Estelle crew were beaten during the attack and by interrogators

Estelle crew were beaten during the attack and by interrogators
23 October 2012, Canadian Boat to Gaza http://www.tahrir.ca

info@canadaboatgaza.org

Canadian Jim Manly still in detention

for immediate release

Montreal; 20121022 - 22h00

As Jim Manly, former Canadian MP (1980-88) and retired United Church Minister, continues to be detained in Israel with many of the other crew members of the Estelle, without any news about when he will be released. This despite freeing the Greek, Italian and Spanish citizens who were on the Estelle and the release of Israeli activists after being detained and charged.

Elik Elhanan, one of the Israelis released, said that excessive force and tasers were used against them and that a Greek MP was beaten by Shabak Security Service interrogators.

"I am now on my way home, but I keep thinking of my shipmates, my fellow activists from abroad who are still imprisoned under harsh conditions and undergo interrogation by the Shabak Security Service, among them Parliament Members from several countries," said Elik Elhanan, one of the Israeli activists who had sailed aboard the Gaza-bound Swedish ship "Estelle". Today, the court ordered his release and that of two other detained Israelis, Yonatan Shapira and Reut Mor. "At first they tried to charge us with all kinds of very serious felonies, such as 'aiding the enemy'. The court rejected this out of hand. Today they tried an article on the law books called "Attempted infiltration into a part of the Land of Israel which is not part of the State of Israel" (sic). But the court threw out this charge, too". The detained activists were represented by Attorney Gaby Lasky and her team, who have considerable experience with Human Rights cases.

The released detainees were cheerfully greeted by peace activists who arrived at the courtroom, among them Elik Elhanan's parents - Rami Elhanan and Nurit Peled-Elhanan, who is the daughter of the late Major General Matti Peled. Smadar Elhanan, Elik's sister, was killed in a suicide bombing at the center of Jerusalem – a harsh experience which made surviving family members all the more determined to strive for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, so as to prevent further casualties on either side.

"They used a completely disproportional amount of force against us" continues Elhanan. "When the Navy arrived to take us over, Yonatan Shapira counted no less than fifteen vessels surrounding us on all sides. Large and small ships and boats, a ship carrying a helicopter, as well as the Zodiacs of the Naval Commandos. Fifteen armed naval vessels against one small civilian boat carrying games for the children of Gaza. We must have disturbed very much the Navy and those who give orders to the Navy."

"These testimonies increase our concern for Jim and continue to raise the question why aren't the Canadian government and the opposition NDP doing more to secure his release?" Said Eva Manly, Jim's wife.

For more information:
Canada:
Ehab Lotayef 514-941-9792
Sandra Ruch 416-716-4010
Nino Pagliccia 604-831-9821

Israel:
Elik Elhanan +972-2-5700112
Nurit Peled-Elhanan +972-547-578703
Gaby Lasky (attorney ) +972-54-4418988

Los pasajeros israelíes son especialmente maltratados tras el asalto al Estelle

23 Octubre 2012, Rumbo a Gaza http://www.rumboagaza.org (España)

info@rumboagaza.org

Tras ser los tres pasajeros israelíes sacados de prisión y llevados a sus casas bajo arresto domiciliario, ahora vuelven a estar en la comisaría de Ashdod. Allí son interrogados y les han tomado una muestra de ADN.

Elik Elhanan, de cuya sobrecogedora historia personal ya hablamos hace unos días, habla desde Israel tras la detención:

“Han usado una fuerza excesiva contra nosotros sin provocación ninguna por nuestra parte. Cargas eléctricas por odio y venganza”

“Los interrogadores del Shabak (servicio de seguridad israelí) han pegado a un diputado griego”

“Ahora estoy camino a casa, pero pienso en mis compañeros de viaje, los demás activistas a bordo, que siguen en prisión, bajo duras condiciones y sufren interrogatorios por el Shabak; entre ellos hay varios diputados de países europeos” dijo Elik Elhanan, uno de los activistas israelíes que navegaron a bordo del Estelle, el barco sueco que se dirigía a Gaza. El tribunal le ha liberado hoy, junto con los otros dos israelíes, Yonatan Shapira y Reut Mor.
“Al principio intentaron a acusarnos de varios delitos graves, como ‘apoyo al enemigo’. El tribunal ha rechazado eso de entrada. Hoy lo han intentado con un artículo de ley llamado ‘intento de infiltración en terra israelí que no forma parte del estado de Israel’, pero el tribunal ha echado para atrás esta acusación también.” Los activistas detenidos fueron representados por la abogada Gaby Lasky y su equipo, que cuentan con amplia experiencia en casos de derechos humanos.

