2500 of protestors took to the streets around the country on Saturday evening to protest the budget cuts approved by the cabinet on Sunday. More than one thousand of protesters assembled in Habima Square in Tel Aviv, many carrying signs reading and red flags, among others, “It’s time to tax the rich,” “A country stinking with money,” and “It’s enough.” In Be’er Sheva, hundreds also marched in protest of the government’s new economic policies. The protesters assembled in Reger Boulevard in central Be’er Sheva. Among the signs carried by protesters were “The Negev demands social justice” and “There is no future with Bibi and Lapid.”
In front of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea, dozens of protesters gathered, chanting slogans such as, “Bibi, I too am poor,” “There is no future with Bibi and Lapid,” and “Instead of giving to the poor, they give to the rich, what a corrupt government.” Referring to reports that some $127,000 were spent in addition to an already $300,000 flight in order to install a bedchamber in a plane carrying the prime minister and his wife to London, protesters in Caesarea brought an inflatable bed and cried out “There is no future with Bibi and Lapid.” Police demanded that protesters stay some 200 meters away from the house, but they refused, insisting there was no legal justification for keeping them away.
Police confronting the protesters during a demonstration against export of natural gas found in the Mediterranean Sea, Netanya, May 18, 2013. Protesters marched to the house of capitalist and energy company owner Yitzhak Tshuva (Photo: Activestills)
In Jerusalem, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Paris Square and marched to the Prime Minister’s Residence. The protesters gathered in front of the Jerusalem residence of Prime Minister carried signs that read “Take from the wealthy, not from the public.” Another demonstration was held in front of capitalist Yitzhak Tshuva’s house in Ramat Poleg, Netanya, against the export of gas.
Last week too saw a large demonstration in Tel Aviv against the government’s austerity measures. Some 12,000 protesters marched in central Tel Aviv. At the same time in nearby Ramat Gan 300 people protested across from the house of Minister of Energy and Water Silvan Shalom in protest of the export of Israeli natural gas. Protesters blocked roads and two people were arrested Some 400 rallied in Jerusalem near the Prime Minister house. More than 300 people took to the streets in Haifa and blocked an intersection. “Workers not slaves” and “Lapid, I’m on fire” were some of the slogans written on the protesters’ signs. In Haifa, dozens marched toward the Yesh Atid headquarters, blocking sections of the road on Sderot Moriya Street. Similar events take place in other towns, including Ashdod, Kyriat Gat and Modi’in.
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