Just like the 2011 social justice movement, the 2020 protests have strict rules: No one is allowed to criticize it. Ask singer Margalit Tzanaani about how she was scorned when she dared to depart from those rules in 2011. Just pay attention to the pile-on that various artists have had to endure this year for their critique of the protests.
A female journalist who expressed dismay over a woman's provocative nudity in one of the protests was scorned on Twitter by another female journalist: "Your job as a journalist is to report the facts, not to give grades! You are not supposed to explain your morals and if you can't understand this you better shut your mouth!"
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Don't expect such scorn to be directed towards journalists who want to build up momentum for this movement and turn it into a gushing display of patriotism.
This sentiment has been bursting in full force every time someone has expressed even the slightest misgivings, let alone direct criticism, over the unfolding demonstrations.
The supporters have become the thought police. They have gone on a crusade against those whom they deem as the "servants of the regime" and want to send them back to high school for a refresher course in civics.
In this simplistic dichotomy that has taken over the rebels, the world is divided into two: democrats and anti-democrats; freedom fighters and collaborators; heroes and oppressors. There is no middle ground.
This has been manifested not just in this violent and forceful imposition of thoughts but also with arrogant and boastful ridicule toward those who oppose the protesters.
The protesters have accused those who support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being scared. They are right: Netanyahu's supporters believe Netanyahu is the right person in the right place and they are fearful because they have a democratic compass. They realized their democratic right at the ballot box and they should not be subject to such media show trials by the protesters.
The right to protest is a sacred right in a democracy. But it is also a political act that requires not just an authentic outrage and grievance but also a set of goals, a strategy, and the allocation of resources toward changing real life.
In the real world, there are people who have opposing views. It is time we challenge the axiom that has taken hold over the discourse that every form of criticism of the protests is a crime against democracy and a form of oppression. That is just pure nonsense.
The leaders of the movement have said they want to bring down Netanyahu and say that they will do that by imposing a blockade on his official residence and his private home. This is very much like the Left's constant harassing of Prime Minister Menachem Begin during the 1980s until he could no longer deal with it and stepped down.
I think there is a good reason to challenge the legitimacy of this so-called siege, and even if a psychological attrition war is an acceptable tactic in protesting a regime, Netanyahu's supporters have the right to voice their dismay.
What has been defined by the leaders of the protest as "hope" is considered the very opposite of hope by those on the Right.
Perhaps we should point out that the Right is not some endangered species, but a huge proportion of the public. It is ridiculous to expect the Right to stay silent in the face of a political effort to undo the election results. What's next? Perhaps the Right will be asked to apologize for winning.
Perhaps it is time to burst this bubble of self-importance that has been created by the protesters across the street from Netanyahu's residence. Yes, you are not anarchists and you are not superspreaders of coronavirus, but on the other hand, not everyone who disagrees with you is an oppressor, and just because you are holding a poster doesn't mean that you have ownership rights on democracy.
The protests are not just an avenue to express grievances with the government, but a sincere effort to effect change that some of the public does not want.
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