Al ser liberados, los detenidos encontraron los calurosos saludos de los activistas por la paz que se presentaron en el juzgado, entre ellos estaban los padres de Elik Elhanan, Rami Elhanan y Nurit Peled-Elhanan, hija del difunto general Matti Peled. Smadar Elhanan, la hermana de Elik, murió en un ataque suicida en el centro de Jerusalén, una experiencia difícil que resultó en una mayor determinación de los familiares de las víctimas en luchar por la paz entre Israel y los Palestinos, para evitar más víctimas en ambos lados.

“He pasado unos días difíciles, pero de ningún modo me arrepiento de haber navegado en este barco. Sabía muy bien donde me he metido” dice Elik Elhanan. “Durante la travesía he conectado especialmente con Vangelis, un diputado griego que estuvo navegando con nosotros. Cuando los comandos marinos abordaron y nosotros bloqueamos su camino al puente, Vangelis dijo que hemos generado en él un amor por la gente de Israel y le hemos dado esperanza para un futuro mejor en el oriente próximo. Enseguida nos separaron. Ayer tarde, cuando pusieron a Dror Feiler en nuestra celda, él nos contó que Vangelis ha sido golpeado por los interrogadores del Shabak. Los servicios de seguridad han mentido descaradamente a los cónsules y los demás representantes de los países extranjeros, diciendo que sus ciudadanos y diputados han sido bien tratados”. Dror Feiler, nacido en Israel y cuya madre, Pnina, reside en Kibbutz Yad Hana, renunció a su ciudadanía israelí cuando se mudó a Suecia. Por eso fue separado la mayor parte del tiempo de los detenidos israelíes.

“Han usado una fuerza completamente desproporcionada en nuestra contra” sigue Elhanan. “Cuando la armada llegó para raptarnos, Yonatan Shapira contó por lo menos quince buques rodeandonos por todos lados. Buques grandes y pequeños, botes y un porta-helicópteros, además de Zodiacs de los comandos marinos. Quince buques armados de la marina en contra de un solo barco civil que lleva jugetes para los niños de Gaza. Deberíamos molestar mucho a la marina y a los que le dan las órdenes”.

Cuando nos abordaron y les impedimos el paso, los soldados sabían exactamente quien era yo. Me gritaron en hebreo: “Elhanan, vas a pagar por tu izquierdismo!” y útilizaron sus pistolas para dar me cargas eléctricas. Incluso completado su abordaje del barco, continuaron utilizando las pistolas eléctricas y administraron más descargas. Sin embargo, si piensan que podían disuadirnos a mí o a cualquiera de los que navegaron conmigo, están equivocados. El asedio a Gaza es un crimén en marcha que debe ser parado. Nuestra lucha sigue.”

Contacto:

Elik Elhanan +972-2-5700112

Nurit Peled-Elhanan +972-547-578703
Adv. Gaby Lasky +972-54-4418988

WINDOW ON A NEW FUTURE

9 August 2011, Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם http://www.richardsilverstein.com (USA)

David Grossman

Last Saturday night, at the Jerusalem demonstration, I looked around and saw a human tidal wave flowing in the streets. Thousands of people were there, people who for years have not spoken out, having lost all hope for a change. Instead they had cloistered themselves within their own troubles and despair.

It wasn’t easy for them to join the roar of the youngsters with the megaphones. Maybe it was the discomfiture of those who are not used to speaking out, and are afraid to scream out. They were even more reluctant to roar out in unison. At times I felt that we, the marchers, were looking at ourselves in astonishment and a tinge of doubt, not really totally believing in ourselves. We were not quite sure of what was emanating from within us: Are we really that kind of angry mob, waving their fists in the air, as we have seen in similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, Syria and Greece? Do we really want to be such a mob? Do we seriously mean it when we scream out to a drumbeat: “R-e-v-o-l-u-t-i-o-n!?!” What if the bolts that hold this fragile state snap open and crack? What if the protest and fervour is “too successful” and turn into anarchy?

