Solidarity protests were held throughout the country Saturday night in solidarity with the late Moshe Silman who set himself on fire last week during a social justice protest. Silman succumbed to his wounds on Friday at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer where doctors were treating him for burns over the majority of his body.
Police arrested a social protester at a Tel Aviv solidarity protest on Saturday noon, as several hundred demonstrators broke through a police line and headed toward the Ayalon freeway. Demonstrators tried to block the police van in which the arrested person was being taken away, but failed. Additional police forces blocked the protester’s path onto to the freeway and closed Ayalon to traffic.
Social activists block Ayalon highway as they protest in center Tel Aviv a day after Moshe Silman, the man who set himself on fire, was announced he had died of his wounds on July 21, 2012. Moshe Silman set himself on fire after a protest for social justice in Tel Aviv on July 14 (Photo: Activestills)
At 21:00 some 3,000 demonstrators gathered on Shaul Hamelech Street and marched to the spot where Silman set himself alight on nearby Kaplan Street, later continuing on to the National Insurance Institute (NII). Protesters chanted, “We’re all Moshe Silman,”, “Revolution against privatization,” “Netanyhau must go,” (Bibi Habayta) and “Desperation turns to anger.”
The demonstrators lit candles in a quiet ceremony when they arrived at the spot where Silman set himself on fire. One activist read out the letter the 57-year-old Haifa resident distributed at last week’s rally just minutes before he set himself on fire, explaining why he had no choice but to self-immolate. As the activist read out the letter line by line, the crowd repeated after him. “The State of Israel has stolen from me and robbed me, left me with nothing and the Tel Aviv District Court blocked me from getting justice,” the letter read. Silman went on to blame the state for his downfall and specifically Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz. Silman also highlighted how he was consistently turned down for public housing, as he did not fit the criteria.
In Jerusalem, approximately 400 people marched from Netanyahu’s private residence on Azza Street to his official residence at Paris Square. Organizers said that Moshe Silman’s recent death would only serve to strengthen their struggle. Demonstrators in Jerusalem chanted “We are all Moshe Silman, the State of Israel ruined me.” Activists also read Silman’s letter out loud in front of the Prime Minister’s private residence.
Some 300 people gathered at the plaza of the Haifa Cinematheque Saturday night to hold a memorial ceremony for Silman. Similar demonstrations were held in Beersheba and Hod Hasharon. On Friday night, hundreds of protestors lit candles and held a vigil at the spot where Silman set himself alight last week.
Related:
Social protester who set himself alight during a demonstration-died of his injuries
