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Israelis take to streets in fresh social justice protests

03 June 2012 01:59 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Thousands of Israelis took part in demonstrations on Saturday night in the cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, renewing their calls for social justice, APA reports.

In Tel Aviv and Haifa, many of the participants were from the Meretz and Hadash parties, as well as from leftist youth movements.

In Tel Aviv, at least 5,000 people marched from Habima Theater to the Tel Aviv museum, Israel’s Ha’aretz daily reported on its website. Demonstrators chanted "The people demand social justice", "We the majority have taken to the streets", and "Leave the balcony, the state is collapsing."

The Izabo band, which represented Israel in Eurovision last week, performed at the Tel Aviv rally.

In Jerusalem, hundreds of demonstrators were seen marching from Horse Park to Paris Square.

In Haifa, around 500 demonstrators marched from Meyerhoff Square to Ben-Gurion Boulevard for a rally. Many of the marchers held signs with anti-racism messages.

Three weeks ago, thousands of Israelis took part in social justice rallies across the country, with the largest occurring in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, as part of the "Global May" international day of protest.

Last summer, a social justice protest movement swept Israel, with tent encampments sprouting up in cities throughout the country and weekly demonstrations that grew to include hundreds of thousands of people.