Thousands of protesters rallied Saturday night to mark the two-year anniversary of Israel's first social justice protests. The group marched from Habima National Theater and Gan Hatikvah to Kaplan Street, stopping to hold a memorial service for Moshe Silvan, the man who set himself on fire in protest one year ago. By midnight, hundreds of protesters blocked lanes of the Ayalon Highway.
"We will not stand idly by as the elderly and children are thrown to the streets and people are pushed under the poverty line. We will not stand idly by as youths give up hope and leave the country," Activist leader and organizer of the 2011 social protests Daphni Leef said Saturday night.
According to Leef, "We pay taxes, it is our money, it was not intended to privatize our lives to the benefit of the tycoons. We must continue to fight and be responsible for our own lives."
Protesters erected a tent with "a house is not a luxury expense" written on it, and carried banners with various slogans on them, one being "There is no future without social justice," a clear reference to Finance Minister Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party. Protesters also chanted against Lapid and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some protesters cited Egypt's current wave of protests as a sign that things can change. "We should learn from Egypt that we can change the face of the country," Israeli Black Panther activist Charlie Biton said Saturday night.
"People do not understand just how grave the situation is. A couple cannot provide their children with basic commodities and constantly have to think of where to cut back. I am sad to say that nothing has changed in the past two years, the middle class suffers most. We have to continue to fight so that the members of the government wake up fast and think about us," Protester Orit Kasif, 28, who came from Jerusalem to join the protest said.
Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino told Channel 2 News that protesters were trying to provoke police officers and get sensational photos out of it. "We see attempts to cause a provocation. [The protesters] are trying to clash with police and get those [sensational] photos."
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו