Protesters demonstrate In Hadera wh
(Ido Erez )
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a celebration of the Mimouna holiday in Hadera on Wednesday where he was first greeted by hundreds of protesters demonstrating against his legislative push to overhaul the judiciary.
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A small group of supporters of the prime minister's agenda was also present to confront the protesters who occasionally blocked roads in the northern city and clashed with police.
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Netanyahu at Mimouna while protesters of his judicial overhaul demonstrate outside
(Photo: Elad Gershgoren, GPO)
Netanyahu said he was moved and happy to be at the celebration with his wife Sara. "It is a celebration of an Israeli tradition and of faith in Israel's future," the prime minister said. "I have enormous faith if the strength of our people in the face of those who seek to destroy us," he said. "When we are united, there is no force that can defeat us."
A couple identified as Dalit and Ronen, residents of Hadera said they were asked when they arrived at the celebrations, whether they were Likud voters and when they said they were not, were told to leave. "We have been residents of this neighborhood for over 50 years," they said. "It is a terrible feeling. It brings tears to our eyes," they said.
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Protesters face off mounted police outside a Mimouna event with the participation of the prime minister on Wednesday
(Photo: Elad Gershgoren )
Over the past two decades, Mimouna has transformed into a national festival that has quickly gained widespread popularity. Netanyahu had attended the celebrations since taking power in the 1990s and has positioned himself the leader of the Sephardi communities, especially those from North Africa, in Israel, who are predominately traditional or religious and lean to the right of the political spectrum.
He famously told a spiritual leader of such a community in 1997, that the leftists in Israel forgot what it meant to be Jewish.
Other political leaders from Netanyahu's party as well as from parties in the opposition were also guests in Mimouna celebrations around the country.