Only hours after 300,000 demonstrators finished marching in Tel Aviv last night, along with parallel demonstrations in other cities, the protest leaders met today to plan their next moves.
This morning, the "No Choice" tent protesters in Jerusalem's Independence Park and their supporters demonstrated at the offices of the government housing company Amidar Ltd. They blocked the street to the building entrance demanding the government provide housing for its citizens. The demonstration became riotous and dozens of people were arrested, including Black Panther leader Reuven Abergil. Following the arrests, a new demonstration was held at the Jerusalem police headquarters in the Russian Compound.
Tent protest leader Amnon Tzur said, "We demonstrated outside Amidar, which is basically the government real estate company, a business with a turnover of hundreds of millions of shekels - but where does it go? Why isn't this money used to help people? Seven single mothers and I set up our tent protest, and we're now 30 tents, with a kitchen and dining room, and more people are joining us."
The tent protesters at Tel Aviv Rothschild Boulevard are not resting on their laurels either. Members of the National Union of Students in Israel today met to discuss the next steps after yesterday's march. Protest leaders are also working on their demands that they will present to the government's representatives.
"There is already no doubt that this struggle will go on, and we're ready to stay right here," said a student. "Yesterday was a great success, but we're not sitting down enjoying the achievement; we're planning the next moves."
Following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement this morning about the establishment of a special team to deal with the protests, Student Union chairman Itzik Shmuli said, "We respect the prime minister's choice, and I hope that the size of the team won't affect it effectiveness. In any case, we expect to know in advance what the structure of the talks will be, and guarantees that the solutions adopted will be implemented so that we won't find ourselves talking round and round a round table for nothing."
The protest's campaign headquarters announced today, "Yesterday's protest again proved that the People of Israel are emerging from their homes. The people are coming out and demanding great things, and we have no intention of giving up on any demand. We hope that, this time, the government heard the voices of the demonstrators. The protest will go on. We're not stopping to rest, and we're moving forward with full power. We had 30 seconds of euphoria yesterday that was it - we're now moving forward."
It is not yet clear what will happen next Saturday night, and if hundreds of thousands of people will again take to the streets, or if a fourth demonstration will jeopardize the movement. Besides the fact that it is not easy to get people to leave their homes, it is important to note the very high financial cost of last night's protest. The protest leaders reiterate that all the money is coming from donations, and that is not easy to raise such large amounts every week.
After today's meeting at the Rothschild Boulevard tent protest, the students announced, as they did last week, that the protest leaders, social organizations, and the students will work on their list of demands. Today's meeting will begin at 3 pm at Beit Hanoar Ha'Oved Vehalomed (Federation of Working and Studying Youth) in Tel Aviv.
"We're constantly hearing about new tents being established in Tel Aviv and elsewhere," said Avi Dahan. "In Tel Aviv alone, five more camps were set up on Nordau Boulevard, in the Hatikva neighborhood, in Jaffa, in Kikar Hamedina, and in the Florentin neighborhood." He believes that the momentum should be exploited to present demands to the government. Conversations with protesters who have been camped out for three weeks indicate that they are not the source of all the demands, and there is both spoken and unspoken criticism of the leaders.
The protest leaders have not yet announced specific actions to be taken this week, beyond saying that the protest will continue. "Everything is happening from moment to moment," says Dahan. "In a few minutes, a solidarity march could be organized for another tent camp in Tel Aviv, or for something else. People aren't comfortably sitting around, and everyone is thinking about what to do next."
In addition to last night's demonstration in Tel Aviv, corresponding demonstrations were held in Rosh Pina, Hashomrim Junction, Kiryat Shmona. Hadera, Modi'in, Ra'anana, Ashkelon, and Dimona. 30,000 participated in the demonstration in Jerusalem, the second in the capital.
More than double the expected number of protesters attended the demonstration in Hod Hasharon. "The mood yesterday was fantastic," said Oron Asraf, the organizer of the town's tent protest, which now numbers 30 tents. "We're already preparing the next demonstration and other protests." He noted that artists and politicians were not appearing only at the Tel Aviv protest, but were visiting other sites. "MK Amir Perez was here last week to express support, Avraham Tal was here and gave a 40-minute concert, and municipal officials have visited."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 7, 2011
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