[P2P-F] Fwd: Israel's Biggest Social Protest Demonstration Ever--some analysis

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tikkun <[email protected]> Date: Sun, Sep 4, 2011 at 12:01 PM Subject: Israel's Biggest Social Protest Demonstration Ever--some analysis To: [email protected] <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=uaCHWzITEHGZw3UeehUcjfSX3DmF6%2BI%2F> Here are accounts from Israel's most serious intelllectual paper, Ha'aretz, followed by some commentary by Israelis. Ha'aretz: Some 450,000 Israelis march at massive 'March of the Million' rallies across country Protests held in major cities across Israel represent of the biggest rallies in the country's history. Protest leader: We have chosen to see instead of walking blindly toward the abyss. By Oz Rosenberg<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZPDpy%2BngttLtRmixBTwZOxH472wKSrBL>, Ilan Lior and Gili CohenTags: Israel housing protest<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=WItxtukCtP0lqAfZlm7jFhH472wKSrBL> Tel Aviv<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OJDw0YR9vQMG6LEKkOkfcBH472wKSrBL> Israel protest<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mgwI%2F%2FVMx%2F36t2i7IcaMYhH472wKSrBL> Over 450,000 protesters attended rallies across the country last night calling for social justice in what was the largest demonstration in Israeli history. The main protest took place in Tel Aviv's Kikar Hamedina, where some 300,000 people gathered after marching from Habima Square about two kilometers away. Protest leader Yonatan Levy said the atmosphere was like "a second Independence Day." [image: March of the Million - Moti Milrod - 3.9.2011] 'March of the Million' rally in Tel Aviv, Sept. 3, 2011. Photo by: Moti Milrod Protest leaders Daphni Leef and National Student Union Chairman Itzik Shmuli both addressed the Tel Aviv crowd. "Mr. Prime Minister, the new Israelis have a dream and it is simple: to weave the story of our lives into Israel. We expect you to let us live in this country. The new Israelis will not give up. They demand change and will not stop until real solutions come," Shmuli said. "My generation always felt as though we were alone in this world, but now we feel the solidarity," said Leef. "They tried to dismiss us as stupid children, and as extreme leftists," but last night's countrywide protest proved otherwise, she said. Dr. Shiri Tannenbaum, a medical resident leading the young doctors' protest against the recent collective wage agreement signed between the government and the Israel Medical Association, also spoke at the Tel Aviv rally. [image: 'March of the Million' rally in Tel Aviv, Sept. 3, 2011.] 'March of the Million' rally in Tel Aviv, Sept. 3, 2011.Nir Kafri 1/11 In Jerusalem, an unprecedented 50,000 people filled Paris Square and the surrounding streets, almost twice the number that attended previous protests this summer. Actress and comedienne Orna Banai told the crowd in the capital: "I am not amused that there are hungry children here; that we have a soldier rotting in captivity for five years; that Israel is one of the poorest examples there are of human rights." The chairman of the Hebrew University Student Union, Itai Gotler, said: "We changed this summer. The voice of the mother, the teacher, the student, have been heard...The fire of protest was lit in Tel Aviv, but the tent city in Jerusalem shows that the protest belongs to all of us." [image: March of the Million - Moti Milrod - Sept. 3 2011] Protesters at the 'March of the Million' rally in Tel Aviv, Sept. 3, 2011. Photo by: Moti Milrod Gotler said the Jerusalem tent city was closing down, but pledged to continue the struggle. Yehuda Alush, 52, from Be'er Sheva, among a group of protesters from the Negev who marched to the capital, said: "This protest must not stop or we'll lose." In Haifa, the protest drew 40,000 people, many of whom waved red flags. The Haifa protest focused on the issue of discrimination against Arabs. Shahin Nasser, representative of the Wadi Nisnas protest tent in Haifa said: "Today we are changing the rules of the game. No more coexistence based on hummus and fava beans. What is happening here is true coexistence, when Arabs and Jews march together shoulder to shoulder calling for social justice and peace. We've had it. Bibi, go home. Steinitz, go and don't come back, Atias, good-bye and good riddance," he said, referring to the prime minister, the finance minister and the housing minister, respectively. The chairman of the University of Haifa's student union, Yossi Shalom, told the crowd, gathered at the foot of the Bahai Gardens in the city's German Colony, "There is no more beautiful sight than social solidarity. As a student, this is the most important lesson I have learned in recent months." At the protest in Afula the numbers reached 12,000; in Rosh Pina, 7,000 and in Kiryat Shemona, 7,000. Meanwhile, in the south, a total of more than 1,000 people took part in rallies in Mitzpe Ramon and Arad. Ya'akov Laksi, an organizer of the protest in Arad, told the crowd: "Social justice means Arad will no longer be called an outlying town. We need to bring people work." Laksi said organizers had expected only 100 