More than 100,000 take to streets across Israel in largest housing protest yet

[oberliner]

More than 100,000 people took to the streets Saturday to protest the spiraling costs of living in Israel. Marches and rallies took place in eleven cities across the country, with the largest ones taking place in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be'er Sheva and Haifa. The protesters chanted "the people demand social justice" and "we want justice, not charity."

The biggest protest was in Tel Aviv, where tens of thousands march from HaBima Square to the Tel Aviv Museum. "We are very happy to see the Israeli people go out into the streets," said Yonatan Levy, one of the organizers. "We were amazed to see throughout the day that the issues that were raised on the different stages and tent cities are not so removed from each other after all."

In Haifa, 8,000 people marched through the city. In Jerusalem, 10,000 protesters marched from Horse Park to the house of Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. In Be'er Sheva, 3,000 protesters marched carrying banners saying "Be'er Sheva is shouting times seven." "Sheva" is the Hebrew word for the number seven.

In Ashdod, protesters marched from City Park. Around 150 people gathered at Ashdod's tent city on their way to the march. Students from Beit Barl marched from the tent city at Kfar Sava to central Ra'anana junction.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/more-than-100-000-take-to-streets-across-israel-in-largest-housing-protest-yet-1.376102

[no_hypocrisy]

1. So the settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have been about more than

geographical sovereignty. It's been about housing Israeli Jews within their means. Supply and demand.

[shira]

2. Imagine having to resettle 500,000 settlers within Israel with the housing problems they have.

They haven't even been able to take care of the 8000 settlers from Gaza yet.

This is a social revolution.

One demand is to free up more state land for private ownership....

At first glance, it appeared that the crowd’s demands were not significantly different from last week. The main rallying cry was still: “The people! Want! Social justice!” with a generous dose of “Bibi go home,” as well as anti-capitalism, pro-welfare state slogans, all laced with dripping sarcasm along the lines of: “The market is free, but we’re slaves.”

Over the last two weeks, the protests have been criticized as unfocused and lacking concrete demands. Tonight there were new signs of a plan taking shape. In the final speeches, after a lineup that included celebrity musicians, the organizers wrapped up with several quite specific demands. In what sounded very much like an ultimatum, they said that Netanyahu has until Wednesday, the day the Knesset goes on recess, to do two things: Withdraw the pending law for national housing committees – which they consider deeply damaging for regular folks – and prevent the privatization of the Israel Lands Administration, which holds the vast majority of land in Israel.

And if the demands are not met? In a not very subtle innuendo, the organizers asked people to take note of the symbols starting to appear – a triangle with the letter “bet” inside it (in Israel, voters use tickets to select parties, and on the ticket each party has a single letter as its symbol.) They also suggested each person to contribute a single shekel, emphasizing that with 120,000 people, those shekels would add up.”

The implication: Start thinking about us as a party now, because we may topple this government soon.

http://972mag.com/estimated-120000-march-for-social-justice-across-israel/

[shira]

3. Israel's 42% revolution

Israel’s 42% revolution
Op-ed: Israel’s secular majority finally fighting back, starting to behave like a minority group
Yair Lapid
Published: 07.30.11, 14:45 / Israel Opinion


42%.

That’s us.

Israelis, Zionists, seculars from the Right and Left.

Once upon a time we were the most influential group in this country, yet this is no longer the case. On the one hand, we are the largest group in society, more than the Arabs (20%), more than the religious (12%) and more than the haredim (8%). On the other hand, they always defeat us, because we’re the majority, so we don’t deserve anything.

Someone sent a chain letter by email. He wrote: “I belong to the strongest group in Israel in terms of numbers, so please explain to me how the hell I’m a minority in this country?”

You are a minority because you are not.

I know it sounds absurd, yet this is how it works. The majority does not know how to join forces for the sake of its own interests; the majority cannot afford to say “to hell with everything”; the majority does not hire lobbyists, does not set up NGOs that would work for its interests, and does not know how to press Knesset members from its sector, because it’s not a sector.

The majority also cannot build an illegal home, on illegal land, and then fight with the police officers who come to evict it, because the majority has a nephew in the police and loves its nephew.

The majority is neither rich nor poor, because that’s statistics. If you’re the majority, it means you are not in the top or bottom echelon. You’re somewhere in the middle. You earn too much to be entitled for government support, but too little to breathe easy.

more...
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4101990,00.html

[oberliner]

4. Gideon Levy: The night I was proud to be an Israeli

It was the night that Benjamin Netanyahu was tossed out of the Prime Minister's Office in disgrace.

Netanyahu will stay in office for a time, but his time is up. Finished. He will squirm and make promises, make declarations and turn tail, he will trot out a few more tricks, but it won't help him an iota.

As of yesterday, he is a lame duck. Last night, Israel's 17th prime minister was handed his walking papers. When tens of thousands of Israelis across the country scream, "Bibi go home," Bibi will indeed go home. Bye bye, Bibi, good-bye for good.

It was the night that every Israeli can and should be proud of being Israeli, as never before. Israel's true pride march took place yesterday. There can be no better public relations campaign for this despised, shunned country than the demonstration last night of this new Israel. The Foreign Ministry should broadcast the images to the entire world. Israeli democracy celebrated last night as it has not done in years, standing up against all those who would see it fall. Without violence, without superfluous police reinforcements, not Cairo nor even Athens, but something much more beautiful - a genuine light unto the nations.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/gideon-levy-israeli-protesters-must-remain-in-tents-until-time-is-right-1.376113