But after we take a few steps something happens, and gets into our bloodstream: The pace, swing, and togetherness. Not the kind of threatening “togetherness” that wipes out individual identity, but a different kind of togetherness: a heterogeneous chaotic, familial medley. It is combined with strong sense of here and now, we are doing the right thing, finally doing the right thing.

And then there’s the shock: where were we until today? How did we let this come about? How did we acquiesce when the governments that we had elected turned our health, and our children’s education, into luxuries? How did it happen that we did not rush to the social workers’ aid when Treasury officials crushed them? And before them, how could we have acquiesced when the same treatment was meted out to the disabled, and Holocaust survivors, and the elderly and the pensioners? How did we forsake the hungry and poor over the years, abandoning them in soup kitchens, and in the care of charity organisations, setting them up for a lifetime of humiliation? How did we abandon foreign workers in the face of their hunters and persecutors, accepting the slave trade and trafficking in women? How do we put up with the ruthless march of privatisation thereby diminishing the value of everything we hold dear – solidarity, and responsibility, and mutual aid, and a sense of belonging to a single people?

We all know that there were many reasons for this indifference. But to me the deep schism over the issue of the Occupation is the most significant factor that devastated our society’s early warning and control systems. The flawed and unhealthy aspects of society were able to float to the surface. And we, perhaps because we feared facing the full reality of our lives, enthusiastically gave in, throwing ourselves into various opiates which dulled the sense of reality. Sometimes we looked at ourselves: some of us really liked a lot what he saw, while others disliked it and flinched. But even those who flinched, accepted it as the way things are, and called it “the situation” as if it was a matter of fate or a decree from heaven. In addition, we have let the commercial TV channels fill in most of the space in our collective consciousness, seeing ourselves in terms of struggles for survival and predation, pitting us against each other, and making us despise all those who are weaker than us, and different from us, and who are not “beautiful” or witty, or rich. And for many years now we have stopped talking to each other, and we have certainly stopped listening. It stands to reason that when the prevailing ambience is that of “grab what you can,” you cannot help but disparage the other and rob each other blind. For that is the way they demonstrate to us and remind us at every opportunity: it’s every person for themselves and their fate.

The more we exhausted ourselves through this non-stop squabbling, the more malleable we became so we could be bewildered, controlled, and manipulated, allowing ourselves to fall victims to an invisible but effective “divide and rule” syndrome. And so, discussion of important questions trickled down from capital to regime to media, steadily getting shallower. It made us bicker about “who loves the country” and who hates it; who is loyal to the country and who betrays it, who is a “good Jew” and who “forgot what it was like to be a Jew”. Every rational discussion was smothered in a melange of sentimental, patriotic, and nationalistic kitsch whipped up with self-righteousness and victimhood. Slowly but surely, the possibility of sober criticism of what has been happening here was stifled. Eventually, Israel found itself acting and behaving towards its own citizens in total contrast to the values and world-views that were once its essence and uniqueness.

But now, suddenly, and against all expectations, something has arisen; people are waking up. They are opening up to something, even though it is not quite clear what it is and where it is heading. There are no words to describe it accurately, or to understand it fully. But that thing is becoming clearer and it crystallises as we read the slogans: The clichés are breaking out of their casings and turning into a living, breathing emotion, “the people demand social justice”! ”The people want Tsedek (justice) and not Tsedaka (charity)!” There are more such words and such slogans that are harking back to different eras. And every so often the air carries with it hints of a possible revitalisation and repair. That forgotten concept of self-respect, both on an individual basis, and for Israel as a whole, has returned.

That awakening has tremendous, albeit intoxicating and deceptive, power. It is tempting to get carried away by the euphoria and the youthful renewal that the new upheaval has created. It is easy to delude oneself that here we are again destroying the old world to the core. But that’s not quite right: the old world was not all bad. It also included some great achievements, which among other things, would actually enable us to bring some of the protest movement’s demands to fruition. The old world has also given us the freedom to express our demands.

Therefore, this struggle has to speak a language different to those of previous struggles. Above all, it must be based on dialogue, which is inclusive rather than exclusive; which is principled, rather than one based on opportunism and sectoral interests. This is no time to be divided into our individual camps. That’s the only way the protest movement can hang on to the tremendous public support it currently enjoys.

