Larger, Smarter and Still Angry: Lockdown Only Bolstered anti-Netanyahu Protests
Anti-Netanyahu demonstration in Jerualem, October 17, 2020
“Be like water” is how protesters in Hong Kong describe their tactics for marches. The idea is to make sure the march flows quickly, without a preset route, with sharp turns, splits and reunification of the masses. When faced with police officers trying to reroute them, the demonstrators pass them by, turn in the other direction or find a way out through yards and alleys – similar to water flowing down a slope and splitting up every time it runs into an obstacle, but never ceasing to flow.
The protesters in Hong Kong based their tactics on a famous statement by the actor and martial arts master Bruce Lee. The basic condition for the tactic to work is having a large enough group of young and fit demonstrators who can easily run long distances. The result is that the police find it very difficult to control the march and power shifts into the hands of the protesters.
Over the past few weeks, this tactic has been adopted by the protesters demonstrating against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, and on Saturday, it reached Jerusalem too.At around 10 P.M. Saturday night, an hour when the protests usually begin to wind down, hundreds began marching from Paris Square near the prime minister’s official residence in the capital using the “water” method. They went down nearby Agron Street and when the police tried to block them – they began running. After that they turned and went through Independence Park and split up into two groups – one went in the direction of Zion Square and the other to King George Street downtown.
Time after time the protesters managed to evade the police and entered areas where the anti-Netanyahu protests have never reached, including the Mahaneh Yehuda market. After 40 minutes, the two groups met up again and began a “race” with dozens of riot police officers along Sacher Park. If they had been a bit more determined they could have reached the Knesset too, but the protesters decided to stop and return to the prime minister’s residence on Balfour Street.