On the evening of Saturday 31 October, about a kilometre separated Rabin Square from Habima Square in Tel Aviv, but the ideological distance between the two gatherings was wider. One side was a left hoping for a change of government after more than two decades of political dominance by Benjamin Netanyahu; the other proudly identified with the right, describing itself as "bibiste" or more conservative.
The left-wing rally was called by Standing Together, a progressive Jewish-Arab organisation, and drew several thousand people in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheba, Haifa and Tayibe. Participants included former left-wing activists, anticolonialists and young activists, described as part of a minority, educated and anglophone Israel. Their slogans included "Equality for all" and "A clear majority for change."
The demonstrators called for an alliance between the Zionist opposition and Arab parties, whose 19 seats could tip the balance in the Knesset, and for the formation of a Jewish-Arab government. In Tel Aviv, a counter-demonstration rejected any participation by Arab parties in political life.
The right-wing camp called for new elections in the wake of Netanyahu, who has cited fraud suspicions that have not been substantiated. The contrasting mobilisations underscored how the political impasse is playing out in the street as well as in parliament.
Sources: Le Monde International.