It is the very ambiguity of this particular protest movement which allows each group to hold different political opinions and mutually contradictory beliefs, and yet recognise – for the first time in decades – a shared common civil and humanistic platform. It even provides a degree of pride in belonging to this community. Who in Israel can afford to give up such a rare resource as that?

This protest movement and its accompanying pressure waves provide an opportunity for communication between those who for decades have not communicated: between different, and disconnected, social strata; between the religious and secular, and between Arabs and Jews. This process of identifying what is common and attainable can open up dialogue between the Right and the Left, introducing a more realistic and empathetic discourse. For example, it can take up the Left’s indifference to those who were displaced from Gush Katif. This remains a festering wound for the settlers. Inclusive speech here may salvage whatever it is possible to save of the sense of mutual responsibility that a country in our situation can ill-afford to give up. In other words, if the spirit of the movement can indeed be found in the words of Amir Gilboa’s poem quoted everywhere, “Suddenly a man wakes up in the morning. He feels he is a nation and begins to walk”. Then we must continue with the next line: “And to all he meets on his way he calls out ‘Shalom!’”

It is easy to criticise the nascent movement, question its moves and doubt it. Indeed it’s always easier to find reasons why not to do something decisive and courageous. But whoever listens to the groan of the demonstrators, not only at Rothschild Boulevard, but also in Tel Aviv’s southern suburbs and the poorer neighbourhoods of Jerusalem and Ashdod and Haifa and Ma’alot-Tarshiha – would understand that maybe we have opened a window to a different future. The time is ripe for such a move, and surprisingly we also have, at last, the troops. Maybe that’s what the young woman meant who came up to me at a demonstration in Jerusalem and said: “Look, the leadership is still hollow, but the people are not.”

Jewish, Arab workers and youth protest against social conditions in Israel

By Patrick O’Connor

1 August 2011, World Socialist Web Site http://www.wsws.org (Australia)

An estimated 150,000 mostly young people in Israel, both Jewish and Arab, protested Saturday over spiralling living costs and the economic and social policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The demonstrations—held in eleven cities, with the largest in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa—mark a significant development in the “tent city” movement against high housing costs launched by students nearly three weeks ago. With a total population of about 7 million, 150,000 people represents a large percentage of the country.

While still in its early stages, a movement within the Israeli working class is being driven by worsening social inequality, economic hardship, and enormous anger with the Netanyahu government and the existing political setup in the country.

Yediot Aharonot columnist Nahum Barnea described the protests as unprecedented. “Whether the crowds numbered 100,000 or 200,000, never have such numbers descended into the streets over social issues,” he wrote. “Who would have believed that 150,000 Israelis would take the trouble to go out into the street in the name of social change… the alienation and cynicism that typified the public in the past number of years has now been replaced by involvement and protest.”

The largest protest was in Tel Aviv, where up to 100,000 people marched through the city centre. According to media reports, another 10,000 rallied in Jerusalem outside the prime minister’s residence and 8,000 marched in Haifa. A smaller demonstration in central Nazareth involved both Jews and Arabs, the first such joint rally since the housing protests began.

Slogans included: “The people demand social justice”, “We want justice, not charity”, and “When the government is against the people, the people are against the government”. Protestors also made banners pointing to the influence of the recent uprisings in Egypt and other Arab countries. One read: “This is the Israeli spring”, and another, “Mubarak, Assad, Netanyahu!”

One young person was asked by the RT news network whether the protests had been inspired by events in Arab countries. He replied, “There is a lot of influence of what happened in Tahrir Square… There’s a lot of influence of course. That’s when people understand that they have the power, that they can organise by themselves, they don’t need any more the government to tell them what to do, they can start telling the government what they want.”

These developments presage a major shift within the Zionist state. Amid a worsening global economic breakdown, the social crisis in Israel is laying bare the objective potential for unifying Jewish workers with their Arab brothers and sisters both within Israel and throughout the Middle East. Opening up is a new path of political and social struggle, in opposition to the Zionist ruling elite, the Arab bourgeoisie and their imperialist backers—on the basis of common class interest, not nationality, race or religious identity.

