After dispersing by force hundreds of anti-war protestors in Tel Aviv on 4 April 2026, the Israel Police was compelled to allow a demonstration of approximately 2,000 participants on Saturday, 11 April 2026. The protest was permitted following a ruling by the Supreme Court, which stated that even if the number of demonstrators exceeding the maximum allowed under Home Front Command regulations, the police are not necessarily justified in dispersing a protest. The petition on the matter was submitted to the Court by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and other organizations.
The restriction on the number of participants in any gathering was imposed by the Head of the IDF’s Home Front Command at the outbreak of the war with Iran on 28 February 2026. The restriction was approved by the government due to the threat to the safety and security of Israeli civilians stemming from frequent missile fire from Iran. For several weeks, the cap on gatherings was set at 50 people, effectively preventing meaningful civic protest, as well as significantly disrupting the labor market and the education system.
Standing Together (Omdim Beyachad–Naqif Ma’an), a CSO that participated in organizing the protest, demanded that demonstrations be exempt from Home Front Command regulations on the grounds of maintaining democratic rights, and argued that the police were enforcing the ban on gatherings selectively, refraining from dispersing other types of gatherings – for example, people at the beach or various holiday events that took place during the same period. According to Alon-Lee Green, the movement’s national co-director, the government is creating a permanent state of emergency that keeps Israelis in shelters while it continues advancing its judicial overhaul legislation. Critics of the government argue that selective enforcement is deliberately aimed at suppressing dissenting voices against the government and the war, thereby eroding Israeli democracy and fundamental rights.