protesters. "We want the government to increase funding, not take from someone else," Eyal Adler, an organizer of the protest in Mitzpe Ramon said. A protester who gave her name as Ruthie, said: "We are far from the eye of the media, but we deserve no less funding and a change in the funding map of Israel." Concerns over possible rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip led the Home Front Command to issue a directive prohibiting demonstrations in Be'er Sheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon. Eli Ashkenazi and Yanir Yagna contributed to this report ***************************** Israel's social unrest means the people are back on top The balance of power has changed. The public understands that it has power both vis-a-vis the government and vis-a-vis the monopolies and the cartels. The political discourse has changed. By Nehemia Shtrasler<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=CvpU3lO5NxCyKWnRKKjZZBH472wKSrBL> Public pressure has effected change. National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau has capitulated and been forced to sign an order lowering the gasoline retailers' profit margins by 19 agorot per liter. This is a significant decrease, and one that Landau truly did not want to sign. Over the past two years, he has become an enthusiastic supporter of the wealthy and of large monopolies, and he has forgotten his role representing the public. In fact, in early 2010, Landau took steps to dismiss the chairman of the Energy Authority, Amnon Shapira, simply because he dared to instruct the Israel Electric Corporation, a monopoly, to reduce its tariffs after cheap natural gas was introduced to its production system. Later, he waged war on the Sheshinski committee to prevent it from raising taxes, to the degree that it recommended, on oil exploration companies. Now he has stood behind large fuel corporations and for months prevented their exaggerated profit margin from being lowered - that is, until the social protest movement defeated him. For many years, the large fuel companies collected an excessive profit margin, accumulating enormous profits at the expense of the public. But in January, after the price of gasoline passed the NIS 7 mark, public outcry erupted, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Landau to examine the fuel companies' profit margin. Landau appointed a committee that determined the margin must be lowered by 21.5 agorot per liter - but then he refused to accept the committee's recommendation, accepting all kinds of fabricated claims proffered by the fuel companies. The companies also approached ministers and Knesset members from Likud, asking them to put presure on Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz to save them from the abhorrent decree, but Steinitz declined. The companies frightened their employees by threatening that, if the margin was lowered, they would have to become more "efficient"- which is to say, they would be dismissed - and the terrified workers held a demonstration. Ofer Eini, chairman of the Histadrut labor federation, also intervened to prevent the margin from being lowered. Eini of course knows how to speak in lofty terms about the high cost of living, but when it comes to actions, he supports the big workers' committees and, in this case, the committees at the Paz, Delek and Sonol companies - and, through them, the wealthy people who control those companies. However, when the pressure continued to mount, Landau discovered the real culprit: the treasury. According to Landau, the Finance Ministry is "the biggest tycoon that exists," since it takes 53 percent of the price of gasoline in taxes. It is true that the Finance Ministry takes a great many taxes, but where do these taxes go? They are earmarked, for example, to provide many billions of shekels for the cost of the settlements, an expenditure that Landau actually supports. They are earmarked for the increase in the Israel Defense Forces' budget, so that it can be ready for any operation or war forced upon us, since Landau is not prepared to even dream of any peaceful solution to the conflict that entails giving up territories. The taxes also go toward supporting new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, which Landau also is in favor of, since they vote for the Yisrael Beiteinu party. If all this is so, why does he complain that the taxes are so high? One thing is certain: Without the social protest movement, the fuel companies' profit margin would not have budged by even one agora. Until the drivers started raising their voices, the Fuel Authority kept quiet, and so did the Finance Ministry. But it is not only the fuel companies who understand now that the rules of the game have changed. The entire economy understands. The supermarket chains would not have dropped the price of cottage cheese from NIS 7.3 to NIS 5.9 were it not for the social protest organized on Facebook. Nochi Dankner, who has the controlling share in Super-Sol, would not have met with a group of young people who threatened a boycott and would not have promised to bring down prices. The CEO of Super-Sol, Efi Rosenhaus, would not have hastened to meet with a few