Wider layers of the Israeli population are being drawn into the protest movement. Prominent musicians and writers have joined the demonstrations. Yesterday about 1,000 parents and their young children participated in a “strollers’ march” in Jerusalem and Haifa to protest against excessive day care centre costs and inadequate parental leave provisions.

A strike of public hospital medical professionals is in its fifth month. On Sunday, hundreds of doctors, medical residents and hospital interns protested near the Knesset (parliament) demanding adequate funding for the public health system.
Today, local authority workers are set to strike in support of the antigovernment protests, shutting down public offices and leaving rubbish uncollected.

The Netanyahu government has been plunged into crisis. A comment published by Ynet News columnist Attila Somfalvi noted: “Some 150,000 people who left their homes yesterday directed their fury at the man who they view as the culprit behind the State’s privatisation and burial of concern for the regular folk. These are not a bunch of ‘spoiled brats’ who can be dismissed with a disparaging hand gesture or by rolling one’s eyes; these are working people; angry people facing collapse... This protest is making its way to the top of the government, shakes up Likud, rocks the leather chairs in the Knesset and makes the prime minister and finance minister sweat and seek an escape route from the fury pouring into the street.”

The Shas party, which represents ultra-orthodox Jews and has 11 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, has warned it may withdraw from Netanyahu’s coalition government, potentially triggering new elections.

The prime minister has rushed to try to defuse the protest movement. Immediately after Saturday’s demonstrations Netanyahu called a cabinet meeting and announced that a “special team” of ministers and experts would listen to the protest leaders and submit a plan to “alleviate Israelis’ economic burden”. He declared: “We are all aware of the genuine hardship of the cost of living in Israel… we must deal with the genuine distress, seriously and responsibly. This, without a doubt, compels us to change our list of priorities.”

This hollow rhetoric has been accompanied by various sops in response to the protestors’ demands. Last Tuesday, Netanyahu promised to build 50,000 units of housing within 18 months. The government yesterday announced that the excise tax on petrol is to be lowered for one month, during August, and that some elderly people will have their home heating grant doubled. The prime minister has also suggested that he hopes to cut taxes and water charges.

At the same time, Netanyahu has made clear that there will be no serious concessions to the social demands of the protesting workers and youth. “We must avoid irresponsible, hasty and populist steps that are liable to cause the country to deteriorate into the situation of certain European countries, which are on the verge of bankruptcy and large-scale unemployment,” he declared.

Finance minister and senior Likud member Yuval Steinitz raised the spectre of state bankruptcy even more sharply. “We see the talk about the debt crisis in Europe,” he said. “We are even hearing talk of a possible default in the United States. My supreme duty is to ensure we do not reach this situation in the State of Israel... we will not turn the rich and the business people and the investors and the industrialists into the enemies of the people, because they are part of a healthy economy.”

The financial markets are clearly bringing enormous pressure to bear on the Netanyahu government, urging a continuation of pro-business policies irrespective of mass opposition. The value of Israeli government bonds declined after the weekend’s rallies. “Growing protests over rising prices increase pressure on the government to act,” Tel Aviv bond trader Ehud Itzhakov told Bloomberg. “There is concern in the market the government may need to raise more debt, which is creating uncertainty about the deficit.”

The Israeli Treasury Department is reportedly outraged over the government’s limited spending announcements in response to the protests. The director general of Israel’s finance ministry, Haim Shani, resigned yesterday. He cited “differences of opinion in fundamental issues” with the finance minister, adding that “events of the past few days have exacerbated the problems.”

It remains to be seen how the Netanyahu government responds to the crisis in the next days and weeks, but there is a real danger that a provocation will be launched against the Palestinian people or neighbouring Arab states as a diversion. Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar reportedly advised his Likud faction colleagues last week that every election in Israel that has “revolved around a socio-economic issue, Likud lost”, whereas when the main issues were “security related, Likud won.”

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The Israeli protests and the unity of Arab and Jewish workers [30 July 2011]

WATCH: Netanyahu comments on protests get music remix

1 August 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)

Noy Alooshe use comments by the prime minister claiming that there would be no protests in Israel and mixes them with footage of Israelis taking to the streets en masse over the spiraling cost of living

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become the latest target of Israeli musician Noy Alooshe and his satirical music videos.

