Huge protests in cities across Israel signal they are a growing political force
The housing and social protests tonight reached a huge crescendo, with throngs flooding streets in over 10 cities across the country Israel. Haaretz is reporting roughly 150,000 people around the country in Hebrew (with a more conservative estimate of over 100,000 in English).
Compared to the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 who demonstrated last week, the number of protesters around the country may have more than quadrupled.
In Tel Aviv, the roar of frenzied euphoria mixed with anger preceded the crowd as the parade rounded a major intersection on its way to the Tel Aviv museum. Screams of “revolution” were echoed all over the country. There were rumors of 10,000 in Jerusalem, 8,000 in Haifa, 3,000 in Beer Sheva, along with demonstrations in Kiryat Shmona, Nazareth, Ashdod and other locations. Like last week, the Tel Aviv demonstration ended with a large and loud sit-in at a major traffic intersection (Dizengoff and Kaplan streets); police formed human chains to block streets, mounted police appeared, and eventually called to break up the protesters.
Categories: Israel, Middle East