Questions Being Asked: People and Protests

Civic Unrest: Who, What, and Why

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INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS (A) PROTEST? WHY PROTEST?

Note to educator: These activities introduce learners to critical thinking about the phenomenon of social protest. Learners will consider what a protest is, as well as why, when, where, and how people protest.

Begin by asking learners:
      • What makes something a protest? 

Note to educator: Encourage learners to develop a comprehensive brainstorm list. Additional questions to ask, if needed:

      • Does a protest require a specific number of people? Is there a minimum number?
      • Where do protests take place? 
      • How long does a protest last? Does a protest need to last a specific length of time? 
      • Is a protest always in opposition to something or someone, or can people protest in favor of something?
      • What makes a protest successful? The number of participants? Public recognition? Achieving the desired changes?

Next, move the conversation from the hypothetical to the personal.

Ask learners:
      • What is something (an issue, an event, etc.) or someone that might inspire you to protest?

Note to educator: Alternatively, you can ask: What is something or someone you have protested for or against?

      • What are the parameters of a protest you would be willing to join?
          • In other words, how long or how frequently would you be willing to demonstrate? Where would you be willing to demonstrate? When would you be willing to demonstrate? How would you be willing to demonstrate? Would you be willing to violate laws or go against widely held public opinion in your protest?
      • What is it about that “something” or “someone” that would make you want to protest in the streets? In other words, why would you protest?
Sections in this Resource

The Terminology of Protest

Values, Messaging, and Symbols

Means of Protest

Wrap-Up and October 7

WORDS MATTER: THE TERMINOLOGY OF PROTEST

Note to educator: This activity encourages learners to identify synonyms for the term “protest” and to unpack the differences between them.

OPENING ACTIVITY

Come up with a list of synonyms for protest (i.e. rally, demonstration, riot, parade, etc.), even if they are not exact.

For each term, ask learners:
      • What is the difference between a protest and the synonyms listed?
      • Why might these terms be used interchangeably?
      • When do you think it is inaccurate or inappropriate to use these terms interchangeably?
As a wrap-up, ask:

What is unique about the term “protest”? What do you think protest means that these other terms do not capture? On the other hand, where does the term “protest” fall short for you?

“THE WHAT”: VALUES, MESSAGING, AND SYMBOLS OF PROTEST

Note to educator: A similar version of this activity can be found in Questions Being Asked: The Supreme Court. In this activity, learners explore how to identify what motivates protesters and how they conceive of their cause, while also examining how protesters on opposite sides of an issue often share strategies and values.

DISCUSSION

Present learners with the following brief description of the Israeli government’s 2023 efforts to overhaul the judicial system and the protest movement that emerged to oppose those efforts:

In 2023, Israel’s government proposed a set of reforms to the judicial system. These reforms sought to curb the power of the Supreme Court by, for example, legislating that the Knesset could override Supreme Court decisions and control the selection process for Supreme Court justices. In the end, only one of the reforms (arguably, the least significant one) was passed and a few months later the Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional. Throughout the year (before October 7), opponents of the reforms launched weekly protests attracting hundreds of thousands of Israelis; a pro-reform movement, albeit less active than that of the anti-reformers, also emerged and organized protests.

Encourage learners to examine the images below. The first images are from protests against the judicial reforms.

Ask learners:
      • What do you think the Supreme Court symbolizes to these groups?
      • What do you think these Israelis see as the role of the Supreme Court?
      • What is the relationship between the Supreme Court and Israeli democracy, according to these protesters?

Note to educator: Two overlapping points (among any others that might be raised) to highlight are the importance of maintaining a strong Supreme Court in preserving Israeli democracy and the perceived role of the Supreme Court as a guarantor of minority rights.

The sign reads: “Curbing women’s rights, not on our watch”
The sign reads: “Curbing women’s rights, not on our watch”
A group of protesters from the technology sector
A group of protesters from the technology sector
A poster of a coalition of LGBTQ+ activists opposing the judicial reform
Next, show learners these images of pro-reform activists. Ask:
  • What do you think the Supreme Court symbolizes to these groups?
  • What do you think these Israelis see as the role of the Supreme Court?
  • What is the relationship between the Supreme Court and Israeli democracy, according to these protesters?