In the clip released this week, Alooshe takes comments by the prime minister claiming that there would be no protests in Israel akin to those in the Arab World and mixes them with recent footage of Israelis taking to the streets en masse over the spiraling cost of living in the country.

This is not the first that Alooshe has remixed the prime minister's words. In May, the musician made a video based on Netanyahu's speech to Congress; other leaders to find themselves as stars of one of his videos include Silvio Berlusconi and Muammar Gadhafi.

Most Israeli municipalities declare general strike in solidarity with housing protests

PM scrambles to quell nationwide protests as he faces a setback in the resignation of Finance Ministry Director General Haim Shani; Moshe Terry, former chairman of Israel Securities Authority, likely to take over treasury.

1 August 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)

By Rotem Starkman

Gili Cohen contributed to this report

Most municipal authorities have declared a one-day strike scheduled for Monday, in sympathy with popular protests spreading throughout Israel.

Municipalities will not be giving services to government offices or holding public office hours today, streets will not be cleaned and garbage will not be collected.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu redoubled efforts to douse growing protests spreading throughout the country Sunday, even as he faced a setback in the resignation of Finance Ministry Director General Haim Shani.

Shani reportedly quit over the lack of organization in proffering solutions to the crisis, and over the work of Netanyahu and his direct superior, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz.

Discussion began of a replacement for Shani, with Moshe Terry, the former chairman of the Israel Securities Authority, seen as likely to take over the treasury.

Netanyahu called an informal meeting of the committee on economic concentration yesterday to discuss solution for the protests, but no decisions were made.

Netanyahu urged its members to make recommendations by the end of the month, and showed the press a presentation of the issues on the agenda.

Terry is close to Delek Group head Yitzhak Tshuva and reportedly assisted him on a number of matters. Tshuva's conglomerate is one of the businesses being examined by the committee on economic concentration.

Netanyahu has also decided to establish a team of ministers and economists, whose makeup is still not final, to speak with the protesters. The panel is to invite various groups, hear them out and make recommendations.

The government also decided yesterday to reduce the tax on gas by 30 agorot per liter for a period of one month, thereby avoiding the price hike of the same amount planned for this morning dictated by the global price rise. The move will cost the government NIS 80 million.

At the end of the month, the cabinet will hear the recommendation of a committee formed to study gas prices and decide how to proceed. The government hopes that oil prices will drop by that time, which will make it unnecessary to continue the reduction in the gas tax.

The government also decided to double the home heating grant for senior citizens who are welfare recipients. However, the grant will be given only to seniors living in areas defined as cold by the National Insurance Institute.

Despite the moves, mutual recriminations have persisted between the Prime Minister's Office and the treasury. The treasury continues to oppose Netanyahu's steps from last week on housing, among them incentives to contractors to build in the center of the country based on the cheapest price to the end user and incentives to convert offices in apartment houses back into residences.

The treasury says such measures merely fan the flames of protest, while the Prime Minister's Office says the treasury has not studied the issue properly.

More than 150,000 take to streets across Israel against Netanyahu and for social justice

31 July 2011, Communist Party of Israel המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית http://maki.org.il

More than 150,000 people took to the streets yesterday (Saturday) night to protest the spiraling costs of living in Israel, against the Netanyahu government and for social justice. 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", "Bibi (Benyamin Netanyahu) go home!" and "we want justice, not charity."

flags and Hadash banners in the Tel-Aviv demonstration (Photo: Activestills)

The biggest protest was in Tel Aviv, where 120,000 march from HaBima Square to the Tel Aviv Museum. Thousands of protesters carrying red flags and Hadash banners: "People before profits" and "The government against the people – The people against the government". "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." Ahead of the social protests across the country, MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to resign. "The Netanyahu government that is leading [with] policies that enrich the tycoons and damage the vast majority of citizens needs to go home today," Khenin said to journalists during the rally.

"A struggle that began in Tel Aviv has spread to Israeli cities from the North to the South," he added. "This struggle will not be stopped with candies and won't fold from [political] spin. The people demand social justice."

