Protesters Fill Tel Aviv’s Streets, Rejecting Netanyahu’s Coronavirus Measures

Tel Aviv’s streets were darkened with humanity Saturday night as thousands of protesters gathered to demonstrate against the Israeli government’s response to the coronavirus-induced economic crisis. After weeks of separate rallies held by individual sectors that saw only dozens of supporters at a time, the leaders of the various movements managed to put aside their differences for one night to jointly organize Saturday’s protest. At the end of the rally, several protesters confronted the police, attempted to block roads and vandalized buildings around central Tel Aviv. Police arrested 19 protesters and three police officers suffered minor injuries. Among the protesters’ demands are the expansion of unemployment and social security benefits through the end of next year and the cancellation of property tax for businesses that were forced to shut down during the virus outbreak.