“Male members of the government should have attended this event,” said opposition leader Tzipi Livni. “Men have to understand that women are not their objects. The government is distributing weapons instead of dealing with the problem. It’s unbearable. Maybe women are now at the front, but this protest is not just relevant to women.”
Protesters stopped traffic near Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square, causing the adjacent streets to be closed for half an hour.
The protesters stood for a moment of silence in memory of women who have been recent victims of violence. One of the organizers of the protest in Tel Aviv, the actress Yael Abecassis, read aloud a list of the victims in the past year.
“Enough! It’s possible to put an end to this,” Abecassis said. “We must act differently. We need to establish a national emergency organization. Our souls are being murdered.”
“Stop violence against women,” said Yesh Atid MK Aliza Lavie. “We went to the streets. We stopped traffic at Dizengoff. Mr. Prime Minister, this is happening on your watch. A national organization to prevent violence against women must be established immediately.”
The demonstrators held up signs sporting the pictures of victims of violence, as well as transparent balloons with the words, “the cry of transparent women.”
Opposition MKs Yael Cohen Paran (Zionist Union), Michal Rozin (Meretz), Mossi Raz (Meretz), and Dov Henin (Joint List) also joined the demonstration. The only coalition member who came was MK Merav Ben-Ari (Kulanu).