In Haifa, 10,000 people marched through the city. In Jerusalem, 15,000 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. In Nazareth, a common Arab-Jewish protest was held in the center of the city by Hadash and communists activists. In Kiryat Shmona, neat the Lebanese border, 1,000 protesters marched in the city's main road, towards the southern exit of the city. Many prominent Israeli musicians performed at the rallies, including Hemi Rodner, Dan Toren, Yehuda Poliker, Barry Sakharov Yishai Levi, Aviv Geffen, and others.

Hundreds of people continued their protest Saturday night in Tel Aviv, long after the protest rally ended. At noon demonstrators blocked the city's Kaplan and Ibn Gabirol streets, chanting "The people demand social justice." Around 1:30am, after failing to negotiate a peaceful end to the rally, which showed no signs of winding down, the Tel Aviv police began forcibly dispersing the protesters. The protesters began booing the officers and chanted "No, we won't go," and "Police state." Several protesters rioted and 12 were detained.

Thousands of doctors and residents protested today (Sunday) at the Rose Garden opposite the Knesset in Jerusalem, demanding a solution to the crisis in the health care system. Israel Medical Association chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly a week, was first to speak. "For nine months we have been negotiating, and there is still no agreement," he said. "The treasury keeps saving money on the health care sector's expense. You doctors work hard, and although we have made progress in formulating the agreement, we still haven't agreed on the principal issues – standardization, the cost of the agreement, the division of payments and the earnings."

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

30 July 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)

Demonstrations held in more than 10 cities across Israel in bid to lower spiraling costs of living; joint Jewish-Arab protest held for first time since demonstrations began 16 days ago.

By Ilan Lior, Gili Cohen, Jack Khoury, Nir Hasson, Yanir Yagna and Eli Ashkenazi

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.

For the first time since the beginning of the protests 16 days ago, a protest involving both Jews and Arabs took place in central Nazareth. In Kiryat Shmona 1,000 protesters marched in the city's main road, towards the southern exit of the city.

Many prominent Israeli musicians performed at the rallies, including Hemi Rodner, Dan Toren, Yehuda Poliker, Barry Sakharov Yishai Levi, Aviv Geffen, and others.

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Thousands turn out across Israel in latest round of mass protests

Mass evening’s protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Nazareth, Modi'in and Kiryat Shmona

30 July 2011, Communist Party of Israel המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית http://maki.org.il

"Strollers March", yesterday in Tel-Aviv (Photo: Activestills)

Tonite (Saturday) mass evening’s protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Modi'in, Kiryat Shmona, Nazareth and othe cities against the high cost of living and the Netanyahu government will be even larger than last week’s, activists said today.

Alon-Lee Green, 22, a union-organizer and one of the leading activists to take part in the Rothschild Boulevard housing protests that started in Tel Aviv two weeks ago, said Saturday’s protest “are going to be much bigger. We’re going to have protests in eleven different cities at the same time. This protest is really gathering all the different protesters: the teachers, the mothers, the doctors, the working class families, Jews and Arabs, all different types of people.” He added “The last one was just about housing, but this one will be much bigger because now it’s about everything, against the right wing government and against capitalism and neo-liberalism.”

The housing protest movement, which was launched two weeks ago on a Facebook page set up by 26-year-old Daphni Leef, has been criticized for "lacking a unified message or a clear set of demands". According to Green, that should change tonight. “At the protest we will state our demands, and it won’t just be about housing,” Green continued “we will present the type of society we want in Israel. The society we dream about in Israel and how we can make it happen – with social justice.”
Trainee clinical psychologists joined the tent camp on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv on Thursday to protest against what they say is the desperate situation facing the country's clinical psychologists. The psychologist trainees say the state is trying to destroy the public mental health service as part of its privatization drive. Patients must wait for months to see a therapist because the government agency does not employ enough psychologists, according to Lior Bitton, a trainee clinical psychologist who is one of the leaders of the protest. He said the problem was not a lack of psychologists within Israel, but rather a lack of positions in the mental health service.

Israeli well know writers: Meir Shalev, Yoram Kaniuk, Etgar Keret, Eshkol Nevo and poet Ronny Somek also visited the tent city in Rothschild Boulevard Thursday, offering their support in the struggle to lower living costs in Israel. The writers sat and talked with the protesters and read stories to the children who took part in the "stroller marches" that took place earlier in the day. "I think this is a unique event," Shalev said. "The Israeli government is neglecting and ignoring the backbone of its society. This is a government that obeys only those who exert power on it. So far it has been the Orthodox and the settlers, and now we are seeing that there is organizing on this side of the Green Line as well."

