Tent protest leader Dafni Leef called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene the Knesset from its summer recess, and called on Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, the chairman of the Rothschild team that Netanyahu set up to discuss the changes demanded by the protesters, to resign.
"Two months ago, there was a deep change in public awareness in Israel society," said Leef at a press conference yesterday evening. "Hundreds of thousands of people came onto the streets and tent camps have been set up all over the country. How has the prime minister responded? He has passed the National Housing Committees Law and raised electricity rates.
"When he saw the protests expand nationwide and that more organization joined it, he set up a committee. The prime minister has set up 20 empty committees since taking office. The Trajtenberg committee is misleading the public. While the public is waiting for real change, the committee has neither the authority nor the power to do it."
Leef said, "Without reconvening the Knesset from its recess, it will not be possible to implement the committee's recommendations. Maintaining the budget framework will result in small and one-time amounts, without effect for the years ahead. We feel that this committee is a deception to cause the protest to melt away. Just as the prime minister tried to persuade the students to quit the struggle, this committee is trying to pacify the public."
Leef added, "We call on Prof. Trajtenberg to resign and not be a partner to this fraud. The nation demands thorough change. We expect real change. On Saturday night, we will hold a mass demonstration in Tel Aviv, and we call on the prime minister to listen to us. We don’t want to bring down the government or set up parties. We want the MKs and ministers to return from their vacations. Convene the largest government in the country's history and do something courageous in politics. On Saturday, there will be other demonstrations elsewhere in the country. Without social justice in the periphery, there will be no social justice in Israel."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 25, 2011
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