A meager turnout of only a few thousand people gathered in Tel Aviv Saturday evening to call for a Palestinian state along the pre-Six Day War 1967 borders. The protest was organized by Israeli political parties and organizations across what is considered in Israel the leftist spectrum, from Peace Now to Hadash.
The demonstration was a direct response to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement in Washington last month that he refuses to withdraw to 1967 borders. The message of the protest was that the establishment of a Palestinian state within these borders is in Israel’s interest of long-term peace and security.
Hadash MK Dov Khenin amongst other government officials at protest. Signs say : "67 - Palestinian state alongside Israel"
"Yes! Palestinian state within 1967 borders
Sign showing Prime Minister Netanyahu: "Refuser of Peace"
"Bibi, meet Palestine." (Yossi Gurvitz)
A child holds a Palestinian flag (Yossi Gurvitz)
Protesters bearing Hadash party signs read "Israel and Palestine, two states." (Yossi Gurvitz)
A counter protester being separated from the demonstration by police holds a sign reading "One state, for one nation." (Yossi Gurvitz)
A protester's sign, resembling a death notice reads "Bibi, the nation is with you - on the way to destruction." (Yossi Gurvitz)
A youth holds an Israeli flag (Yossi Gurvitz)
June 4, 2011
1:43 pm
They walked pasy my apartment and there were like 600-700 max.
Since when does Hadash to Peace Now constitute the left wing?
June 4, 2011
2:22 pm
Imagine how many more people would have shown up had the protest not been on Shabbat! At least another 25 people!
June 4, 2011
2:54 pm
the article should be re-titled – 5,000 protesters know nothing about israel history!
if they did, they would know there is no such thing as “67″ borders. it was an armstice line.
not a border.
anyone who says border needs to go back to school or read a book. let the adults talk.
June 4, 2011
3:26 pm
It’s quite depressing to find out that only 5,000 people in Israel want peace.
Or is it that many others want peace but only based on the 1947 borders?
June 4, 2011
7:43 pm
“THOUSANDS MARCH FOR PEACE”
How is that for an imprecise headline? 2,000, 5000, 10000, a million? How many?
Well, even if 5000 is correct (and I also assumed it was an exaggeration), that means approximately 5,995,000 Israeli Jews did NOT show up.
How is this for an alternative headline?:
“MILLIONS DECIDE TO SIT OUT FAR-LEFT MARCH”
June 4, 2011
7:54 pm
Well said Ben Israel!
June 4, 2011
9:44 pm
Max
Not 1947. They want the 1918 borders defined at Paris Peace agreements by the World Zionist.
June 4, 2011
10:05 pm
I would have carried a placard that said 47 borders, palestinian state instead of israel
June 5, 2011
12:11 am
the person to hkenin’s left is Isam Mahul. He is not a member of the government, neither is khenin.
June 5, 2011
1:21 am
At the end of the rally they said it was 20,000 so likely somewhere between 5,000 and that figure. But what takes the cake is that peace-loving one-state-for-all-its-citizens fans held their noses and didn’t show up. The declared raison d’être of the protest was Bibi’s “no, no, no to everything Obama said before me” speech before the US Congress and the grim reality of this government’s no peace ever. Wasn’t it the left that pleaded for Palestinian unity and expressed varying degrees of relief when Hamas and Fatah got their act together enough to go for a Palestinian State in September? Look in the mirror! No wonder the Israeli left is in big, fat trouble!
June 5, 2011
2:29 am
democracy……you gotta love it
June 5, 2011
9:12 am
You’re right Ben Israel. Or how about, “Millions demonstrate that they don’t realise that they’re living in an unsustainable, anachronistic dream world”?
June 6, 2011
3:36 am
A PS for the organizers of demos like this. Organize them for after shabat and/or don’t advertise them as being on motzei-shabat when they aren’t. There may be more sabbath observers than you think who “realise that they’re living in an unsustainable, anachronistic dream world” (thanks Mr. Allen) but rarely get the opportunity to say so thanks to another blinkered split in the Israeli left, i.e. that between secular and religious. If left-wing organizations habitually postpone joint activist demos until after iftar during the Muslim fast of Ramadan, they can surely make the same effort for their (surprisingly numerous) shabat-observers.
July 17, 2011
9:25 pm
These pictures from Israel are heart warming. It’s good to see some have some interest in a final settlement