Pollution protest puffs out in Haifa

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
A group of environmental activists in Haifa have found themselves disappointed after planning a major demonstration against pollution in the Haifa Bay, only to see just a few dozen people turn up at the event, reports www.nrg.co.il. The organizers had distributed thousands of fliers around Haifa and the Krayot announcing the demonstration and said they had been expecting thousands of people to turn up to show their support, but to their dismay only a few dozen came. According to the report, the activists organized the protest under the heading, "Haifa Bay Holds its Breath," and demonstrators at the event carried signs saying, "Haifa Bay Murders by License," and "Air Pollution is Clean Murder." "There is no doubt that we expected more people," one of the organizers said later. "They have to understand that this is a battle for our health, our air and our water, and it will succeed only when residents understand that we will not get results at the polling booth but only in a struggle on the ground - success in the struggle depends on the participation of the public." The organizer said the government was to blame for the situation as it allowed factories to continue polluting the environment and avoided policing them, providing an insufficient enforcement budget to the Environmental Protection Ministry.