Monday, February 14, 2022

Israelis mount their own COVID 'Freedom Convoy'



Israeli "Freedom Convoy" protesters demonstrate in Jerusalem

Mon, February 14, 2022,

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Hundreds of vehicles drove along the main highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Monday and converged on parliament to protest against COVID-19 curbs in a convoy inspired by demonstrations in Canada.

Other protesters stood on overpasses and at junctions as the so-called "Freedom Convoy" passed by, with banners and Israeli and Canadian flags flying from the vehicles.

"Freedom doesn't look like this," read one sign, showing a picture of a girl in a mask.

Outside parliament, protesters sounded horns and beat drums, and called for pandemic restrictions to be lifted.

"We are all gathered here for freedom. Because for two years already, all this world is going mad because of all the mandates and all the things that don't let us live as free as we are born," Jonathan Deporto, 39, said.

In recent weeks, Israel has rolled back requirements to show proof of vaccination at restaurants, cinemas, gyms and hotels to coincide with a slowdown in daily infections from the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19.

But masks are still mandatory in public indoor spaces, including schools, shops and medical institutions.

In Canada, the "Freedom Convoy" https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-protesters-police-deadlocked-tensions-simmer-blocked-border-bridge-2022-02-13 protests started in the capital Ottawa last month led by truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers. Similar protests took place in France over the weekend.

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Andrew Heavens)



Freedom convoy: Israelis protest Covid rules in Canada-style convoy
AFP
February 14, 2022 
Source: Flickr

Thousands of Israelis streamed into Jerusalem from across the country Monday in a “freedom convoy” against coronavirus restrictions that mirrored similar traffic-blocking protests in Canada and around the world.

The demonstrators blared their car horns and waved Canadian and Israeli flags as they made their way towards the seat of Israel’s government. Protesters held signs against wearing masks and other coronavirus restrictions. Other activists stopped traffic at junctions and bridges nationwide.

The Jerusalem convoy snarled traffic in a demonstration similar to a massive show of protest in Canada that caused a major US-Canada crossing to be shut for days.

Similar movements have sprung up in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.

Shany Shlomo, 51, an administrator, said she attended the protest in Jerusalem to speak up against coronavirus vaccines.

“Nobody can tell us what to put into our body,” she said.

Israel was one of the first nations to roll out a national vaccine campaign, with third and fourth booster shots available to offset the vaccine’s gradual decline in efficacy.

Authorities in Israel have loosened restrictions in recent weeks, shortening the list of places where a vaccine pass is required. This comes as runaway infections fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron strain seem to be slowing down.

Last month, some days saw more than 80,000 new Covid cases. Since then, the infection rate has declined, with about 30,000 new cases registered Monday.

Tzvi Shori, 30, a business and law student, said he wanted “to fight for my rights” amid coronavirus restrictions.

“You’re taking and controling and holding us by a very short leash and basically saying ‘no’, now you do what we say,” he said.

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