymore. They can fire me as well if they want.” Open gallery view Leaders from the Druze minority together with others take part in a rally to protest against Jewish nation-state law in Rabin square in Tel Aviv, Israel August 4, 2018. Credit: REUTERS/Corinna Kern Closer by the stage, things were a bit chaotic, very unlike the well-organized rallies that usually take place in Rabin Square. There were no security guards to make sure unauthorized people did not get onto the stage. The loudspeakers were underpowered and most of the speeches were barely audible to those at the far end of the square. There were insufficient numbers of Israeli and Druze flags and the backdrop on the stage had been put together at the last moment. But something about the lack of professionalism made it more authentic in comparison to the events of more experienced organizers, like Peace Now and the settler movement, who usually hold rallies in the iconic square. It was an unlikely combination of protestors, numbering roughly 50,000 in all: Druze from the north, together with secular Ashkenazim from Tel Aviv and its suburbs. Everyone was very nice to each other but the groups didn’t really mix. It was pretty clear that most of the Druze protestors would have felt much more at home with the Likud-voters they usually associate with up north and in the IDF’s combat units. Another sign of inexperience was the fact that the rally was held soon after Shabbat ended, not giving the more religious protestors the opportunity to join. Open gallery view Israelis from the Druze minority together with others Hold Israeli national flags and Druze's flags as they take part in a rally to protest against Jewish nation-state law in Rabin square in Tel Aviv Credit: REUTERS/Corinna Kern A slap and a hug It was also the most militaristic rally I’ve ever attended in Israel. Most of the speakers were either Druze or Jewish ex-officers of various ranks. Backstage there were enough retired generals to launch three military coups. Rafik Halabi, who emceed the rally, was constantly name-checking, in between the speeches, more senior officers and politicians who were attending, as if to add yet more respectability and legitimacy to the Druze’s unprecedented protest. Their attempt to remain consensual extended even to a token representative of the Arab community, who was invited to speak towards the end. They could hardly have found a more consensual Israeli-Arab than lawyer Othman Abu-Ria: He made sure to criticize the “irresponsible” leaders of the Arab sector “whose actions helped cause the nation-state law,” and ended by promising that “our protests will always be against policies, not against the state and we will only protest under the flag of Israel.” Open gallery view Israelis from the Druze minority, together with others, take part in a rally to protest against Jewish nation-state law in Rabin square in Tel Aviv, Israel August 4, 2018. Credit: REUTERS/Corinna Kern The decision to make the rally ostensibly non-political, however, dampened the tone of the event. Ex-Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin and former State Prosecutor Moshe Lador both made speeches which would have been very powerful on paper, but lacked the politician’s rhetorical skills needed to whip up a crowd. Occasionally, when Benjamin Netanyahu’s name was mentioned, there was scattered booing, which quickly died down. Attempts to get the crowd to chant “shivyon, shivyon” (equality), likewise failed. Some of them thought they were supposed to chant “bizayon, bizayon” (shame), and, anyway, it must wasn’t that kind of a crowd. “Most of the people here have never been to a protest in their lives,” said my Druze friend, a civil servant who can’t be named as being at a protest. He also gave me the best explanation of what was happening there on the square. “On the one hand, we’re all here to be hugged by the Israeli-Jewish consensus. We need that hug right now, after the slap in the face of the nation-state law. But the Jews need us as well right now. They need us, the most patriotic, military-serving minority in Israel, to give them legitimacy to protest against the nation-state law. To help them be patriotic while doing it as well.” Ultimately that will be the test of this rally, in the days and weeks to come. Did the combination of Israeli Jews opposing the nation-state law, because of its non-democratic nature, and the Druze-Israelis opposing the law, because they’re not Jewish, give a veneer of patriotism and Zionism to the opposition to the law? Did it do enough to counter the incitement and divisive narrative that Netanyahu has been pushing since the law passed two and a half weeks ago? As the rally drew to a close and Jews looked sheepishly at Druze, wondering how they can proudly sing the words of the national anthem about “a Jewish soul yearning.” For a moment, at least, they felt they could be a patriotic opposition in a democracy, and not just a Jewish state.