An angry mob last month blocked access to the Knesset, Israel鈥檚 parliament, in an attempt to keep members from voting on next year鈥檚 budget. Israel Katz, the defense minister, was forced to arrive via helicopter. The budget passed, but Israelis were shaken by what some said was a new level of escalation in the effort to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
鈥淚t really reminded me of what I saw on TV on Jan. 6, 2021,鈥� said a spectator, who requested anonymity. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 make it into the Knesset鈥攖he police eventually managed to arrest some of them and break up the others鈥攂ut their goal was the same: to stop the democratically elected government of Israel from doing what people elected it to do.鈥