Shalev added that that protest should lead to early elections and the replacement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "He is scared of you," he told the protesters. "He is scared of you because he doesn't understand your language, and you are better than him at public relations."

The "strollers march"
Thousands of parents took part in a "strollers march" on Thursday, in protest of what they called "the high costs of raising a child in Israel." The main protest march was held in Tel Aviv, with similar rallies and marches held in a dozen other cities across Israel, such as Rehovot, Kfar Saba, Ashdod, Haifa and Beersheba, to name a few.

The parents are protesting the exaggerated fees charged by daycare centers and nursery schools, as well as the overall high prices of basic babies and children's products. The initiative began as a protest group on Facebook, which declared that "raising a child in Israel is so expensive, you need a second mortgage." Over 2,000 people RSVP'd to the subsequent protest invitation posted on the group's page.

The protest's organizers called on parents to tie a yellow balloon to their strollers and wear yellow shirts, as a sign of solidarity with the affordable housing protest. Protesters were holding signs reading "Bibi go home," "A grandmother isn’t a bank," "Bibi wake up, parents are worth more," "Our children demand social justice," "Kids – not only for the rich," and "Let's remind the government who carries the load."

Over 4,000 parents participated in the Tel Aviv march alone. Some 600 people marched in Raanana, 300 protested in Haifa and dozens rallied in Yehud, Nes Ziona and Rishon Lezion. The protesters announced that a second "strollers march" will be held in Jerusalem on next Sunday.

On Thursday Jerusalem's tent protest movement has united with the GLBT community Thursday, joining the Jerusalem gay pride parade. The reinforced march, with the participation of the Hadash activist's "Red-Pink Movement", began in the Independence Park and continued towards the Knesset, where activists have set up an tent camp over the past week in protest against the escalating housing prices. Following the parade, a rally was held at the nearby Wohl Rose Park. Various MKs and other public figures spoke at the event.

"We say to Prime Minister Netanyahu, this is not a sectorial struggle, so don't try to divide and conquer us," MK Dov Khenin spoke at the event and said "this is a pride parade against a government of shame, a homophobic government. A government that doesn't understand that all of the struggles are common struggles for one social justice."

Towards a general strike?
In addition to Saturday’s protests, many people have said they won’t go to work on Monday. On Facebook, more than 20,000 people had already RSVP’d participation in the strike by Thursday. In keeping with what is a constantly evolving movement – without a centralized leadership – it’s safe to assume that additional protest moves will be carried out on a rolling basis throughout next week.

Hundreds of people took part (Friday) in a Tel Aviv protest against the cost of living. The demonstrators, protesting recent price hikes and especially the price of petrol, blocked a road on the corner of King Saul and Ibn Gvirol streets. The protestors waved flags of Israel and held signs reading, "Land of milk and taxes" and "It's time to close the gaps". They chanted, "The people demand social justice".

Ze'ev Grawer, who initiated the petrol protest, told journalists at the start of the march: "The people must unite so that we can make it clear to the Israeli government that it must give us economic freedom, affordable petrol, affordable housing and an affordable life." He added that if the government failed to meet the protestors' demands, they would block roads all over the country next Monday.

Striking doctors arrived in Jerusalem, yesterday morning and established a protest tent camp outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. The Israel Medical Association, led by Chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman, intends to attempt to present Netanyahu with a petition with tens of thousands of signatures calling to "save public medicine." Eidelman and a number of other doctors plan to remain at the tent camp until the strike is settled. Eidelman has been on a hunger strike since Monday.

Talks between the IMA and the Finance Ministry are still deadlocked, but the sides have agreed to return to the negotiating table and resume where they left off a week ago, when medical residents started their own protests. Meeting on Thursday at the Finance Ministry, representatives of the physicians and the treasury agreed to work in small groups before drafting a contract together. "But as long as the doctors have not been offered any money, there will be no breakthrough," said a figure involved in the negotiations. "The missing money has still not arrived," he added. The marchers are planning a demonstration in the Rose Garden next to the Knesset tomorrow, on Sunday.