Thousands of anti-Kach and anti-racist demonstrators packed the Wollin Square in Givatayim near Tel Aviv this evening, to prevent Kach leader and Knesset member Rabbi Meir Kahane making his views heard.
The police at first refused a permit to the anti-Kach demonstrators, headed by a rare coalition of all members of the Givatayim town council, to hold a counter-demonstration simultaneously with Kahane. Later they agreed that the rally could be held at the conclusion of Kahane’s address.
Kach had distributed thousands of leaflets throughout the town, asking residents to turn out in force to attend his meeting. Givatayim Mayor Yitzhak Yaron said: “We will respond to Kahane’s invitation to attend– but we won’t let him be heard.”
Hours before the scheduled start of the Kach meeting the square was packed with thousands of people, many of them carrying whistles, hooters and rattles and clappers usually used on Purim to drown out the name of Haman during the reading of the Megillah.
HEAVY POLICE REINFORCEMENTS PRESENT
A number of Knesset members, mostly from the left-wing segments, were among the crowd, as well as hundreds of members of leftwing and Boy Scout youth movements.
Very heavy police reinforcements estimated at well over 600, stood by with water cannons to form a protective wall between Kahane and his followers and the anti-racist demonstrators.
Kahane was pelted with eggs and tomatoes when he arrived. The windshield of his car was broken by a stone. An overseas television network cameraman also hit by a stone. Several arrests were made.
Kahane tried to speak for about half an hour, but only a score or so of his followers in the front row of the crowd could make out his words because of the noise of heckling and the sound of the noisemakers.
Spokesmen for the anti-discrimination demonstrators appeared pleased by the results. “We have struck the first blow for democracy and against Kahanism, ” one of them announced.
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