Thousands of human rights activists took to the streets of Tel Aviv to
participate in the fourth annual Human Rights March on Friday, ahead of
International Human Rights Day on Monday.
Demonstrators marched from
Habimah Square to nearby Rabin Square, where a live concert was put on following
several speeches in both Hebrew and Arabic.
Banners included slogans
reading “Human beings live in Gaza, just like in Sderot,” “Bibi is isolating
me,” “Stop the occupation,” and “Human beings refuse to be enemies.”
A
handful of right-wing activists trailed behind the demonstrators in a counter
protest holding banners reading: “no loyalty, no citizenship.”
One man at
the concert at Rabin Square was wearing a “Kahane was right” T-shirt and was
ushered away by police.
Association for Civil Rights in Israel President
Sami Michael addressed the crowd, using much of his speech to bring attention to
discrimination, violence and rights violations against women.
“Billions
are invested in national defense, but very little is in invested in defending
women who on a daily basis face oppression, harassment, violence and murder,”
Michael said.
“Discrimination against women means that society loses out
on their enormous and blessed contribution,” he added.
A number of
leftist political factions, including Meretz, Da’am and Hadash were all
represented at the march alongside numerous human rights and peace
organizations.
Event organizers arranged buses to bring participants from
throughout the country to the march.
Hadash MK Dov Henin described the
event as “a different type of politics, of values and cooperation, which is the
answer to the great damage [done to] faith in democracy.”
Shiran Yosef,
28, from Ramat Gan, told The Jerusalem Post that for many people peace has
become an empty slogan, but she believes it can be achieved through
empathy.
“No one is going anywhere,” she said, referring to both sides of
the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, stressing that “we are all victims, so there
is no point dwelling on history. Instead we must look to the
future.”
Meretz supporter Ran Kraus said it was important for people to
come out of their houses and show their support “because the situation is
deteriorating.”
When asked whether he identified with any specific cause
he said that the issues could not be separated. “Each one is connected to the
next.”
The concert included performances by Shlomi Saranga with Boom Pam,
Noam Rotem, Miriam Tukan, Rami Danoch, Bilaka and Ester Rada.