Ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrival in California, protesters projected an image of him wearing an orange jumpsuit on the walls of the Alcatraz prison. A similar message was projected onto the United Nations headquarters, reading "Don't believe Crime Minister Netanyahu."
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A truck drove around the streets of Manhattan mocking the premier's previous UN addresses and demonstrations were held in Times Square, as well as at the San Francisco airport where Netanyahu landed and outside his hotel.
Some 80 former security officials sent a letter to the members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations warning that Netanyahu's actions were "dismantling the IDF."
Members of Ahim Laneshek, a prominent protest group comprised of army reservists, rushed to be interviewed on "60 Minutes," with Shira Eting โ a former combat helicopter pilot โ saying the "strongest confidence" was required in leaders when a pilot is required to "shoot bombs and missiles into houses knowing they might be killing children."
With such alarming frivolity, Eting fed into the false narrative of Israel's enemies just to justify the protests.
To understand the depth of the damage and brokenness of those hyper-attached to the demonstrations, one should read Shira Ruderman's words. Executive director of the Ruderman Family Foundation, she spends her days building bridges between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. She wrote an alarming letter, noting that "The first days of the new year have been tough. Before Rosh Hashanah ended, we heard reports of antisemitic flyers being distributed in Ohio, and at the of the holiday, we were informed about the demonstrations against Netanyahu throughout the US. The peak, in my opinion, is the planned demonstration outside the General Assembly, not against the president of Iran, who is going to give a speech there and who seeks to destroy Israel, but against the prime minister of Israel. Waving Israeli flags is usually a source of strength for Israel, but not this time. The demonstrations in America are causing terrible damage, certainly at a time when hatred against Jews around the world is getting more extreme. These demonstrators make us weaker in the face of our enemies. What we need is a united and strong front in a world where some want to wipe us out. This is a matter of life and death, this is no longer about justice."
Ruderman is not a right-winger and has even spoken out in the past against some decisions of the current government. But Ruderman loves Israel and the Jewish people and understands the danger and evil that is sweeping the world.
These demonstrations do not harm Netanyahu. They harm Israel, defaming it in the world.
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