1 agosto 2011, Carta Maior http://www.cartamaior.com.br (Brasil)
Fonte: Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Nunca houve uma manifestação como essa antes em Israel – todo mundo junto, jovens e velhos, direita e esquerda, árabes e judeus. Esqueçam o protesto sobre moradia, não se trata mais somente disso. Aqueles que temiam que os protestos fossem muito restritos, comezinhos, ontem assistiram à sua expansão. Seus objetivos já ultrapassaram o aluguel de um pequeno apartamento. Na noite de sábado, Benjamin Netanyahu recebeu sua carta de demissão, quando dezenas de milhares de israelenses ao longo do país gritaram “Bibi, vá para casa”. O artigo é de Gideon Levy.
Gideon Levy
Foi a noite em que Benjamin Netanyahu foi expulso do gabinete de Primeiro Ministro em desonra.
Netanyahu permanecerá no gabinete por um tempo, mas esse tempo está aí. Acabou. Ele vai se contorcer e fazer promessas, dar declarações e virar as costas, ele vai pregar mais algumas peças, mas isso não vai ajudá-lo nem um pouco.
Assim como o foi ontem, ele é um pato manco. Na noite de sábado, o 17° primeiro ministro de Israel recebeu sua carta de demissão. Quando dezenas de milhares de israelenses ao longo do país gritaram “Bibi, vá para casa”, Bibi irá de fato para casa. Bye bye, Bibi, adeus para sempre.
Essa foi a noite de que todo israelense pode se sentir orgulhoso de ser israelense, como nunca antes o foi. A verdadeira marcha do orgulho de Israel ocorreu ontem. Não pode haver melhor campanha de relações públicas para um país desprezado e evitado, do que a manifestação de ontem à noite, deste novo Israel. O ministro do Exterior deveria transmitir as imagens para o mundo todo: a democracia de Israel celebrada sábado à noite, como não o era em anos, levantando-se contra todos os que a queriam morta. Sem violência, sem apoios políticos supérfluos, nem Cairo, nem mesmo Atenas, mas algo muito mais bonito – uma luz genuína para as nações.
O povo, digamos, falou com uma voz alta; sem medo e sem causar medo – Tahrir, liberdade, mas não tiroteio. Falar? Não, gritar. Sim, na noite passada eu estava muito orgulhoso de ser um israelense. Só me senti embaraçado diante de minha inabilidade em assobiar com dois dedos, como a massa que marchava pela rua Ibn Gvirol assobiava, em deboche, num volume de doer os ouvidos, ecoando pelos muros do [restaurante] Goocha, para onde os clientes tinham ido comer frutos do mar como se nada fora do comum estivesse se passando. Se soubesse, eu também teria assobiado.
Nunca houve uma manifestação como essa antes em Israel – todo mundo junto, jovens e velhos, direita e esquerda, árabes e judeus. O estado que foi criado no (velho) Museu de Tel Aviv demonstrou na noite passada sua robusteza e maturidade diante do atual Museu de Arte de Tel Aviv.
Entre esses museus repousam 63 anos de altos e baixos. A noite passada foi a mais alta marca d’água recente. Foi também, aparentemente, a maior demonstração da história, a maior depois da de Sabra e Shatila.
Os manifestantes mandaram ver ontem à noite. Palavras de ordem contra os altos preços dos alugueis eram raras. “O povo quer justiça social” era a mais comum, seguida por “Hoo, há, mi zeh ba”? Medinat harevaha (“O que é isso que vem aí? É o Estado de Bem Estar Social”). Socialismo, hoje? Sim, com a garganta engasgada e tons emocionais. O protesto ganhou asas ontem à noite. Esqueçam o protesto sobre moradia, não se trata mais somente disso. Aqueles que temiam que os protestos fossem muito restritos, comezinhos, ontem assistiram à sua expansão. Seus objetivos já ultrapassaram o aluguel de um pequeno apartamento.
Aqueles que fizeram caretas para o mini-Woodstock no Boulevard Rothschild devem reconhecer, agora, que o que ocorreu nesse boulevard é apenas o ponto de partida para a explosão de um movimento, o mais impressionante movimento da história de Israel.
Os cínicos deveriam ter vergonha de si mesmos. Qualquer um que estivesse nas ruas na noite passada só poderia se comover – e, se não, então deveria ter vergonha. Quando pisei no pé de um inocente transeunte, um homem religioso, ele encrespou: “Isso não é justiça social”. Alguém tinha ouvido essa expressão antes de tudo isso começar?
A trilha sonora da semana passada incluiu John Lennon, mas na noite passada Janis Joplin foi acrescentada – outra maneira de tornar tudo mais legal. Corinne Alal’s “Zan Nadir” também tocou na noite passada. “Estamos com medo de nossa própria sombra, presos dentre os muros dos edifícios, e a maior parte do tempo com vergonha de nossos corpos, espremidos em abrigos antiaéreos... Somos espécies raras, um pássaro estranho, sonhos no ar e cabeça no chão”. Na noite passada, os sonhos estavam no ar, e que ar! Na noite passada eu tive muito orgulho de ser um israelense.
Tradução: Katarina Peixoto
Mostrando postagens com marcador Ibn Gvirol. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador Ibn Gvirol. Mostrar todas as postagens
quinta-feira, 4 de agosto de 2011
segunda-feira, 1 de agosto de 2011
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.”
The author also recommends:
The Israeli protests and the unity of Arab and Jewish workers [30 July 2011]
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.”
