by the Alternative Information Center
Some 8,000 people marched through Tel Aviv to the Ministry of Defense on 16 October 2010, in protest against the racist laws being promoted by the Israeli government and the Israeli security forces’ population transfer exercises.
A long list of organizations, movements, and political parties participated in the demonstration, including the Hadash Party, Hithabrut-Tarabut, and the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, amongst others.
On 10 October, the Israeli government approved a draft law on a new oath requiring any non-Jewish person taking Israeli citizenship to swear allegiance to the country as a “Jewish and democratic state,” a proposal the Knesset is expected to pass.
During the demonstration, Knesset Member Dov Khenin (Hadash) said that “we are witness here to a demonstration of the strength of the Left in Israel.” He added that “Jews and Arabs from throughout the country came tonight. We intend to struggle against the wave of racist and anti-democratic legislations. In Israel there exists a large group that is willing to fight against racism and on behalf of democracy, and this struggle will grow larger. Democracy has become a fateful question for everyone, and we all need to mobilize so that the answer to this question will be the correct one.”