Thousands of people participated in demonstrations at several locations across the country, as part of the renewal of the social protest this summer. "As far as we're concerned, this is the opening shot of the summer," Tel Aviv protest organizer Yonatan Levy told "Channel 2 News".
"One event is not enough," said Levy. "We won't stop the struggle until we change the country. We'll continue to fight."
Demonstrations were held last night in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa. The police reported no incidents.
The protest march in Tel Aviv began at 9 pm at Habima Square and ended at the Tel Aviv Museum, where speakers, including last summer's protest leader Stav Sapir, gave speeches. Other speakers included Yehuda Alush, an activist from Beersheva, and Shlomo Kraus, a journalist and high-tech employees. Dafni Leef said that she would not participate. Two bands played at the Tel Aviv Museum.
In her speech, Sapir criticized the government's budget and its privatization plan. She also criticized what she called a "coup d'etat" by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, and Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz. She said that the government was leading the hatred against various communities and that it was ignoring distress in the periphery.
The protest march in Jerusalem left the Horse Garden at 9 pm, passed through the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall, and ended at Paris Square, where social activists gave speeches. The protest march in Haifa began at 8:30 pm at Meirhoff Square, passed through Hameginim Boulevard to Ben Gurion Boulevard in the lower town.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 3, 2012
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