Police cleared today at 7:00 am social protest activists who have been demonstrating in an abandoned building in Tel Aviv’s Dov Hoz Street. Three activists were arrested. Hundreds of activists and artists set up a “public culture center” in the building yesterday evening (Sunday) claiming the Tel Aviv Municipality had neglected it in order to build luxury apartment buildings there instead

The housing protesters squatted yesterday an abandoned four-story building. The building, in central Tel Aviv, is owned by the municipality and hasn’t been populated in 12 years.

Activists squatted abounded building in Dov Hoz Street in center Tel Aviv (Photo: Activestills) 

In the past few weeks activists have been cleaning the building, which used to be a school and a dormitory, and hung banners saying “The People’s House – housing, community, culture,” “A liberated building” and “The city closed, the residents open.”

A message that was posted on the building’s wall read: “We, a group of young people in our thirties, who work, study and live in Tel Aviv, have decided to take it upon ourselves to return the building to its original purpose: a space for social and community activities and housing… We are not trying to take over the building for personal reason and we are not claiming any ownership over it.”

The 3,000-square-meter building in question at 24 Frug Street, has been renamed by the activists as “the peoples’ house,” and by Monday afternoon was covered with signs describing it’s new status as a public place for housing, culture, and community. The building, which was built in 1938, was once used as a school and a women’s dormitory, but has laid vacant since 1999. In a flier with the headline “A Liberated Building,” organizers said they “have no intention of taking over the building for private purposes, and are not trying to claim any sort of ownership of it. As part of the wave of protests sweeping across Israel, we are inviting anyone who wants to contribute to the return of this asset to the public to take part.” The activists claim that the municipality is “waiting for the building to crumble so it can demolish it and build more buildings for the rich only. We will not let that happen.”

Hadash MK Dov Khenin joined the protestors, and called on the municipality to make use of the hundreds of buildings standing vacant around the city. “It is outrageous that there is such a housing shortage in this city,” he said. Two Hadash members of the Tel-Aviv Jaffa City Council, Yoav Goldring and Sharon Luzon also joined the squatters.