As mass protests sweep Israel, Palestinians remain alienated

Since January, Israelis have amassed across the state chanting to save democracy. Yet amid a sea of Israeli flags, a small bubble of protesters say democracy can’t exist alongside apartheid.

The rift between the two camps is palpable, with Palestinian flags ripped out of demonstrators’ hands and shouting matches blaring over megaphones.  

“The problem with the big demonstration is that people want things to remain how they are,” a protester with the anti-occupation activist collective, Free Jerusalem, told The New Arab.

Wishing to remain anonymous, she explained how Israel’s last government — noted for its politically-diverse coalition — was actually one of the worst for Palestinians.  

"These democracy protests are actually mislabelled because you can't have democracy when you have a system that's founded on racism"

“It’s not about who’s in government,” she said. “We want change — a free Jerusalem where everybody is equal.” 

Yet protester SaraPage Podolsky feels discussing the occupation during the demonstrations detracts from the movement’s larger message.  

“Once we can guarantee human rights within our own borders, then maybe we can start looking at what's going in other places,” Podolsky said, referring to the occupied Palestinian territories.

“It’s like masks on an airplane — we have to make sure we're okay before we can assist others.” 

Those sentiments, however, are what’s driving Palestinians, like lawyer and political analyst Diana Buttu, away from these protests.  

“Israelis have approached this issue by effectively saying to Palestinians, ‘If you're not part of this anti-judicial overhaul bloc, then you're with it',” Buttu said. “This very binary thinking completely ignores what it actually means to be living as a Palestinian in this country.”  

Buttu understands that Palestinians will be the most affected by the current government’s proposed changes to Israel’s judicial system, but that hasn’t changed her position.  

“These democracy protests are actually mislabelled because you can't have democracy when you have a system that's founded on racism,” Buttu said. “For that reason, I and others have not been going to them.”  

While Palestinian participation in these protests is minimal, some have joined and are encouraging others to do so as well.  

Activist and journalist Tamim Abu-Khait has attended the demonstrations and says a strong Palestinian presence is crucial because they will be the group so severely impacted if the legal reforms are passed. 

“Arab citizens of Israel did not seriously participate in the demonstrations because there’s a state of despair when it comes to the possibility of influence and change," Abu-Khait told The New Arab.

“Arabs believe they cannot [enact] change.”

"Arab citizens of Israel did not seriously participate in the demonstrations because there's a state of despair when it comes to the possibility of influence and change"

Part of the Palestinian resistance to protesting, Abu-Khait explains, stems from the general climate at the Israeli protests whereby the campaign leadership hasn’t openly invited Palestinians to participate and has even asked Palestinians speaking at rallies to revise their speeches.

“They really don’t want the Arabs to participate because they don’t want the right-wing side to say these are Arab demonstrations,” Abu-Khait said.  

Despite a level of non-inclusion, some Palestinians remain steadfast in their decision to join the anti-occupation wing of the protests. 

Islam Azem came to the first demonstration in Tel Aviv in January carrying a Palestinian flag. During the march, other participants tried swiping his flag and screamed that he was ruining the protests and pushing Zionists away.  

While the experience initially discouraged Azem from returning to the protests, he’s since changed his perspective. His attack went viral online and the newfound fame encouraged him to advocate for greater Palestinian participation.  

“We're demanding real democracy,” Azem said. “It’s very important that Arabs and Palestinians be part of this protest. Even though we’re having a lot of disagreements with mainstream protesters, we still need to have our voice heard.” 

Despite continuing to get attacked by passers-by for raising the Palestinian flag, Azem keeps attending demonstrations and has seen some Israelis growing curious about the radical bloc and even joining in. 

“The Palestinian flag means terror for them,” Azem said. “But then they see us, […] and we're holding Palestinian flags, and this exposes them to new ideologies and it's working.” 

Jessica Buxbaum is a Jerusalem-based journalist covering Palestine and Israel. Her work has been featured in Middle East Eye, The National, and Gulf News.

Follow her on Twitter: @jess_buxbaum