Saturday, August 22, 2020

Raising The Black Flag against Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel

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Vanshita Banuana

Article Title

Raising The Black Flag against Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel

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Global Views 360

Publication Date

August 22, 2020

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President Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel

President Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel | Source: Government Press Office, Israel

The past few months have seen an unprecedented uprising against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, owing to rapidly rising unemployment rates and mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis. Protestors have been gathering at Netanyahu’s residences and demanding that he resign.

Many claim that while the government was initially able to control the spread of the coronavirus, it was too quick to reopen the economy, which led to a more devastating second wave of cases and ended up only hurting small businesses and employment even more. The crashing down of the economy and public healthcare system is touted as evidence of a selfish government which is too distant from the interests of its citizens.

Additionally, Netanyahu is facing trial for charges of corruption. Though the charges first began to surface back in 2016, the indictment came last November. On top of that, it is being alleged that Netanyahu is trying to leverage the pandemic to delay court hearings. In light of the corruption charges, calling Netanyahu “Crime Minister” has emerged as a popular slogan at the protests.

Anti-Government protest in Israel | Source: Middle East Monitor

The protests seem to be mostly organised and led by Israeli leftists, who hold up black flags representing their anti-Netanyahu, anti-corruption and pro-democracy stance. Some protestors have also taken to dressing up in space-themed costumes, in response to a comment by Netanyahu’s son calling the protestor’s “aliens.”

The biggests protests are those held regularly outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem and his private home in the high-profile neighbourhood of Caesarea. The police presence at the protests has been heavy; clashes and arrests are common. Small international protests in support of the ones in Israel have been organised in the United States and Britain.

The protests usually bring a mixed crowd of those protesting corruption charges and business In terms of demographics, some have noted that religious Israelis and Israeli Arabs have been a minority presence in the protests, perhaps the former due to political leanings and the latter due to marginalisation and disenfranchisement. At the same time, the protests are being admired for bringing together citizens across political lines, religious beliefs, and ages, as well as the sight of many families attending protests together.

Protests against Netanyahu 2020 Jerusalem | Source: Nir Hirshman Communication via Wikimedia

The supposed political leanings of the majority of the protestors is the key argument Netanyahu has given while dismissing them, calling them “anarchists,” while also reportedly accusing local media of giving them more coverage than they deserve. He has also denied the allegations of corruption levelled against him.

There have been many reports of counter-protests by right-wing groups, often alongside the anti-Netanyahu ones. Supporters of Netanyahu, attempted to ram a car into a protest, called protestors “germs”,  pepper sprayed and attacked them with bottles and clubs. For now, the courts seem to be protecting the Israelis’ rights to freedom of speech and to protest from appeals to curtail the protests in any manner.

There is speculation regarding whether resignation is the “right” demand, since it seems unlikely that someone like Netanyahu will ever follow through on that. But the people of Israel are out in the streets in the thousands. They are called aliens or anarchists all day but denial is a facade that can only last for so long.

Benny Gantz leader of Blue and White Party | Source: Reuven Kapuchinsky via Wikimedia

Netanyahu is now the longest serving prime minister of Israel. He started the new term when his right-wing Likud party signed a coalition deal with Benny Gantz led Blue and White Party which provisioned 18 month long terms for both of them. Gantz’s term is to begin from November 2021 and some analysts predict that Netanyahu might hold early elections to deny prime ministership to Gantz and in the process, delay Israel’s next budget.

The biggest ally of Netanyahu so far in his political career was his luck which finally seems to desert him. He might be thinking that the protests can be waited out and accountability can be avoided. However this time, his political instinct and survival skill may come up short in the face of determined opposition from the common citizens of Israel.

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February 4, 2021 4:58 PM

Why the neighbours are furious with Hungary’s pre-World-War 1 map display

In the first week of May, 2020 the Prime Minister of Hungary, Victor Orban, conveyed his best wishes to the students appearing in history examinations. He may or may not have anticipated that his facebook post would create such fierce reactions in the neighbouring countries.

The controversial image, posted on Facebook, showed European countries of Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia within the borders of Hungary These countries came into existence when Austro-Hungarian state lost the World-War and signed the Treaty of Trianon in June, 1920 which envisaged the breakup of the empire.

Zoran Milanovic, the President of Croatia, was quick to respond to the post which persuaded the students of his country against posting such maps of Croatia which might ‘irritate’ the neighbours. “In our closets and archives there are numerous historical maps and maps that show our homeland much bigger than it is today … Don’t share them and put them on your profiles” he said.  

On the other hand, Ludovic Orban, Prime Minister of Romania, retorted in a very ironic manner. “The sparrow dreams of the dough” he said, referring to a Romanian proverb which means that Victor was just trying to put Transylvania, now in Romania, back in the Hungarian territory.

It is important to note that Romania is home to a large group of ethnic Hungarians and the loss of Transylvania is still a highly poignant matter for Hungary.

Daniel Bartha, from the Budapest-based Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy (CEID) thinks that there probably was no dual meaning rendered by Orban’s post. He said, “If there was a message in this, it was not intended to send it to other countries but it was a message to Romania… it is kind of a response to the ongoing clashes with Romania over the minority rights of Hungarian people living in Romania.”

Borut Pahor, Prime Minister of Slovenia said. "It is understandable and right that the recurring postings of maps which could be understood as an expression of territorial claims are met with rejection and concern by the democratic public and politics, including me as the president of the republic" .

Sebian Member of Parliament, Aleksandra Jerkov, called upon Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia, to lodge a protest against Orban regarding this issue.

It is worth mentioning that such controversial maps were displayed earlier as well by Victor Orban. In June, 2019, Orban’s office tweeted a picture of a similar map to celebrate Hungarian Day of National Unity, the day on which the Treaty of Trianon was signed. In December 2019, a Facebook photo posted by Orban showed a meeting of his party in progress under the same map.

The use of controversial map by Victor Orban fits perfectly well in his time tested strategy of using ultra nationalistic symbolism for solidifying his support base and continue to rule Hungry with an iron fist.

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