Thousands of Israelis comply with social distancing during the protests, in their opinion, anti-democratic measures introduced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of the spreading of the coronavirus.
The demonstrators gathered in Rabin square in tel Aviv with placards and masks, at a distance of about two meters from each other. More than 2,000 Israelis involved in the movement of «Black flag», expressed their protest against harsh police measures against coronavirus, such as tracking the phone calls of citizens, who received the Prime Minister. The police, in turn, demanded that the organizers of the protest to make a mark in the square, demonstrators had the opportunity to be at a safe distance from each other, as in Israel, demonstrations are permitted subject to social distancing and the use of protective masks.
Some Israelis joined the protests virtually through Facebook and Zoom, because of fears of Contracting coronavirus.
The protests of «Black flag» first gained momentum in March, during which hundreds of residents of Israel traveled by car to Jerusalem, in order to Express dissatisfaction with the harsh measures taken to combat the virus.
«It started with the coronavirus when they [the government] started to take anti-democratic bills.» said Tamir Hefetz, one of the organizers of the protest. «I woke up and realized that there is no alternative, tomorrow will be too late.»
The protesters also warned against negotiations between Netanyahu and his rival benny Ganz, who both are in the process of forming a coalition government that would have marked the end of the year political crisis after three unsuccessful elections. Waving black flags and holding placards with the slogan «Save democracy», the protesters appealed to the party of Ganz not to join the coalition led by Netanyahu, as the Prime Minister was criminally charged in three corruption cases.
At the weekend, Netanyahu has weakened the quarantine measures, as in Israel, unemployment has increased by 26% in that time, the country registered more than 13,000 cases of coronavirus and 172 death from infection.
