Protest of innocents
Anti-Olmert protestors haven't thought about struggle's political outcome
When it comes to this type of protest, especially in this type of protest, the first question is "how many." In this case the mass is the message. The answer is that there were many out there – less than what the organizers claim, but many more than the government would have liked to see.
Were there 200,000 people there? No, just like in the 400,000 protest, the mother of all exaggerations, following the Sabra and Shatila massacres, there were no 400,000 protesters. But 100,000 people who bother to come to Rabin Square on the hottest evening of the year are an impressive number.
The second question is "who." The right-wing protests held at the square over the years were dominated by religious-Zionist protestors, the "Orange camp." The protest held yesterday featured an interesting mixture of a typical Tel Aviv crowd, many seculars, many young people in their 20s and 30s, and alongside them religious-Zionists demonstrators and an older crowd reminiscent of leftist protests at the square.
Protest organizer Uzi Dayan was impressed by this combination. "Never before did such diverse crowd gather at the square," he said.
He was fantasizing. At its core, this was an Ashkenazi demonstration. The veteran established Israel declared publicly that it had enough of the prime minister. I did not see there many Russian immigrants and I did not see development town residents. Perhaps it is a matter of place of residence, or disposable income, or priorities.
Yet perhaps it is deeper: My sense is that the protest over the war failures belongs to one population sector at this time, although it's an important sector – a deciding sector.
The third question is how such protest affects Olmert's chances of survival. The crowd that arrived at the square Thursday night was amazingly democratic, pure-intentioned, and blatantly non-threatening. People were clapping, yelling out loud "Olmert, resign," holding restrainedly worded signs provided by the organizers or prepared at home, and politely listening to the speeches.
This is not the kind of crowd that would set up barricades. This is not the kind of crowd that would be demonstrating again next week, and the week after, until it brings the government down.
It is strange to say that an Israeli population sector, and particularly a veteran Israeli sector, is innocent, yet still, for better or worse, the people who came to demonstrate yesterday were innocent. For better, because what they know about the war and what they read in the Winograd report truly insulted them. They aspire for a more successful, cleaner, and more effective government; for worse, because most of them arrived without thinking about the political result of their struggle.
Hypocritical politicians
It is easy to call for the dismissal of a prime minister. Yet the true challenge is to change the rules of the games, the political culture, and the quality of government. Had the protesters known that instead of Olmert they'll be getting Netanyahu it is doubtful whether they would show up.The politicians were walking around on stage and amid the crowd. Ami Ayalon for example. An hour before the publication of the Winograd report he called for reinforcing the Olmert government, yet an hour after the report was published he called to quit the government, even though the report did not reveal anything he did not know before. This is not how a leader should conduct himself. This is more like a yo-yo.
Or Ophir Pines, who was a cabinet member throughout the war and backed actions that are now characterized as severe failures. Or Danny Yatom. I asked him whether he is demonstrating against himself. He said "yes," I'm in favor of kicking ourselves out.
Or Gideon Sa'ar and Gilad Erdan, whose leader, Netanyahu, was the architect of the drastic cutbacks in the defense budget, a policy harshly slammed by the report. There were others there who wildly pushed Olmert to extend and escalate the war. One of them even got on stage and delivered a self-righteous speech on the mistakes of the war.
The country is in big trouble, but it is not in such big trouble that it needs to be salvaged by these people.
