Avner Shimoni, Mayor of the Gaza Coast Regional Council, was interviewed on Arutz-7's evening newsmagazine last night. Excerpts:
A-7: There must be much satisfaction among your residents, following today's successful event.
Shimoni: There most certainly is. There was a lot of hard work, and many good people took part, with very complex logistics - remember that this wasn't a regular demonstration taking part in one place, but rather along a route of almost 100 kilometers. But thank G-d, we know from our people in the field that there were over 200,000 people from towns and cities all over the country, from the Golan in the north and even three buses all the way from Eilat.
A-7: The police say there were only 130,000. Do you have figures to back up your claims of such high numbers?
Shimoni: We certainly do. We had a "local commander" for each section of the route, and each one reported on how many appeared in his sector - and the totals they reported added up to much more than 200,000. In general, we always know that whatever the police report regarding right-wing rallies, we have to multiply by two, and regarding left-wing events, you have to divide by two...
The police didn't allow us to stand in every place, mainly in some places along the highway between Latrun and Sakharov [the entrance to Jerusalem], because of safety considerations - we don't have any complaints - but there was no place that they allowed us to stand that was empty of people. The whole idea was to form a chain of love and unity, and we had no intentions of causing problems or blocking roads, and I believe that we succeeded.
A-7: It appears unanimous that the event was most impressive, but do you think that it will have any influence on the Prime Minister?
Shimoni: I don't think that any Prime Minister who saw what the entire nation of Israel saw today - and truly, the TV networks and radio stations and papers are all talking about the Israel Human Chain - can avoid being influenced by it. Even the Prime Minister cannot ignore it, unless the cynicism has really exceeded all limits. But even then, it won't help him, because the nation has spoken, and will speak.
A-7: Some of the MKs of the National Religious Party who were standing in the Chain in Jerusalem were accosted by some people who chanted at them, "Quit the government! Quit the government!" What is your opinion?
Shimoni: We have never hidden our opinion that the NRP should resign this coalition; we think they should not be there helping the Prime Minister in his plans. Their explanation that they are 'influencing from within' is something I simply don't understand. In all honesty, however, I don't think that they don't love the Land of Israel or have negative intentions; I believe they are simply making a mistake. I hope that they will quickly realize this, and will resign and lead to the toppling of this very bad government.
A-7: There must be much satisfaction among your residents, following today's successful event.
Shimoni: There most certainly is. There was a lot of hard work, and many good people took part, with very complex logistics - remember that this wasn't a regular demonstration taking part in one place, but rather along a route of almost 100 kilometers. But thank G-d, we know from our people in the field that there were over 200,000 people from towns and cities all over the country, from the Golan in the north and even three buses all the way from Eilat.
A-7: The police say there were only 130,000. Do you have figures to back up your claims of such high numbers?
Shimoni: We certainly do. We had a "local commander" for each section of the route, and each one reported on how many appeared in his sector - and the totals they reported added up to much more than 200,000. In general, we always know that whatever the police report regarding right-wing rallies, we have to multiply by two, and regarding left-wing events, you have to divide by two...
The police didn't allow us to stand in every place, mainly in some places along the highway between Latrun and Sakharov [the entrance to Jerusalem], because of safety considerations - we don't have any complaints - but there was no place that they allowed us to stand that was empty of people. The whole idea was to form a chain of love and unity, and we had no intentions of causing problems or blocking roads, and I believe that we succeeded.
A-7: It appears unanimous that the event was most impressive, but do you think that it will have any influence on the Prime Minister?
Shimoni: I don't think that any Prime Minister who saw what the entire nation of Israel saw today - and truly, the TV networks and radio stations and papers are all talking about the Israel Human Chain - can avoid being influenced by it. Even the Prime Minister cannot ignore it, unless the cynicism has really exceeded all limits. But even then, it won't help him, because the nation has spoken, and will speak.
A-7: Some of the MKs of the National Religious Party who were standing in the Chain in Jerusalem were accosted by some people who chanted at them, "Quit the government! Quit the government!" What is your opinion?
Shimoni: We have never hidden our opinion that the NRP should resign this coalition; we think they should not be there helping the Prime Minister in his plans. Their explanation that they are 'influencing from within' is something I simply don't understand. In all honesty, however, I don't think that they don't love the Land of Israel or have negative intentions; I believe they are simply making a mistake. I hope that they will quickly realize this, and will resign and lead to the toppling of this very bad government.