<doc-sep>cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); }); if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";} ‘Fake news” write those who are angry that Druze are protesting the Nation-State Law in Israel. Demonstrators are dismissed for their “emotional” protest, while writers demand that we “name one right minorities lost under the new law.” Others say the protesters “stabbed us in the back.”The angry reactions came after a massive and unprecedented Druze-led protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, in which tens of thousands came to criticize the Nation-State Law passed last month. Amid a sea of Israeli and Druze flags, speakers praised Druze for defending Israel since the 1940s, lending their voices to those who feel the law has strained relations between the state and a minority group.Many of those in Israel who critiqued the protest were born after protest leader Amal Assad fought in the Battle of the Chinese Farm in 1973 against the Egyptians. This is one of the ironies of today’s Israel. Those who fought for decades to secure the state are being mocked as purveyors of “fake news,” talked down to as if they were children, or have their views dismissed entirely. What they say is reasonable, however. “We view the law as discriminatory,” Daliyat al-Karmle’s Druze Mayor Rafik Halabi told President Reuven Rivlin. The law doesn’t mention equality and that is one of the main things that angers the protesters.The deeper story here is not the law, but the symbolism. “The feeling we are not equal was always a bit present in the street. It’s sad, because we’ve always believed that someday we would be equal,” Brig.-Gen. Imad Fares told Ynet in July. This articulates the problem clearly. Whereas many of Israel’s Druze served in the army for decades without questioning or protesting the state’s policies, they did so under unwritten commitments from the state to their community. These commitments for support included more investment in local communities, access to state jobs, and hopefully, land for development in Druze villages.THE BROTHERHOOD found in battle has often been termed the “covenant in blood.” But over the years, some Druze felt that covenant has been taken for granted and that they were shunned after leaving army service.In 2007, Druze in Peki’in rioted over the installation of a cellular antenna, complaining it was bad for the health of locals. In 2009, Druze protested what they called insufficient government funding for villages in the North, in a demonstration outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. “Our soldiers serve at the front but there’s no state support at home,” said one demonstrator.Thousands protested in Maghar against home demolitions in 2017. Druze have also been outspoken about Israel’s policies in Syria during the ongoing civil war there, demanding that Druze villages near the Golan Heights not be threatened by extremist elements among the Syrian rebels.Israel’s delicate balance among its constituent groups is always at risk of being tipped. Anyone who followed these little protests over the years clearly saw the larger protest on Saturday night boiling under the surface. Whether it is the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) protesting army service, as happened this week in Jerusalem, or LGBT activists and their supporters rallying against the surrogacy law in July, or Bedouin protesting in the Negev, or the Ethiopian anti-racism protests – many communities in Israel assert there is a red line between their demands and the current state of affairs.The Netanyahu administration and previous governments have sought to put off dealing with many issues. Whether it is taking a strong stand to fight racism, or dealing with land reforms in the Negev, or policies relating to the Western Wall or West Bank – on every issue the policy of Jerusalem is a short-term fix and often a political flip-flop. That is why in late July, activists rallied to bring the last Falash Mura Ethiopian community to Israel, yet another issue Israel promised to deal with and never did.UNFORTUNATELY, THE response by some in Israel is a majoritarian arrogance. Instead of looking at a Druze officer who served for decades and listening to his concerns and honoring him, the attitude of an increasingly vocal group in Israel is to dismiss any criticism as “anti-Israel” and mock it. They tend not to want to see other groups in Israel as equal or worth listening to. Druze are called a “model minority” or “loyal minority” in the press, but what about just listening to what they have to say? Does loyalty only go one way? If a person is loyal to the state and serves in its army, hasn’t that person earned the right to be heard?The problem in Israel is that too often, hasbara talking points that are put out for consumption abroad are also consumed domestically. For instance, pro-Israel people will speak highly of the “Arab doctors” who “work with Jews” or the “Muslim policeman” who is an example of how Israel is inclusive. They will say how Israel is the only country where “Christian’s flourish while they are being massacred elsewhere.” Ethiopian Jews in Israel, for instance, were sent on speaking tours abroad to “combat BDS claims of apartheid.” The idea was that if you show anti-Israel audiences a black Israeli, they will not be able to shout “apartheid.”But these Ethiopian Jews, Druze, Christian Israelis, the “Muslim policeman” and the “Arab doctor” are all individuals, and they live a full life in Israel which doesn’t just consist of talking points. When an Arab doctor suffers discrimination at the airport through two hours of invasive checks and complains of racism, his views are discounted. When Ethiopian Jews take to the streets to protest racism, many of those who sent them abroad on speaking tours don’t even bother to join them in solidarity.The message is clear: Your usefulness to Israel is a one-way street. Serve in the army and be quiet after. Be the face of diversity and then be quiet. Serve coffee in the “exotic” Bedouin tent to tourists, but don’t ask for your land rights. Clean the office floor, but don’t ask to travel without being hassled. And if you protest, then it’s “fake news.”Many people have embraced the Druze, just as many embraced anti-racism protesters and surrogate-rights protesters. Embracing and understanding and listening to the protesters doesn’t mean one has to accept all their demands. But if a country is going to demand three years of someone’s life in the army, the least that can be done is to listen to them for three hours at a protest.Follow the author on Twitter @Sfrantzman.