Hundreds of leftists protested on Sunday evening at the Rabin Square in Tel Aviv against Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz's intention to form a unity government with the Likud and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
One of the speakers was MK Moshe “Bogie” Ya'alon (Yesh Atid) who turned to Gantz from the podium and said, "Benny, we’ve come a long way in the last year to get the country back on track. I am convinced that your decision to enter Netanyahu's government was due to the sense of emergency that you felt, but it took weeks and you are on the precipice of entering a large and expensive government.”
"The pandemic does not interest Netanyahu, but rather taking care of himself on his way to the defendants' bench. Don't give it to him," Ya'alon continued. “You are being forced to agree to unconstitutional laws. You will be a partner to a government of immunity and corruption.”
"Benny, stop. You are welcome to join us. You made a mistake in the navigation, but you can still fix it. Together we will try to realize the majority we had. We will defeat the pandemic whether or not you enter the government,” he said.
Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh spoke at the demonstration as well and said, "We are against the way of Binyamin Netanyahu. We are against Netanyahu because he is corrupt and racist. We do not share the goal of bringing the state back to the way it was before Binyamin Netanyahu, but we want to see democracy. Democracy is the rule of law, but it is also the end of the occupation and the establishment of a true peace. Democracy equals equality and there is no democracy without social justice."
Another speaker at the protest was Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid who said, "The government being formed isn’t an emergency government or a national unity government. It is the fifth Netanyahu government. In the negotiations they didn’t even talk about the coronavirus. They didn’t talk about the economy. They talked about themselves. About their jobs. Those who broke up Blue and White and defrauded us are going to sit under a man indicted for fraud. Those who breached our trust, are going to sit under a man indicted for breach of trust. Those who were bribed with jobs and perks, are going to sit under a man indicted for bribery."
"Netanyahu turned the word ‘democracy’ into a leftist word. All our most basic principles are being worn down and trampled on every day: democracy, the rule of law, a free press, human rights, integrity. These aren’t left wing values. They are the founding principles of this country. They are the values I was educated upon and upon which I educate my children. From the day I founded Yesh Atid, these are the principles of the party: democracy, rule of law, a free press, human rights, integrity. That’s the basis. Without that there’s nothing," added Lapid.