Thousands of Israelis took part in social justice demonstrations on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. Some10,000 people marched down Ibn Gvirol street on Saturday night, in what appeared to be the largest such protest in Tel-Aviv since last summer.
The demonstrators had the same spirit and chants as last year with calls of “The people want social justice,” “We the majority have taken to the streets,” and “Take to the streets, the country is crumbling” and others, against right-wing and neo-liberal government, echoing through central Tel Aviv.
The demonstration for social justice in Tel-Aviv (Photo: Arye Yampoler)
In Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, many of the participants were from the Communist Party of Israel and Hadash, as well as from leftist youth movements, carrying red flags and red banners: “There is not social justice without just peace”. The Izabo band, which represented Israel in Eurovision last week, performed at the Tel Aviv rally. Speakers in Tel-Aviv included Communist activist Raja Zaatry and social activists. “We demanded a change in priorities, but got cosmetic changes. The prices of electricity, fuel and water, which are under government supervision, are rising,” he said. “The recent period of mass social protest, opened up great possibilities for the creation of an Jewish-Arab progressive pole in Israeli society, which could take up the cause of blocking the government’s neo-liberal reforms and defending workers rights. Yet at the same time, ours is also a period of a reactionary wave of racist and anti-democratic legislation, intensification of attacks against the Arab minority within Israel and migrants as refugees, and growing danger of fascism,” added Zaatry to journalists.
In Jerusalem, around 1,500 demonstrators marched from Horse Park to Paris Square. In Haifa, around 1000 demonstrators marched from Meyerhoff Square to Ben-Gurion Boulevard for a rally. Many of the marchers held signs with anti-racism messages. Shahin Nessar, a social activist from Haifa and member of the Young Communist League, addressed the crowd in Arabic. “This year we’re going all the way, until the government of poverty, discrimination, racism and occupation falls down,” he said.
The organizers said in a statement that “our renewed call stems from grief and anger – we’ve been fighting for a whole year, with the complete support of most of the Israelis, for the image of Israeli society. But the government is intensifying the destructive social processes it is advancing. Israelis demand recognition of their distress and a significant policy change, but the government continues to ignore them,” the statement said. “Instead of worrying about the working people and weaker classes, Netanyahu’s government is promoting a policy solely for the benefit of the rich and connected, leaving the middle and lower classes behind.”
Three weeks ago, thousands of Israelis took part in social justice rallies across the country, with the largest occurring in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square , as part of the “Global May” international day of protest.
