IN RESPONSE to Israel’s largest protest to date for sweeping economic reform, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says his government is committed to making tangible social change.
More than 400,000 people came on to the streets on Saturday night in the pinnacle event of a summer of discontent. Although the numbers were short of the “million-person march” called for by activists, some 300,000 gathered in Tel Aviv and about 50,000 in Jerusalem, with smaller gatherings elsewhere around the country.
One banner read “The Land of Milk and Honey – but not for all.” Protest leader Itzik Shmuli told the Tel Aviv gathering, “We are the new Israelis and we want one simple thing: to live with dignity in this country.” The impressive weekend turnout, in a country of less than 8 million people, marked the watershed event and the end of mass demonstrations that began after young activists pitched tents in Tel Aviv in mid-July to protest against high rental costs.
Some of the protesters dismantled their tents following the weekend rallies, saying it was now time to see how the government will respond.
Mr Netanyahu set up a committee of experts which will present recommendations later this month in an effort to address some of the demands of the protesters, which included affordable housing, lower prices, public housing construction, an expansion of free education and a more equitable distribution of wealth.
Mr Netanyahu yesterday promised to act to reduce the cost of living and correct social distortions. “I believe we have a unique opportunity to implement genuine and responsible changes. We will act quickly and maintain the correct balance between social sensitivity and responsible economics.”
Inspired by the Arab spring popular protests, the adoption by the Israeli middle classes of people power was particularly surprising in a country where economic protests were almost unheard of. The protest movement has succeeded in putting social issues at the top of Israel’s agenda.
It remains to be seen if the momentum of the “Israeli summer” will be renewed if the government fails to introduce far-reaching reforms, but many of the marchers stressed that the protest was as much about values as economics.