students from Tel Aviv University and vowed to lower the prices of 30 items by 20 percent. And lo and behold, Mega too is lowering the price of 32 basic products. Of course, we have not forgotten about the promises made by Netanyahu immediately after the protests began to build cheap housing, nor have we forgotten about the Trajtenberg committee, which is planning to introduce changes in the areas of taxation, competition, cost of living and apartment prices. In other words, the balance of power has changed. The public understands that it has power both vis-a-vis the government and vis-a-vis the monopolies and the cartels. The political discourse has changed, and it will have an influence on the results of the next elections. The settlers have already sworn they'll know how to manage without the IDF, and the PA will have no control over the demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful. By Yossi Sarid<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wc72PRbODyV4rNZFAHUgyhH472wKSrBL> September is here and we still don't know what the month will bring. But why isn't it clear when we can clearly see what's coming? We no longer need the astrologers in the intelligence services to warn about the evil, which it's too late to prevent. It's also unnecessary to ask the parties about their intentions because their influence on events is marginal. We're marching toward disaster with our eyes open. The Palestinian Authority declares that it has no intention of launching a third intifada, the Israeli government announces that it has no intention of causing a bloodbath with its decisions, and both can be believed in this case. The defense minister revealed this week that we've bought nonlethal riot-control equipment, and the Israel Defense Forces is training the security coordinators and emergency squads in the settlements to deal with defiant parades. None of that will help, and we'll remember what September did to us, though this year September is liable to fall in October or November. The conflagration isn't always immediate. The Israeli government and the PA don't really have control over the territories, which for a while now have been a no-man's-land. In around 20 days the request to recognize Palestine as a state and a member of the United Nations will be submitted. The results of the vote are known in advance: With or without an American veto in the Security Council, a huge majority will support the proposal. President Shimon Peres would do well to spare himself and us his pathetic rearguard speech, which won't divert a single country from its position. And it's not a good idea for him to be seen as the servant of two masters: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The president should let the foreign minister reap the storm sowed by his whirlwind. I remember November 29, 1947 very well. I was a boy of 7, and I too was overcome by overwhelming joy. My mother forbade me from dancing in the streets - it's dangerous there outside with a war approaching - but the circle swept me up. People will be swept up in Palestine too. True, there is no focused writing on the wall, because the entire wall is the writing: Very soon they will be disappointed over there to discover that their miserable lives aren't changing. But for a few days they'll ignore the subjugation and celebrate the redemption. For us in Rehovot there were no roadblocks in the center of the moshava, or settlements surrounding it. Had there been, it's quite possible the joy would have had us climbing the fences. Maybe soldiers won't be the first to fire at the boy climbing. But settlers will fire at him, collecting a "price tag" for everyone to see. They won't allow those unruly kids to behave with chutzpah and have already sworn they'll know how to manage without the IDF. The PA will have no control over the demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful. And the Israeli government has no control over the settlers. And why be naive: On both sides there are people seeking a little more blood, which will grease the wheels of the decision - one more battle and we've won the war. So what else isn't clear, then? The PA will collapse after Israel cuts it off from its financial pipelines, and Congress, which is drunk on tea rather than wine, will dry up the U.S. assistance. The new-old situation will force the Palestinian leadership to give up its fictitious rule and return the keys to Netanyahu. It must be urged to do so and bring down the curtain on the farce. Israel will assume the burden of occupation with all its tasks and fears; it will renew its days as of old, just when there's a new spirit, another discourse and a different order of priorities. Instead of free education for preschoolers in Israel, Israel will invest billions abroad - in education, health and garbage collection in Nablus and Hebron. There is no way of removing the yoke from our necks without breaking the head; there is no way of getting rid of the territories entirely without one more round of withdrawal symptoms. And we're cured.