I was at the massive tent protest outside the Knesset today. Israelis are ANGRY.

It's been six months since the Oct 7 attack. And nothing seems to have changed. In fact, some things are getting worse. And the hostages.... the hostages....

Einav Zangauker hasn’t slept in six months. Since her son, Matan, was taken hostage on October 7, she has spent most of her time sitting outside the war room in the Kirya army base in Tel Aviv, waiting for her government to do something. So far, nothing has happened to bring her son back. His girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky, was released in a hostage deal on November 30. But since then, nothing.

Einav, who I heard speak at the weekly Saturday night hostage vigil in Modi’in a few weeks ago, voted for Bibi Netanyahu. She considered herself a Bibi supporter, a Likudnik from Ofakim, one of the hardest-hit towns on October 7. But now, something has changed. She has left the Kirya and is as of yesterday is camping out in Jerusalem in front of the Knesset, along with thousands of other protesters demanding two things: bring the hostages home, and bring down the government.

A massive sign at the protest tent camp that reads: Memshelet hamechdal habayta — the government of the disaster go home. Signed, the kibbbutznikim. Next to the sign are piles of hand-held signs that have been used by protesters

The four-day protest, which started on Sunday, is the first official merger of two camps in Israel, the hostage families, and the “Kaplan” anti-government protests that was out on the streets every week for 11 months in 2023, until October 7. This merger was reluctant to form — anti-government protesters has until recently paused their movement out of respect for the war, and hostage families did not want to get “political” in order to focus on the emergency at hand of bringing their loved ones back.

But now, the gloves are off.

Massive blue sign that reads, “HOME!” That is, hostages, displaced, refugees, soldiers, and the government — HOME!.

Six months have passed. When they were taken captive, it was still hot out. Then it became cold and wintry, and we changed the clocks. One shop in Tel Aviv refused to change its clock to winter time and has a massive sign that reads, “The hostages have not changed their clock, and neither will we.” Winter came. It rained a lot. People celebrated Hanukah. And then New Years. And then Tu Bishvat. And then Purim. And now the rains are stopping. It was hot out today. People are putting away their coats, boots, and umbrellas. They are planning for Pesach. Seder. We changed the clock back to summer time.

And the hostages are still there.

The white hostage tent at the protest in front of the Knesset. The sign on the outside reads, “Get them out of hell! #Bring them home now!” 136 hostages.

In the 178 days since the hostages were taken, a lot has happened. We started a war in Gaza. We sent tens of thousands of troops there. Nearly 2 million Palestinians were displaced. We killed over 30,000 Palestinians, some two-thirds who were not terrorists, an estimated 10,000 children. We suffered our own terrible losses. Hundreds of IDF soldiers sacrificed their lives for this. Tens of thousands of soldiers served months in Gaza — some of whom are still there, like my son-in-law, but most have come home already, like my other son-in-law. Some who went home are already serving elsewhere, like in the territories, like my son. A new war is starting in the north. Thousands more Israelis have been displaced. Life is in still in tatters for so many people. Including the thousands in rehab, or suffering PTSD. Many people are trying to get on with their lives. Many can’t. Others never will.

And still the hostages are there.

The crowd overflows outside the hostage tent to listen to hostage family members speak.

178 days. They are still there.

Nothing that Israel has done in Gaza seems to have made us better off in any way. Not only are the hostages still there, but the terror has not stopped at all. There are still rockets falling. In fact, now there are non-stop rockets in the north as well. There are still terror attacks all the time — yesterday in Gan Yavne AND in Beer Sheva. We have more war fronts to contend with, both up north and in the sea from the Houthis.

And what’s worse, most of the world is now pretty unanimous in its hatred for Israel. The words “Free Palestine” are shouted and cheered at in all corners of the globe, even by people who could not point to Israel or Gaza on the map. I saw a clip from this week’s SNL opening monologue that mentioned “Free Palestine” — and the whole place cheered. SNL…. To be fair, a minute later the stand up comic called for the release of the hostages, and people cheered for that, too. I think that’s actually telling in a way.

I don’t even know what Free Palestine means. Does that mean that Gaza should be its own state? Or that the entire Israel should disappear and be replaced by Palestine? Do any of the people cheering around the world know themselves? Does it even matter at this point? I feel like there is just this vague narrative in the world that Israel is this massive bully that is occupying a space called “Palestine” and killing everyone in it, and that we have to stop. How on earth are we going to fix that narrative? I’m not sure we will ever be able to.

We are at the worst point in Israel’s history not only in terms of our own safety but also in terms of our relationship with the world, our legitimacy as a Jewish state.

Massive red sign reads, “Elections now! Paratroopers for Democracy.”

October 7 could have been a moment in which the world saw what Israel is up against. We had this brief moment when we could have garnered world sympathy. But instead, we embarked on seemingly never-ending spree, ignoring critics and haters and the real world reactions to our often-questionable actions. And so here we are. Far, far, far worse off than we were on October 7. Falling down the rabbit hole of never-ending violence.

And still, the hostages are there. And the government doesn’t even seem to be trying to fix any of this.

Black sign reads: We [fem] have been awake since October 7. Signed, Ima Era (Mother is Awake, or Awake Mother)

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Among the many parallel activities happening in the tent camp, today a group of women’s organizations ran a “Women’s Cabinet”. Since there are exactly zero women in positions of decision-making power in this war — no women in the war cabinet, no women in negotiations, no women in the top army brass — women have decided to make their own locations of decision-making.

The women’s groups held a series of sessions led by women on a series of vital topics, including hostages negotiations, democracy, education, and “the day after” — i.e., long-term solutions to issues such as water, boundaries, Gaza, and more.

One of the working sessions of the Women’s Cabinet. Women (and men) sitting on the grass in the tent camp across from the Knesset.

This Women’s Cabinet tent on the subject of hostage negotiations was overflowing.

Massive black sign that reads, “Women’s cabinet: Women creating leadership — security, diplomatic, and social [leadership]”

Interestingly, the events since October 7 have birthed a whole range of new women’s groups in Israel — mostly around motherhood — each one protesting in its own unique way. Many were present at the tent camp. Imahot Bahazit (Mothers on the Front), Ima Era (Mother Awake), Teda Kol Em (Every Mother Knows), Za’akat Ha’imahot (The Cry of the Mothers), and several different groups of mothers of soldiers.

Ayelet Hashachar Saidof, founder of Women on the Front, one of the key organizations fighting for the haredi draft, that was very influential in last week’s landmark Supreme Court ruling that the haredi draft exemption is over.

You can find more photos from today on my Facebook page here.

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I’m wondering if this time, Israelis have really had enough. Are we in a moment of fury that will really make change? It’s possible.