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On December 27, 2023, a brawl broke out at a high school in Tel Aviv as students caught wind of their principal allegedly supporting Gaza on Facebook. The footage, which has gone viral on social media, shows a man in a black t-shirt and glasses, supposedly the principal, being pushed around in the melee by a group of teenage boys. The boys can be seen carrying Israeli flags. The clip ends with the man trying to diffuse the situation.
In stark contrast to this, several people in Israel have come together for anti-government protests. People joined together in Tel Aviv to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and protest against the government for not taking action to retrieve the Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas.
Netizens call the schoolboys "the next generation of radicalized Zionists" as they protest against their principal for allegedly supporting Gaza in Tel Aviv
The skirmish reportedly broke out in the 14th-grade city school in Tel Aviv. People on X (formerly Twitter) grew appalled watching this video, with one person saying, "Meet the next generation of radicalized Zionists." Here are some reactions to the video:
People on social media voiced their dissent towards this particular behavior, with the consensus being that Israeli children are indoctrinated into the belief that Arabs are not equal to them from a young age. According to The Times of Israel, a study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2016 discovered that "79% [Jewish Israelis] believe Jews should get preferential treatment over Arab citizens."
Such attacks against people who support Gaza are not new in Tel Aviv. When the Anadolu news agency was interviewing three teenagers who refused to join the Israeli military as they did not support the war on Gaza, a group of Israeli fanatics showed up to verbally harass and insult the teens. According to the outlet, they screamed out insults like "terrorist" and "Hamas Supporter."
According to Time magazine, one of the teenagers, Tal Mitnick, aged 18, is currently serving 30 days in a military jail after refusing to enlist in the army.
Peaceful rallies held in Tel Aviv to protest against the Israeli government's attacks in Gaza
While many sided with the Israeli government in its attacks against Gaza, a minor faction protested this. On November 18, 2023, thousands of protestors gathered in Tel Aviv for an anti-war protest.
According to The Times of Israel, protestors carried signs in Hebrew, Arabic, and English with the slogans “In Gaza and Sderot, children want to live,” “An eye for an eye and everyone is blind,” and “No to occupation and siege, yes to peace” to name a few.
Frequent protests occur every week in Tel Aviv, calling for a ceasefire and criticizing the government for not working towards safely retrieving the hostages imprisoned by Hamas.
As per The Guardian, an anti-government protest held on December 24, 2023, saw the Israeli hostages' families joining the others. The protest was held at Habima Square in central Tel Aviv.
Eran Litman, the father of one of the victims of the October 7 attack, said (as per The Times of Israel):
“The hands of the Israeli government, and its leader, are covered in blood.”
At the time of writing this, it has been 83 days since the Israel-Palestine conflict started. Experts from the UN have warned that the Palestinians were “at grave risk of genocide," the Time magazine reported.
Close to 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, and nearly 2.3 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes. Calls for a ceasefire grow every day, even as Israel maintains its relentless attack in Gaza.
