Anti-corruption protests continue for 38th week outside AG's home
Protesters calling on Attornney General Avichai Mandelblit to stop stalling on police investigations against PM Netanyahu face Likud supporters in Petah Tikva, but are joined by demonstrators in 16 other cities.
On one side some 2,000 protesters claimed the attorney general was stalling the investigations, while on the other were some 350 supporters of Netanyahu and the Likud party led by MKs David Bitan and Nava Boker.
The anti-corruption protesters called out "Money, government, underworld," "The country is collapsing," and "Both an investigator and a friend," among other things. They also held up signs saying: "Bibi, you sold the silver platter," "Bibi resign" and "Cases 1,000, 2,000, 3,000—Mandelblit wake up."
Police forces were deployed to the scene of the protests in Petah Tikva's Goren Square. The anti-corruption protest did not receive police approval, while the Likud supporter's counter-protest did.
Demonstrators in 16 other cities joined the protest against corruption in Nahariya, Rosh Pina, Haifa, Afula, Hedera, Netanya, Kfar Saba, Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Holon, Ness Ziona, Modiin, Jerusalem, Ashdod, Kiryat Gat and Be'er Sheva.
In Tel Aviv, some 150 protesters called on Netanyahu to resign, waving signs saying "Enough with corruption," "Loving Israel, saying goodbye to Netanyahu" and "A government of criminals," among others.
Oren Simon, one of the organizers of the protest, lamented the fact that "We have an attorney general who does everything in his power to stall the investigations against the prime minister. We urge him to get on with it. We encourage the police to leave no stone unturned and fear nothing. On this, justice must be seen, not just be served. We want to know what the prime minister is suspected of."
He noted that "A situation in which the prime minister is suspected of many things at once raises the question of whether he still has the ability to govern the state."
Motti Ashkenazi, who spearheaded a protest after the 1973 Yom Kippur War that led to the resignation of prime minister Golda Meir's government, also attended the protest in Tel Aviv. "We're here because we refuse to accept corruption as a normal part of democratic culture. We won't allow the issue of morality to be a conflict between the Left and the Right," he said.
The anti-corruption protesters said in a statement, "The protests will be held as usual, despite the political calls and the intimidation attempts meant to disrupt them. The politicians who are calling to stop the protests in Petah Tivka want to put pressure on the AG themselves to cease investigations into corruption without allowing for the public's voice to be heard."
This is the 38th consecutive week the protests outside the attorney general's home are being held. After 10 weeks, the police ordered protesters to move away from the attorney general's home, and they have since held their demonstrations at Goren Square in the city.
In June, the attorney general responded to a letter on the issue from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), saying: "The only consideration that guides me and the rest of those involved in the investigation is uncovering the truth, and no external pressure can divert us from this goal."
