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Netanyahu promises quick action on social concerns

Netanyahu promises quick action on social concerns

These are difficult days for Israel. Currently embroiled in plans to thwart the Palestinian bid for statehood while at the same time suffering the  defection of Turkey, domestic strife will prove an added challenge to the embattled government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. By KHADIJA PATEL.

This weekend saw record numbers of Israelis take to the streets to protest against the high cost of living in the country. Organisers initially billed it as a million-person march, but eventually tried to lower expectations in the days preceding the protest, claiming it would be a success if the turnout equalled the 300,000 people who took to the streets in August. According to Israeli police, 430,000 people participated in the protests across the country. The biggest march was in Tel Aviv, where up to 300,000 took part, while an unprecedented 50,000 people took to the streets in Jerusalem and another 40,000 marched in Haifa.

This weekend’s protests were the culmination of 50 days of protests that have reshaped the political landscape in Israel. The movement was inspired by the uprisings in the Arab world and marks a first for the Israeli middle-class. In mid-July protesters raised tent camps in Tel Aviv’s posh neighbourhoods and organised rallies to drum up dissent against the economic conditions in the country. An example of the sentiments driving the protests was found in banners that read “The Land of Milk and Honey – but not for all.”  Economic protests were previously unheard of among the Israeli population, but the protest movement has succeeded in advancing social issues in the Israeli government’s clogged agenda.

In response, Netanyahu says his government is committed to making tangible social change. He said he would act on recommendations from a panel headed by Tel Aviv University economist Manuel Trajtenberg that are due by the end of September and promised to provide cheaper housing and lower the prices for food, day care and transportation. “After receiving the committee’s recommendations, I will act quickly to bring about the correct balance between social concern and fiscal responsibility,” he said on Israeli radio. DM



Read more:

  • Timeline: Israel Protests in Al Jazeera;
  • 430,000 Turn Out in Israeli Protests in ABCNews;
  • Summer of Protest in Israel Peaks With 400,000 in City Streets in The New York Times.

Photo: Reuters.

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