As part of the many demonstrations and protest actions that took place Tuesday in Israel following the approval in the first reading of the law to cancel the “Reasonableness Clause”, a particularly unusual photo of a toddler placed on a crosswalk while several buses were stopped behind her was circulated. The photo, which was initially suspected to be fake, was proven to be real and caused an uproar in Israeli social media circles.
In the Knesset Plenum, Minister of Welfare Ya'akov Margi referred to the photo of the baby being placed at the crossing as an act of protest and said: "Today, an act of protest was published on social media that used a baby at a crossing - this issue was transferred for an immediate investigation. There are limits to protest as well, if someone tried to tell us with this photo op that this week there are no limits to protest, we say yes, there are red lines to protest."
At the same time, the Council for Child Safety published the guidelines regarding the participation of children in demonstrations, and wrote, among other things: "Children should not be used as a gimmick that 'takes good pictures' or as exploitation to promote the goals of adults, no matter how righteous the goals may be in the eyes of the adults."
Dear Israelis protesting the judicial reform:
— Jay Engelmayer (@jengelmayer) July 11, 2023
When you begin to act like the people who pose the biggest threat to our existence while protesting what you disagree with, you become the biggest threat to our existence.
Putting a baby in the middle of a main Tel Aviv boulevard… pic.twitter.com/GfgfC1SnId
“Using children in demonstrations and protests for the purpose of promoting the ideological goals of adults, especially when situations of risk arise is unacceptable. At the same time, youth have the right to participate in a protest to express their opinion and this must be allowed in a safe and protected manner. In addition to all that has been said, the following parameters must be taken into account: the age of the child, the nature of the demonstration, the conditions of stay in the area, and the minor's consent.”
In the last few hours of Tuesday, after the demonstrations at Ben Gurion Airport ended without any special incidents and according to the Airports Authority, all flights proceeded as scheduled, and protests began on Kaplan Street, in front of the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv and around the President's House in Jerusalem.
When mob rule sets in the individual brain seems to close down and go on strike.
— Chai5... אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה ... I am that I am (@sadcjp) July 11, 2023
The left always resort to violence to get their way and that is why this is insurrection and not protest
INSANITY: protests in Israel turn violent, baby left on highwayhttps://t.co/L1KgVnlVeR
From 7:00 PM to midnight, 71,707 passengers on 415 international flights passed through the airport. The management of the Ben Gurion Airport clarified that they are "conducted in accordance with the events with increased work teams and in accordance with the passengers' expectations, and the early arrival of the flights during the hours when the demonstration took place. Throughout the day, Ben Gurion Airport managed to maintain high operational precision. This is in particular in relation to the busy summer days and the existing congestion in the airspace in Europe."
