Israelis Protest Military Operation against Gaza

Yesterday a Facebook group organized hundreds of Israelis to gather in Tel Aviv's Habima square. The group calls for people to “Refuse the election war! Refuse to die or kill in the name of a political spin.”

The latest exchange of fire between Hamas and Israel started on November 14, when Israeli drones targeted and killed Hamas military leader Ahmed Al-Jabari in the Gaza enclave.

The following 10-second video shows part of the anti-war protest:

Roni More posts a photograph from the protest to Twitter:

I shall not hate

I shall not hate, reads a sign carried during an anti-war protest in Tel Aviv. Photograph shared by @RoniMore1 on Twitter

More photos can be found here.

Many have been critiquing the politics behind this operation. In a popularly shared Facebook post, Lior Bakalu writes:

ארבע שנים כמעט לא עשו כלום, ופתאום נזכרו. ליבי עם תושבי הדרום ותושבי עזה שממשלת ישראל הפכה את המצוקה שלהם לתפאורת רקע לקמפיין בחירות

Four years and they've done nothing, and all of a sudden they've remembered. My heart is with the citizens of the south and the citizens of Gaza who's misery the Israeli government has turned into their elections campaign.

He adds an image outlining military operations from the past 15 years, and their timing in relation to elections. Translated below:

Alaa Younis critiques the politics behind the war:

החמאס עושה בשם האיסלאם את מה שביבי עושה בגלל הבחירות. שניהם שקרנים. לשניהם לא אכפת מהאזרח. ושניהם לא מייצגים אותי.

ובתור רופא שיניים אני אומר לכם: את שניהם צריך לעקור.

What Hamas is doing in the name of Islam, Bibi is doing because of elections. Both are liars. Neither of them care about civilians. And neither of them represent me.
As a dentist I tell you: both need to be extracted.

Joseph Dana is reporting today from Ashkelon, a city that's been hit hard by missiles. He tweets a reaction to the possibility of a ground operation:

@ibnezra: Ppl I am speaking with in Ashkelon amidst air sirens tell me that they don't want a ground invasion b/c it will harm Israel's legitimacy

While there is some opposition amongst Israelis, these opinions and protests are rarely highlighted by mainstream media. Elizabeth Tsurkov posted the following tweet:

@Elizrael: Israeli papers avoid reporting on Palestinian casualties and also don't report on the fact that some Israelis oppose this operation.

She continues:

@Elizrael: If you only receive news on the suffering of Israelis and successful assassinations of terrorists, why would you oppose this operation?

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