At the same time as the “National Disruption Day” demonstrations and protest events: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement to the media this evening (Wednesday) in which he came out against the protesters and claimed that “freedom of demonstration is not a license to degenerate the country into anarchy.”
Netanyahu began by saying: “The freedom to demonstrate is not the freedom to arrest the state, the one who said this 20 years ago is former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, it was true then, and it is still true today. The freedom to demonstrate is not a license to degenerate the state into anarchy. Because a state Sovereignty cannot tolerate anarchy.”
“I know that there are many citizens among you who are fans of the state who passionately support the legal reform and there are many other citizens who are also lovers of the state who oppose the reform with the same passion, but in a democracy there are clear rules on how to conduct the debate, there are red lines that must not be crossed and it does not matter how deep the debate is, how Turbulent, as much as it shakes the soul, the sharp and clear red line is an absolute prohibition of violence and anarchy.”
“Yesterday in Hawara in the face of a terrible murder of wonderful brothers, I told the lawbreakers – we will not tolerate a situation where a man who is honest in his own eyes does what he does and I say again in front of the lawbreakers who crossed red lines in Tel Aviv we will not tolerate a situation where a man who is honest in his own eyes does”.
“We cannot accept violence, beating police officers, blocking roads, we cannot accept threats against public figures and their families, something that is very urgent at this moment in the heart of Tel Aviv. We will not accept breaking laws and violence, not in Hawara, not in Tel Aviv, no Nowhere”.
“I have now given you examples of what should not be done in a protest in a democratic country, and now I want to give you an opposite example of how to behave in a protest in a country. Two decades ago the debate was no less stormy and shaking, an entire public that opposed the government’s policy with all its heart, felt that its world was destroyed, before About two decades into secession, the Israeli government decided to uproot thousands of Israelis from their homes, exhume people from their graves, destroy their settlements. The opponents of the government’s policies saw their life’s work destroyed, and they believed in the destruction of a third home.”
“They embarked on a fierce and determined struggle, a poignant and powerful public struggle, which surrounded large publics in the country, but I can say one thing – this struggle did not cross red lines, we did not see then what is being done today. They did not beat policemen, did not call Mary, refusals They didn’t take their money out of the country and they didn’t defame Israel in the world,” he claimed.
“The leaders of the opposition and I among them at that time did not call for resistance, and we did not call for the shutdown of the economy, we did not encourage blocking roads and leading the country to anarchy, then the opposition under my leadership behaved responsibly, today the opposition unfortunately behaves irresponsibly.”
“One of the leaders of the opposition declares – throwing stones at police officers is unpleasant, but not terrible, another party leader fuels the demonstrations – and advises that he aims to reach a constitutional crisis in the hope that the constitutional crisis will lead to the collapse of the government and new elections. But I say one more thing, it’s not everyone , I know that there are voices in the opposition and in demonstrations that oppose the extreme line, I call on these responsible people to make their voices heard.”
“And I want to tell you one more thing, citizens of Israel – if we don’t do this, the situation will deteriorate, if the red lines are erased on one side, they will also be erased on the other side, and hence the path to the abyss of confusion is very short.”
“Listen to Asti Yaniv who learned that her two sons are in peace, at the most difficult moment in her life she called for unity and the island is not just, I call for the calming of the spirits, the cessation of violence and I believe and hope that we will find a way soon for talks and agreements, we will not raise a hand against each other, because we are brothers, we have no other country, Each will help one another, and his brother will speak loudly. I hope we will soon find a way to talk and come to an agreement.”