News
Social protests movement spreads to Israel’s periphery
More than 70,000 people on Saturday evening attended protests in Israel against the cost of living and soaring house prices in the southern city of Beersheba, the northern cities of Haifa and Afula and many other cities across the country, according to police estimates. The rallies’ participants included the leaders of the Tel Aviv protest city, youth movement members, social activists, worker committees’ representatives and famous artists. According to one protest leader, the event marked the first time that more than 20,000 people had turned out to demonstrate in Beersheba. Activists in Haifa, a city historically known for its strong workers movement, also expressed great satisfaction after 25,000 demonstrators arrived for a downtown protest.
In related news, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he asked the committee of experts set up to find sustainable economic solutions to deliver their findings within a month. Netanyahu, opening the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday, said that the solutions would need to be sensitive to the public’s social needs but must be affordable to Israel over time. Netanyahu stressed that the outcomes cannot lead Israel into economic bankruptcy, like has happened in several European countries. “I have asked Prof. [Manuel] Trajtenberg to present the socioeconomic cabinet with concrete solutions during September, as early as possible,” Netanyahu said. The Prime Minister added that he wanted to work on solutions to lowering the cost of living and closing socioeconomic gaps in Israel between the centre of the country and the periphery.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the social protests have formed their own alternative panel of experts who will aim to draw up a new socioeconomic policy. The new panel will be announced at a press conference in Tel Aviv later today. The alternative panel will consist of 60 members from academic backgrounds and well-known public figures that will be divided into nine sub-working groups.
Further reading: BICOM Analysis: the political impact of Israel’s social protests