Note to educator: The idea of these questions is to help learners “read” a protest. The Supreme Court is only a case study—the goal is for learners to unpack what the protesters are saying, more than it is to accurately describe the judicial reform debate. With that being said, some important points to highlight include the need to reform the Supreme Court in order to strengthen Israeli democracy, the notion that the reforms are justified given that a democratically elected government proposed them, and the infringement of the Supreme Court on religious rights.

Protest-Photo-5
Protest-Photo-6
The sign on the right reads: “Reform = Democracy”
Protest-Photo-7
The sign on the left reads: “The nation voted for judicial reform.” The sign on the right reads: “Enough of the Supreme Court’s regime! Reform now!”
Protest-Photo-8
The banner reads: “We are the majority, you are the minority.”
Protest-Photo-9
This protest was led by ultra-Orthodox activists in 1999, however, it was similarly launched in opposition to the perceived overreach of the Supreme Court. The sign on the top left reads: “Enough of the destruction to Judaism!” The sign in the middle reads: “Enough of judicial dictatorship!” The sign on the bottom left reads: “The Supreme Court is tearing apart the nation.”
Conclude by asking:
      • Do you see any overlapping symbols, language, messages, or values shared by pro-reform and anti-reform activists?

Note to educator: The very use of protest as a form of civic activism is a shared feature, even though the movements are diametrically opposed in their ideas. For more resources related to the 2023 protests, see here.

MEANS OF PROTEST

Note to educator: Using case studies, this activity encourages learners to consider multiple manifestations of protest in Israel. Learners will discuss what they think is legitimate and illegitimate, as well as what means they think are effective and ineffective.

SMALL-GROUP DISCUSSION

In this activity, we will compare and contrast various protests in Israeli history. Rather than focusing on the content of the protest—the “what,” as we did in the previous activity—we will shift our attention to the who, where, when, and how. We will try to identify differences between protests—in terms of numbers, location, protest style, etc.—as well as similarities.

Split learners into smaller groups and share this document with them. Ask each group to review the case studies and answer the following questions about each one:

      • How many people attended the protest?
      • Where was the protest held?
      • When was the protest?
      • How did people protest? What form did the protest take?
Next, while remaining in small groups, ask learners:
      • Which protest do you think was the most successful?

Note to educator: Encourage learners to (re-)consider what success means when protesting. Is it about big numbers, a central geographic location, effective timing, the protest’s methodology?

      • Which protests do you think used legitimate means? Why?
      • Which protests do you think used illegitimate means? Why?

Note to educator: Encourage learners to think critically about what they think makes a protest legitimate and why.

Return to the larger group and discuss.

OPTIONAL: WRAP-UP AND OCTOBER 7

Note to educator: This activity deals with sensitive issues and content that may not be suitable for all groups. It explores the protests that emerged in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks as well as a larger question: is it appropriate to protest during a war or a moment of acute national crisis?

DISCUSSION

Begin by sharing with learners the following information:

Months after the October 7 attacks, some Israelis launched protests in the streets. Some of the protests were led by families of hostages calling on the government to make a deal to free their loved ones; other protests called for new elections and for the resignation of Prime Minister Netanyahu and other central political leaders; still others called for the Israeli government and military to stop sending humanitarian aid to Gaza and to prosecute the war more aggressively, with less concern for the population in Gaza. Many Israelis argued that protesting against the government or the military during a time of war and national crisis was inappropriate and immoral. At the same time, others felt that immediate action needed to be taken in order to repair the rapidly widening fractures in Israeli society.

Ask learners:
      • What do you think? Is it appropriate to protest during a time of war and national crisis?
          • If so, do you think there should be limits? Are there certain topics, people, places, or times that protests should avoid?
          • If not, how much time do you think is enough time after a war or crisis to begin protesting again?

Note to educator: These two questions are not intended to evoke confident, straightforward answers, but rather to encourage learners to grapple with the complexity and imperfection of protest, both in general and during times of crisis in particular.

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