Sunday, July 31, 2011

Photos from the Israeli protests

I'm looking through a series of photos that Haaretz photographers have taken of the protests, and the first ones are from July 14 - when I was still in Israel (I left on the 17th). I had thought the protests started immediately after I left (oddly enough, the second Lebanon War in 2006 started two days after I left the country....). The first photos are of tents being erected on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv on July 14.

Some striking ones (to me): one from 7/17/11 in Beersheva, showing an ultra-Orthodox father and his children setting up a protest tent; one from 7/19/11 in Kiryat Shmona (a poor development town in the north), showing a small encampment of tents; another from the same date, showing tents in Tamra, an Arab town in the Galilee; 7/20/11 - protests tents in Jerusalem, just outside the walls of the Old City; a demonstration in Jerusalem on 7/25/11 that blocks Kikar Paris, with people being dragged away by they police. I remember Kikar Paris well from the first intifada, when Women in Black and Dai la-Kibush held frequent demonstrations there. Also from 7/25/11, a march in Beersheva, with a woman holding a sign that reads "the monster of the mortgages."

On Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, posters are put up with the names of the few wealthy individuals and families who now own the most of Israel:  David Weissman/Shraga Biran - owners of Dor Alon, Alon Energy, Rosebud Real Estate. David Azrieli - owner of Garnit ha-Carmel Investments, the Azrieli Malls, Globus movie theaters, Sonol gas stations, Bank Leumi. Isaac Teshuvah (gasoline companies) - owner of the Phoenix (investments), Delek Real Estate, Delek Cars - importer of Mazda and Ford, Delek Energy - Gas and Oil, Delek Israel - gas stations. Ofer Family - Israel Company, owning Bank Mizrahi Tefahot, Israeli Chemicals, Ofer Ships, Zim.

From 7/26/11 - a photo of a protest march in Haifa, with signs in Hebrew and Arabic, and people carrying Israeli flags and tents. From the same night - the protest march blocking the street, with one sign held high - "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and today to the State of Israel." Also from the 26th, a photo of tents in Independence Park in Jerusalem, with a giant picture of Bib's face strung up above them. From 7/27/11 - a photo of a sign hung up on the Prime Minister's house in Jerusalem: "House for Sale. 5 Million shekels. For details - Bibi." The last few photos are of the "stroller protest" in Tel Aviv on 7/28/11 (I'm not sure what that is - I haven't yet read the articles about it).

No comments:

Post a Comment