Although tent protesters have deferred to the issue of serious security concerns, Tel Aviv taxi drivers Wednesday clogged Rothschild Boulevard to protest rising gasoline prices.
Hundreds of cab drivers drove slowly along the main artery, honking their horns and blocking traffic Wednesday morning in a protest sponsored by the National Taxi Drivers Association.
The drivers told reporters they planned to block the central midtown area of the Hashmona'im Junction and the HaBima Theater.
“We will shut down all of our vehicles at that spot,” threatened Yehuda Bar-Or, chairman of the association. “The Transportation Minister [Yisrael Katz] told us that he understands our situation but claims the prime minister [Binyamin Netanyahu] does not back him,” he claimed in an interview with the Hebrew-language daily newpaper Yediot Acharonot.
“The gas tax has leaped from 15 percent to 40 percent,” he added. “We won't let this continue.”
Cab drivers held a similar protest in Tel Aviv three weeks ago, using hundreds of taxis to block traffic near the Azrieli Towers, a major business and shopping center.