"In the past few weeks, top executives in the economy have been calling me to plead, 'I'm cutting prices; don’t initiate a boycott against me," Union of Israeli Students chairman Itzik Shmuli at the Rothschild Caesarea Foundation's Rothschild Foundation Ambassadors meeting today.
Shmuli attributes the calls to the student-led boycott of Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. and the resignation of its chairwoman, Zehavit Cohen. "This is a direct consequence of the boycott two weeks after Zehavit Cohen resigned. Tnuva slashed its prices, followed by Tara Dairy, Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS), and Unilever Israel."
Shmuli said that while business leaders have recognized the social change and the price protests in Israel, the government has not, and continues to ridicule the social protest. "Regrettably, the government has not recognized the power of the protest movement, and some ministers ridicule it. After criticizing us and saying that the struggle was political, we approached the periphery and Likud strongholds, where the party consistently wins sweeping support, and proved by mass recruitment bringing people out on to the streets that the protest is not political. This is an Israeli struggle that affects every one of us. It isn't a political struggle."
On Saturday night, the tent protest organizers are planning a large demonstration at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. The demonstration comes two months after the previous demonstration, which drew 420,000 protesters. Shmuli has not yet called on the public to go out on to the streets, and he will not speak at Saturday's event, but will only be a participant.
"Our two main flags are contract workers and public housing," Shmuli said. "I wasn’t surprises that [Histadrut chairman] Ofer Eini waved the flag of contract workers." Two weeks ago, Eini declared a labor dispute over the issue of contract workers.
Shmuli also criticized the Trajtenberg report, saying that it failed to offer adequate solutions. He hinted that the protest movement could turn political, saying, "We will achieve the changes either by force by ballot. The protest will not disappear. until society's real problems are solved." He also reiterated his call for non-violence.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 27, 2011
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