\ ******************* *Uri Avnery* *September 3, 2011* * * * **Dogs of War* * * *Such terrifying dogs have not been seen since the Hound of the Baskervilles. * * * *They have been bred by an ardent admirer of the late “Rabbi” Meir Kahane, who was branded by the Israeli Supreme Court as a fascist. Their task is to protect the settlements and attack Palestinians. They are settler-dogs, or, rather, dog-settlers.* * * *All our TV stations have reported on them at length and lauded their effectiveness and ardor.* * * *All in preparation for “September”.* * * * * *SEPTEMBER IS not just the name of a month, the seventh in the old Roman calendar. It is the symbol of a terrible danger, an unspeakable existential menace.* * * *In the next few weeks, the Palestinians will ask the UN to recognize the State of Palestine. They have already mustered a large majority in the General Assembly. After that, according to the official assessment of our army, all hell will break loose. Multitudes of Palestinians will rise, attack the “Separation” Wall, storm the settlements, confront the army, create chaos.* * * *“The Palestinian Authority is planning a bloodbath,” Avigdor Lieberman cheerfully asserted. And when Lieberman predicts violence, it would be unwise to ignore him.* * * *For months now, our army has been preparing for just such an eventuality. This week it announced that it is training the settlers, too, and telling them exactly when they are allowed to shoot to kill. Thus it confirms what we all know: that there is no clear distinction between the army and the settlers – many settlers are officers in the army, and many officers live in settlements. “The army defends all Israelis, wherever they are,” is the official line.* * * *One of the scenarios the army is preparing for, it was stated, is for Palestinians shooting at soldiers and settlers “from inside the mass demonstrations”. That is an ominous statement. I have been at hundreds of demonstrations and never witnessed anyone shooting “from inside the demonstration”. Such a person would have to be insanely irresponsible, since he would expose all the people around him to deadly retaliation. But it is a handy pretext for shooting at non-violent protesters.* * * *It sounds so ominous, because it has happened already in the past. After the first intifada, which was considered a Palestinian success story (and brought about the Oslo agreement), our army diligently prepared for the second one. The chosen instruments were sharpshooters.* * * *The second (“al-Aqsa”) intifada started after the breakdown of the 2000 Camp David conference and Ariel Sharon’s deliberately provocative “visit” to the Temple Mount. The Palestinians held non-violent mass demonstrations. The army responded with selective killings. A sharpshooter accompanied by an officer would take position in the path of the protest, and the officer would point out selected targets – protesters who looked like “ringleaders”. They were killed.* * * *This was highly effective. Soon the non-violent demonstrations ceased and were replaced by very violent (“terrorist”) actions. With those the army was back on familiar ground.* * * *All in all, during the second intifada 4546 Palestinians were killed, of whom 882 were children, as against 1044 Israelis, 716 of them civilians, including 124 children. * * * *I am afraid that the preparations for the third intifada, which is anticipated to start next month, are proceeding on the same lines. But the circumstances would be quite different. After the events in Egypt and Syria, Palestinian protesters may react differently this time, and the “bloodbath” may be much more severe. So will international and Arab reactions. I imagine posters condemning Binyamin al-Assad and Bashar Netanyahu.* * * *But most Israelis are not worried. They believe that the entire scenario has been invented by Netanyahu as a trick to end the huge social protest movement that is rocking Israel. “The young protesters demand Social Justice and a Welfare State, like children demanding ice cream while disaster is lurking around the corner,” as one of the colonels (ret.) put it. * * * * * *THE SETTLERS and their dogs loom large in the upcoming scenarios.* * * *That is quite logical, since the settlers now play a pivotal role in the conflict. It is they who prevent any peace agreement, or even meaningful peace negotiations. * * * *It is quite simple: any peace between Israel and the Palestinian people will necessarily be based on ceding the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip to the future State of Palestine. A world-wide consensus on this is now in place. The only question is where exactly the border will run, since there is also a consensus about minor mutually agreed swaps of territory.* * * *This means that peace would necessarily entail the removal of a large number of settlements and the evacuation of the settlers throughout the West Bank.