Swedish in Tel Aviv: There will still be new elections

Swedish Jonatan Macznik was in the middle of a sea of ​​people demonstrating in Tel Aviv when the news came: Israel is under attack, everyone must go home.

– All of a sudden, in a demonstration with 100,000 people – just silence, he says.

But Iran’s giant attack has not affected dissatisfaction with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, according to Macznik, who is convinced that Israel is headed for new elections.

The street protests against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rule have been going on for months, even before the start of the Gaza war in October. And in Tel Aviv they attract the most people, estimates on Saturday range between 45,000 and 100,000 people.

But that night turned out to be different, when the authorities warned of a major attack from Iran.

– It was a very strange atmosphere, says Macznik, who lives outside Tel Aviv and just like everyone else started heading home.

“Not many slept”

– Then there weren’t many who slept that night. We could see how it slammed over us, as the air defense shot down drones.

Now he is relieved that the immediate consequences of the attack were relatively mild, and hopes that Israel will not retaliate militarily.

– There are those who of course say that you have to respond to Iran. But the vast majority want peace and quiet, he says.

Regardless, dissatisfaction with Israel’s government remains unshaken. The basis for it is the same: that the motley government, with several far-right ministers, is seen as a desperate attempt by Netanyahu to cling to power to avoid being convicted of corruption.

Already unpopular

The prime minister had extremely low popularity even before the Gaza war. Now many think that he handled even that poorly, and the general protests in Tel Aviv have been supplemented by the relatives of the Gaza hostages holding large demonstrations in Jerusalem.

It contributes to Jonatan Macznik’s conviction that the government will fall.

– The question is how long it will take until there are new elections. The dissatisfaction is so great.