Tel Aviv
CNN
–
In a sea of Israeli flags, Yiftach Golov holds one that looks a little different.
Among the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets for the 13th straight week on Saturday, Golov hoists a brown flag that represents a group called “Brothers and Sisters in Arms.”
These are veterans – many, like Golov, from the elite forces – who now feel they are fighting on a new battlefield: saving Israeli democracy.
“We believe it is our responsibility to go once again called to the flag of the nation to stop this madness in defense of Israel,” Golov said, as he made his way through protesters on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street, between the tall grains that are home to many of Israel’s high-tech companies.
During the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, Golov served in a special forces reconnaissance unit. He has never before been particularly political, focusing more on obtaining his doctorate in biophysics from Tel Aviv University.
But when the protest movement against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul plan began in January, Golov attended a demonstration and quickly became one of thousands of veterans, and now military reservists, who took up the cause as a new mission.
Some, including elite Air Force reservists, took it a step further, threatening to ignore the call to train or even serve to protest judicial changes to the government’s plans, which would give the ruling parties more control over Israel’s judiciary.
Others decided to become some of the most active organizers and protesters. Last week, a group of brothers and sisters in arms protested by carrying a figure wrapped in the Israeli flag on a stretcher, the way they would carry an injured comrade off the field.
While Golov says he didn’t take the drastic step of refusing service, he understands the motivation.
“We are fighting for justice and freedom, just like American history, these are the values that are represented symbolized when we look at our flag, this is something that has been missing over the last few decades. So basically we are getting the flag back,” he said.
The other members of the group, all wearing brown shirts with the organization’s logo, come over to say hello. They are sprinkled throughout the protests. One even leads the “pink front,” a group of coordinated drummers who look like they’re dressed for a rave, and who often lead the chants at protests.
They’re using skills they learned in the military – how to organize, how to mobilize – now for protests. But more importantly, they say they have the same type of motivation.
“The very deep feeling that you are part of something bigger than yourself, that (you are) allowed to sacrifice whatever is necessary, whether it’s your career, your health, your serious mental health,” Golov said. “We all have a mission, you are ready to do it at any cost. You are very determined, you know you are on the right side, you carry the torch of light. This allows us to be very motivated despite the fact that we do not sleep for days.”
Israel’s protest movement is made up of many disparate groups, but pressure from Israel’s highly touted veterans has been seen as a key to moving the needle.
Last Monday, after weeks of sustained protests and the largest general strike in Israeli history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a pause on legislation, to allow time for negotiations with the opposition.
But despite the announcements, demonstrators are still on the streets in large numbers. CNN Affiliate Channel 12 in Israel estimated the size of Saturday’s demonstration in Tel Aviv at around 150,000 people. Organizers said it was 230,000.
Last week’s mass protests and widespread strike actions came after Netanyahu said he had decided to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for championing a delay in passing the legislation – a move Netanyahu has since delayed, sources told CNN, due to “the current security situation.”
In his televised speech calling for a delay, Gallant said the pause in legislation was necessary “for the security of Israel,” citing the refusal of some Israel Defense Forces reservists to protest the government’s plans. He said moving forward with the proposals could threaten Israel’s security.
Under pressure at home and from allies abroad, Netanyahu said he would delay votes on the remaining legislation until after the Knesset’s Passover recess in April “to allow time for a real chance for real debate.”
“Out of responsibility to the nation, I have decided to delay… the vote, in order to allow time for discussion,” he added.
But Netanyahu indicated the delay was only temporary. He insisted the overhaul was necessary and reiterated criticism of refusing to train or serve in the military to protest the planned changes. “Refusal is the end of our country,” he said.
Many protesters don’t believe the pause is real, or say it’s simply a stalling tactic to give Netanyahu some breathing room and get protesters to go home before he launches in with the reforms.
“We will start doing deactivation only when we know 100% that the State of Israel will remain a functioning democratic country. Whatever needs to be done for this,” Golov said.
