The anti-government "social protests" continued Saturday night in Tel Aviv, and received coverage on Channel 2 television in prime time, despite an ongoing murderous wave of attacks by Hamas against Israel.
Video from the demonstration shows protesters marching under red banners and chanting time-honored slogans from the oeuvre of the pacifist hard Left: "Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies," "We demand social justice in both Israel and the Territories," "Let us live in dignity in both Gaza and Ashdod," "No to another war that will bury the protest."
The protesters refuse to meet with the government-appointed committee headed by Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg to discuss their social demands – which have not been precisely formulated, beyond a wish to see the economy socialized.
The march Saturday evening was billed as a "quiet protest" in which demonstrators would march silently, bearing torches. However, chanting took place nonetheless.
Asked on television whether the loss of life in the South did not merit a break in the protests and national solidarity, Regev Kontes, a leader of the protests, explained that people "do not understand the connection between social security and personal security."
He added: "The IDF only protects the residents of the South five or 10 days a year – but who protects them the rest of the year?"