<doc-sep>The meeting at the Israeli defence ministry was tense. Sitting across the table from Benjamin Netanyahu were leaders of Israel’s Druze community, an Arabic speaking minority group of around 150,000. The Druze sheikhs and former army officers had come to discuss a divisive nationality law pushed through by Mr Netanyahu’s government. But when the talk turned to a comment one of the Druze had made about Israel becoming an “apartheid state”, the prime minister reportedly walked out in anger. The aborted meeting on Thursday was just one flare up amid ongoing tensions between the Israeli government and the country’s most loyal minority group. Tens of thousands of Druze and their supporters rallied in central Tel Aviv Saturday to protest the new law they say makes them second-class citizens. Holding colourful Druze flags alongside Israeli ones, protestors at Saturday's demonstration, estimated by local media at over 50,000, chanted "equality".<doc-sep>
(CNN) — Tens of thousands of protesters packed Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Saturday night in the largest protest yet against Israel’s controversial nation-state law. Led by Israel’s Druze minority, the crowd, filling nearly every square foot of the city’s central square, repeatedly cheered “Equality!” as speakers railed against the recently passed legislation. Druze leaders say the nation-state law makes them feel like second-class citizens because it doesn’t mention equality or minority rights. The law focuses almost exclusively on enshrining Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. “The nation-state law in its current form does not recognize all Israeli citizens as equals,” said Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai at the protest. “For the love of the nation, I call all of us to cancel or amend the law that leaves the ‘other’ outside the circle and to remove this ugly stain from the face of our state of Israel.” It’s a criticism that Druze and Palestinian citizens of Israel have leveled at the law since even before it was passed. But Druze hold a special place in Israeli society. The Druze, a religious sect spread throughout Israel, Lebanon and Syria, make up a subset of Israel’s Arab population. They are fiercely loyal to the country in which they live. Numbering fewer than 150,000, Israeli Druze nonetheless participate in every aspect of Israeli society. They support the state of Israel, are active in parliament and, crucially, serve in the Israeli army. “All our lives we took pride in an enlightened, democratic, and free state of Israel with the freedom and dignity of man as a supreme value. We never questioned the Jewish identity of the state,” said Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze in Israel. “No one can teach us about sacrifice. No one can preach to us about loyalty. Military cemeteries and hundreds of fallen soldiers will testify to it. The same way we fight for the existence of the state, we are determined to fight for the right to live in equality and dignity. We are Israelis. We are brothers,” Tarif said at the rally. In a sign of growing anger over the law, two Druze officers in the Israeli military threatened to resign. Trying to allay the anger, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot urged soldiers to “leave the controversial political issues outside the military,” calling the IDF the “army of the people.” Retired Brig. Gen. Amal Asad, one of the organizers of the protest, struck a similar tone in his speech. “From this rally, with joint hands and hearts, we go forward for many more years of joint life in Israel in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence. We are ready to discuss any element in the government to find a solution to the issue for the benefit and the future of our children,” he said. Following the Druze outcry over the law, passed two weeks ago, a number of politicians who voted for the law have said it needs to be addressed in some way to acknowledge the Druze contribution to Israel. Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the right-wing Jewish Home Party, said on Twitter that a special law needs to be passed for what he called the “Druze brothers,” adding that it was “not our intention” to hurt them. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who pushed for the legislation, has repeatedly refused any suggestion to amend the law. He met with Druze leaders in recent days in an attempt to find a compromise that would work for both sides. After the meetings, Netanyahu hailed a “historic outline” that would recognize the contributions of the Druze community. The proposal included investment in Druze towns and villages, a special law recognizing the Druze and other minorities who serve in the security forces and support for Druze culture and institutions. But follow-up meetings quickly fell apart. . Asad, who was part of the meetings, told Israel’s YNET news that Netanyahu refused to sit with someone who accused the Israeli leader of running an apartheid state. On Asad’s Facebook page last week, he warned Israel could become an apartheid state because of laws like the nation-state law. As news spread of the proposed compromise, there was little indication it had done anything to assuage Druze anger over the nation-state law. Some protesters at the Saturday night rally held signs that read “Yes to equality; no to bribery” in an apparent reference to the compromise.