Protests Grow in Israel, With 250,000 Marching

Thousands of Israelis march during a protest in Tel Aviv against the rising cost of living.

Courtesy: Israel Blog

(JERUSALEM ) - At least 250,000 Israelis took to the streets on Saturday night to demonstrate against the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing, the largest in three weeks of protests aimed at forcing social and economic issues onto the government’s agenda.

The popular protest movement, which crosses the traditional Israeli political lines of left and right, began with a Facebook call to pitch tents along a stylish Tel Aviv boulevard. A tent city sprang up, and smaller ones have mushroomed in parks all over Israel.

The young organizers, who struck a chord in a society that has long been quiescent on domestic issues, have expressed surprise at the number of Israelis who have joined their struggle.

An estimated 200,000 turned out on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, and 30,000 in Jerusalem, according to the police. Several thousand held smaller demonstrations in other cities, adding up to one of the largest protests in recent Israeli history. Israeli television put the total at more than 300,000. Popular singers performed at the rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as the crowds... ... raised chants paraphrasing demonstrators around the Arab world, saying, “The people demand social justice.”

“We know that we cannot achieve everything,” Itzik Shmuly, the chairman of the National Union of Students, acknowledged from the podium in Tel Aviv. “But living here has become impossible, and we will not accept it.”

The wave of protests has been largely driven by Israel’s working middle classes, who are afflicted by rising costs of basics like housing, food and gasoline, and by high taxation. At the same time, the country’s social services have been shrinking and there is a growing gap between the rich and poor.

In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem young people, retired couples and families marched.

Ayelet Kol, a 37-year-old graphic designer in Tel Aviv, said she has been fighting a losing battle to get by financially even though she downsized into a one-room studio apartment, canceled her gym membership and cable subscription and has entirely cut out meeting friends at restaurants.

“Until now most people thought it was their fault that they could not get by,” she said, “but now they are realizing it’s hard for everyone and that they are not alone.”

The social awakening has come in the middle of what had so far been a quiet domestic term for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While his coalition government appears to be stable for now, the sweeping protests have undermined his popularity.

Under pressure, Mr. Netanyahu announced a series of measures late last month meant to alleviate the housing shortage. The organizers dismissed them as insufficient. Mr. Netanyahu said he would set up a committee of senior officials and experts to dialog with the protest leaders.

The organizers have been careful to avoid party politics in order to preserve the broad appeal of the movement.

“We are not asking to change the prime minister,” Stav Shafir, one of the founders of the Tel Aviv tent city, said on Israeli television on Saturday. “We are asking to change the system.”

Dina Kraft contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.

Special thanks to Paul de Burgh-Day for submitting this report to Salem-News.com.