The author also recommends:
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.
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.
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 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."
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."
sábado, 30 de julho de 2011
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.
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.
segunda-feira, 25 de julho de 2011
Tens of thousands marched in Tel Aviv in protest against the housing shortage: 'Bibi go home'
24 july 2011, Communist Party of Israel המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית http://maki.org.il
Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched yesterday (Saturday night) in central Tel Aviv as part of a large-scale protest movement against the housing shortage and high rent prices in Israel. One of the protest organizer, Yigal Rambam, addressed the prime minister directly in his speech, saying: "Mr. Netanyahu, we shall have to part as friends, we're parting ways; you're fired!" Meanwhile, those in attendance were chanting "Bibi go home."
43 demonstrators were arrested by police after they blocked the intersection of Kaplan and Ibn Gvirol streets and Dizzengoff street in central Tel Aviv after the mass rally. Following the rally, thousands of activists blocked several streets. Mounted police clashed with the protesters and used smoke and gas grenades.
The beginning of the protest yesterday 9:00 p.m at Habima square (Photo: Activestills)
The protest was an extension of the "tent cities" which have sprouted up across the country as part of an organized effort led by a cross-section of Israeli society - including the working class, young people, students, Holocaust survivors, and the elderly. The demonstrators marched from the tent city on Rothschild Boulevard toward the Tel Aviv Museum, where they heard speeches from various protest leaders calling on the government find a sustainable solution to the housing crisis.
Protestors carrying hundreds of Hadash signs like "People before profits", "Netanyahu go home" and Israeli and red flags began to gather at Habima Square Saturday evening, where hundreds of tents had been set up in protest in the past week. The head of the protest, Dapni Leef, led the march alongside elderly Israelis and Holocaust survivors expressing their support for the protesters.
During the march, demonstrators yelled slogans such as "proper housing, legitimate prices", "the power is with the citizen", and "this generation demands housing". Most of the marchers called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resignation. Several Knesset members, including the chairman of Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel), Muhammad Barakeh , MK Dov Khenin (Hadash), former MK Tamar Gozansky (Hadash), Ilan Gilon (Meretz), Nino Abesadze (Kadima), and Rachel Adato (Kadima), Hadash secretary Ayman Odeh as members of the Communist Party of Israel Central Committee could be found among the demonstrators.
"I'm proud of the vast number of participants, especially the young people who give me great hope for real change," MK Barakeh said. He added that he hoped that the demonstration marked "the beginning of a process to replace the current government with a government that is socially sensitive and has a perception of true peace." MK Khenin added: "It's the largest social demonstration in years, people from around country march from Habima Square to Tel Aviv Museum, chanting 'we want social justice, not charity' and 'Bibi go home'"
Meanwhile, doctors and medical interns were also protesting in the city after a 110-day strike that has not yet led to a breakthrough in negotiations with the government. A large group of dairy farmers also joined the housing protestors with signs slamming dairy product prices and government inaction on the issue.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched yesterday (Saturday night) in central Tel Aviv as part of a large-scale protest movement against the housing shortage and high rent prices in Israel. One of the protest organizer, Yigal Rambam, addressed the prime minister directly in his speech, saying: "Mr. Netanyahu, we shall have to part as friends, we're parting ways; you're fired!" Meanwhile, those in attendance were chanting "Bibi go home."
43 demonstrators were arrested by police after they blocked the intersection of Kaplan and Ibn Gvirol streets and Dizzengoff street in central Tel Aviv after the mass rally. Following the rally, thousands of activists blocked several streets. Mounted police clashed with the protesters and used smoke and gas grenades.
The protest was an extension of the "tent cities" which have sprouted up across the country as part of an organized effort led by a cross-section of Israeli society - including the working class, young people, students, Holocaust survivors, and the elderly. The demonstrators marched from the tent city on Rothschild Boulevard toward the Tel Aviv Museum, where they heard speeches from various protest leaders calling on the government find a sustainable solution to the housing crisis.
Protestors carrying hundreds of Hadash signs like "People before profits", "Netanyahu go home" and Israeli and red flags began to gather at Habima Square Saturday evening, where hundreds of tents had been set up in protest in the past week. The head of the protest, Dapni Leef, led the march alongside elderly Israelis and Holocaust survivors expressing their support for the protesters.
During the march, demonstrators yelled slogans such as "proper housing, legitimate prices", "the power is with the citizen", and "this generation demands housing". Most of the marchers called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resignation. Several Knesset members, including the chairman of Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel), Muhammad Barakeh , MK Dov Khenin (Hadash), former MK Tamar Gozansky (Hadash), Ilan Gilon (Meretz), Nino Abesadze (Kadima), and Rachel Adato (Kadima), Hadash secretary Ayman Odeh as members of the Communist Party of Israel Central Committee could be found among the demonstrators.
"I'm proud of the vast number of participants, especially the young people who give me great hope for real change," MK Barakeh said. He added that he hoped that the demonstration marked "the beginning of a process to replace the current government with a government that is socially sensitive and has a perception of true peace." MK Khenin added: "It's the largest social demonstration in years, people from around country march from Habima Square to Tel Aviv Museum, chanting 'we want social justice, not charity' and 'Bibi go home'"
Meanwhile, doctors and medical interns were also protesting in the city after a 110-day strike that has not yet led to a breakthrough in negotiations with the government. A large group of dairy farmers also joined the housing protestors with signs slamming dairy product prices and government inaction on the issue.
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