* * * *The Settlers and their allies dominate the present Israeli government coalition. They object to giving up even one square inch of occupied territory of the country God has promised us. (Even settlers who do not believe in God do believe that God has promised us the land.) Because of this, there are no peace negotiations, no freeze on building activities in the settlements, no move of any kind towards peace. * * * *The settlers went to their locations in the West Bank specifically for this purpose: to create “facts on the ground” that would prevent any possibility of the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. Therefore it is quite immaterial whether it is the settlers who prevent the return of the occupied territories for peace, or whether the government uses the settlers for this purpose. It comes to the same: the settlers block any peace effort. * * * *As the Americans would put it: It’s the settlers, stupid.* * * * * *SOME NICE Israelis are indeed playing stupid, or really are. * * * *It is now the fashion in certain circles to “embrace” the settlers in the name of national unity. Jews should not quarrel among themselves, they say, drawing on ancient Ghetto wisdom. Settlers are people like us. * * * *Prominent among those who say so is Shelly Yachimovitch, a member of the Knesset and one of six candidates for the chair(wo)manship of the moribund Labor Party. For years she has done a good job as an advocate of social justice, never wasting a word on peace, occupation, settlements, Palestine and such trifles. Now, as part of her campaign, she has come all out for loving the settlers. As she put it: “I certainly do not see the settlement enterprise as a sin and crime. At the time, it was completely consensual. It was the Labor Party which promoted the settlement in the territories. That is a fact, a historical fact. “* * * *Some believe that Yachimovitch is only pretending to feel this way, in order to garner mainstream votes for a takeover of the party, and that she intends to merge what remains of the party with Kadima, where she would try to displace Tzipi Livni and perhaps even become Prime Minister.* * * *Perhaps. But I have a lurking suspicion that she really believes what she is saying – and that is an awful thing to say about any politician, male or female, of course.* * * * * *BUT SERIOUSLY, there is no way to embrace the settlers and fight for social justice at the same time. It just can’t be done, even though some of the leaders of the social protest movement advocate this on tactical grounds.* * * *There can be no Israeli welfare state while the war goes on. The border incidents of the last two weeks show how easy it is to divert public opinion and silence the protests when the banner of security is unfurled. And how easy it is for the government to prolong any incident. * * * *Sowing the fear of “September” is yet another example. * * * *But the reasons for the impossibility of separating social justice from security go deeper. Serious social reforms need money, lots of money. Even after reforming the tax system – more “progressive” direct taxes, less “regressive” indirect taxes – and breaking the cartels of the “tycoons”, tens of billion of dollars will be needed to rescue our schools, our hospitals and our social services. * * * *These billions can only come from the military budget and the settlements. Huge sums are invested in the settlements – not just in heavily subsidized housing for the settlers, government salaries for many settlers (a far higher percentage that in the general population), but also for the infrastructure (roads, electricity and water supply etc.) and the large number of troops needed to defend them. The preparations for “September” show again how much this costs.* * * * * *BUT EVEN this is not the full story. Beyond all these facts there is the main reason for the deformation of Israel: the conflict itself.* * * *Because of the conflict, we are obliged to keep a huge military establishment. We pay for the armed forces, per capita, far more than the citizens of any Western country. Israel, a country of a mere 7.5 million people, maintains the fourth or fifth largest military establishment in the world. US military aid pays for only a small part of this. * * * *Therefore, putting an end to the war is a necessary precondition for any real effort to turn Israel into a “Scandinavian” welfare state, with a maximum of social justice. The conflict is not just one item among many that must be considered. It is the main item.* * * *You can love the settlers or hate them, oppose them or embrace them as much as you like – the fact remains that the settlements are by far the main obstacle to peace and the welfare state. Not just because of their cost, not just because of the pogroms their inhabitants carry out from time to time, not just because of the way they dominate the political system. But because of their very existence.* * * *Unlike the hound of the Baskervilles, the dogs of the settlements are barking loudly. It is the sound of war. * ------------------------------ web: www.spiritualprogressives.org<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5JzBdjK3G41U4eY%2Fcb06n%2FSX3DmF6%2BI%2F> email: [email protected] Click here to unsubscribe<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=em1jmRVKovMr6kV8A16giBH472wKSrBL> ------------------------------ Copyright © 2010 Network of Spiritual Progressives®. 2342 Shattuck Avenue, #1200 Berkeley, CA 94704 510-644-1200 Fax 510-644-1255 [image: empowered by Salsa] <http://www.salsalabs.com/?email> ** -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens