Tens of thousands of members of Israel's Druze minority and their Jewish supporters packed a square in central Tel Aviv Saturday night to rally against a contentious new law that critics say sidelines Israel's non-Jewish citizens.
It marked the first time in recent memory that the Druze - who are considered fiercely loyal to the state of Israel - staged a large public protest.
Hundreds of brightly colored Druze flags, rarely seen outside the community, fluttered in the square along Israel's national banners.
Nearby City Hall was also lit up in the Druze colours.
The rally marked the biggest backlash yet against a recently passed law that enshrines Israel's Jewish character and downgrades the standing of Arabic from an official to a "special" language.
The law has outraged Israel's Arabic-speaking community, which includes the Druze and makes up about 20 percent of the population.
Critics say the law undermines the country's democratic values.
The Druze serve in the military, unlike most of the country's Arab citizens, who overwhelmingly follow Sunni Islam and have close family ties with Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories.
Over the years, members of the Druze community have risen to prominence in the military and in politics.
On Saturday, Tel Aviv's Rabin Square was packed with Druze protesters bused in from all over Israel, and their Jewish backers, including former senior members of the defenfe establishment.
The crowd chanted "equality, equality."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Cabinet ministers have met with Druze leaders to try and pacify their concerns.
But recent meetings did not go well.
According to Israeli media, Netanyahu abruptly ended a meeting with retired brigadier general Amal Assad and other Druze officials this week after Assad warned the new law would "lead to apartheid."
Israel's 130,000 Druze live mostly in the north of the country.
