Tent city protesters abandon Rothschild leadership

By SARAH NADAV
Yesterday Daphni Leef unilaterally declared that Trajchtenberg should quit and there is no way she would work with the government. The response she got from many the people in the tent movement: "Daphni, we will no longer work with YOU." 
All those who felt that the protests were being hijacked by the left can now breathe a sigh of relief.  What seemed unthinkable just a few days ago has happened- the leadership of the tent movement has changed.
For more than a week representatives from tent cities from all over the country have been meeting to discuss their alienation and frustration with the current leadership of the tent city movement. 
For updated information go to the Facebook Page in English for the tent city. https://www.facebook.com/TentCityIsraelEnglish
I have been invited to a number of these meetings from different groups and it has been interesting to hear their opinions and now to see that they are finally moving forward.  Starting with the defection of the National Student Union, tent cities throughout the country are breaking ranks with the Rothschild based encampment and creating their own central leadership. Meetings are currently underway to reconfigure how the protests are going to continue.
There is currently no discussion within the tent leaders of giving up the protests or ending the movement due to any of the current internal upheavals or the military escalation in the south. Core members across a variety of groups have expressed that they see this as a long term battle for economic changes rather than a series of protests which will end when summer is over.
“Calling for the resignation of Trajtenberg was misguided and doesn’t advance the ultimate goals of the protests. We should be in dialogue with government rather than blocking them.” says Etai Tavor, one of the leaders of the new group called Israelis for Economic Development. 
“There is a heavy social responsibility which lies on shoulders of the leaders of these protests.” he states “This is not a time for extremism and our goal is to work with the government, not to overthrow it. We need to find solutions to our economic problems by working together.”
Another group which has become vocal as an alternative to the current leadership is calling themselves the “Protest Tents: The National Leadership” their website is http://hanhaga.org/.  Adam Dobrzyns has been spearheading the group and working with a wide range of people.
“We need to do this,” he says “We need to give the movement back to the people. We are not left wing or right wing, we are not secular or religious. In this struggle we are all in it together.” The national leadership team has been actively seeking partnerships with various elements of Israeli society that have been left out of the movement up until now including the Haredi, Russian and Anglo community.
Despite any internal struggles all protests will continue as planned.
Now the questions is- Are you joining in?
 
As always, you can follow me on twitter @sarahnadav