The streets of cities across the country were jammed with an estimated 400,000
protesters on Saturday night, in the largest show of force yet for the
social-issues protest movement that has dominated the headlines for two
months.
The demonstrations were held under the banner “They [the
government] only understand numbers.”
Saturday’s events were billed by
organizers as a turning point, an all-out push for a critical mass of protesters
to force the government to present solutions to the issues addressed by the
movement.
It was expected to be the climax of the mass-street-protests
phase of the movement, before participants fold up their tent cities ahead of a
long process of negotiations and dialogue with the government.
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Aviv, the marchers streamed out of Habima Square at 8 p.m. on their way to
Hamedina Square, where the final rally was held. The rally was headlined by
Mizrachi music superstar Ayal Golan and featured speeches by protest movement
leaders Daphni Leef and Itzik Shmuli, the latter the head of the National Union
of Israeli Students.
Rallies were also held in Jerusalem, Haifa, Afula,
Karmiel, Eilat and several others cities.
Looking at the multitudes
gathering in Tel Aviv’s Rothchild Boulevard on Saturday evening, Barak Segel, a
member of the group of friends who launched the protests in mid-July, said, “The
entire people of Israel have stepped out of their houses to protest. This is one
small step for the people of Israel, one giant step for the
country.”
When asked about speculation that the movement would begin
folding up the tent cities across the country, Segel said, “No, they must stay,
the tent cities and the protesters are all in this together. Besides, we need to
strengthen the tent cities for the winter.”
When asked if the turnout
represented a success, Roee Neuman, long the spokesman of the leaders of the
tent-city protest on Rothschild Boulevard, said: “From my point of view, the
atmosphere is amazing here. That’s all I can say.”
He added that
beginning on Sunday, “the protest will enter a new phase. It could be that the
campsites become more concentrated and consolidated, but they won’t be folded
up. The protest will keep going and only get stronger until our demands are
met.”
As for what the new phase would entail, Neuman said, “There won’t
be any mass demonstrations in the coming weeks, but there will be in the future.
We will be new protest methods beginning tomorrow.
"There are all types of
ways to protest without getting tons of people outside their houses,” he said,
citing economic protests such as boycotts.
When asked about the
perception that the movement is dying, Neuman said, “I think all the people who
came out here tonight are proof that’s wrong.”
Shmuli, for weeks one of
the leaders of the protest movement, repeatedly called on Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu to “Let us live in this country.”
“Mr. Prime Minister,
take a good look at us: We’re the new Israelis,” Shmuli said. “We want only one
thing: To live in this country. We want not only to love the State of Israel,
but also to exist here respectfully, and to live with dignity.”
Shmuli
also mentioned recent talk of folding up the tent cities. “The tents are only
the wrapping; the people of Israel are the heart of this movement. We will not
stop this protest until you, Mr. Prime Minister, give us real
solutions.”
The high attendance at Saturday night’s events was partly the
result of a decision made by the High Court of Justice on Friday afternoon that
the Transportation Ministry would run increased numbers of trains, as well as
replacement bus services, to allow people to travel to Tel Aviv to take part in
the “March of a Million March” protest.
The High Court hearing came in response to a petition filed by attorney Shraga Biran on behalf of the
Hitorerut Yerushalayim (“Awakening In Jerusalem”) social movement, following an
announcement by Israel Railways on Wednesday that it would close the Jerusalem,
Tel Aviv and Beersheba, Tel Aviv lines on Saturday night to carry out work on
the lines.
In Jerusalem, an estimated 50,000 demonstrators crowded into
Paris Square, near the Prime Minister’s Residence.
Toddlers sitting on
shoulders blew plastic trumpets, teenagers in youth movement shirts danced and
sang “My Bibi [Netanyahu] has three apartments” to the tune of “Haman’s Hat Has
Three Corners,” and diehard activists waved their well-worn signs as thousands
thronged through King George Street.
As with the Saturday night protest a
month ago that drew 300,000 across the country, this Saturday’s march attracted
young mothers, grandparents, 20-somethings, religious, secular and everything in
between.
“We came because the older people also need to come and show
their support and encourage the younger generation,” said Hani, a 60-year-old
Jerusalem resident marching with her husband. “There’s a real chance that
something will change – things have already changed. There’s a change in
thinking, there’s hope for optimism, that the way things were is not the way
things are going to be.”
Other demonstrators were more
cynical.
“I’m pessimistic but trying to be optimistic, I’m doubtful that
there will be a big change, but even if there’s a small change it will be
something,” said Lehi, who pushed her 11-month-old son, Tom, in a stroller. Tom
had been to many of the protests, said Lehi, adding that perhaps someday he’ll
be able to look back and say he was at the March of a Million rally in
Jerusalem.
“I hope when he is older he will go out and demonstrate for
the things that are important to him,” she said. “This struggle is not
just important to make a change, it’s important for the country, that the
country stands up. People need to go out and demonstrate for what’s
important.”
The creative antics the protests showed over the past six
weeks did not disappoint on Saturday, as a teenager repelled down an abandoned
building and did acrobatic flips below a giant banner of Che Guevarra, as the
crowd chanted “Rere- revolution!” Within the larger social protest movement are
a few smaller activist groups.
Four hundred people across the country
demonstrated with the Tav is for Transportation group, which advocates for
improved public transportation and services.
“It’s amazing to see the
crowds, and I’m meeting people here who have never been to any of these
demonstrations, it’s just so amazing and exciting at every demonstration to be
part of this movement,” said Eliraz Shor, a 29-year-old master’s student in
Hebrew Literature in Jerusalem.
“The best thing about these
demonstrations is that they’re inclusive – everyone can bring what’s important
to them. For us, it’s public transportation, but we are all part of the same
struggle,” she said.
On Saturday afternoon, Kadima leader Tzipi Livni
called on her supporters to join the demonstration.
“Come protest
tonight,” she wrote on her Facebook wall. “I hope the masses come. I know, no
matter what, that the protesters of summer 2011 brought about the change that
Israel needs. The Israel that the protesters want is the country I want for my
children. A technical economic change is not enough – we need a change in values
and a joint vision. This is the new Zionism.”
A few opposition
parties held official gatherings before and during the
demonstration.
Signs were distributed to Meretz members and supporters
met on Saturday afternoon, calling to “bring back the welfare state.”
MK
Ahmed Tibi (UAL-Ta’al) joined the protests, accompanied by dozens of supporters
waving his party’s yellow flags.
“Social justice requires a change in
priorities and closing the economic gap between the majority and the minority,”
Tibi said.
JPost.com staff contributed to this report