National Insurance Institute
National Insurance InstituteFlash 90

A second man has set himself on fire in central Israel.

Passersby tried to extinguish the flames with water and other materials, until first responders arrived on the scene and finally managed to put the fire out. Medics from the Magen David Adom emergency medical service treated him on the scene and then rushed him to a nearby hospital in serious condition. The man's motives were not immediately made clear.

Less than 24 hours earlier, approximately 1,000 social justice protesters marched in Tel Aviv to Kaplan Street, where 57-year-old social justice protester Moshe Silman self-immolated last week, and then to the National Insurance Institute (NII, Bituach Leumi).

One demonstrator was arrested. Several hundred protesters broke through police lines and tried to block a police van from driving away with the protester in custody. The demonstrators marched towards the Ayalon Highway, which police closed to traffic.

Prior to igniting himself, Silman had distributed a letter explaining that he felt he had no choice, as he was left with no more options and refused to live homeless.

Beginning with a small debt to the NII, his difficulties grew until he lost everything he had, and then suffered a stroke that left him completely disabled. The modest monthly disability stipend he received from NII left him unable to pay for little more than medication.

Silman's life ended Friday with burns over 90 percent of his body at Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer Hospital.