11 years after the social protest of 2011 due to the high apartment prices and the cost of living - it seems that not much has changed.
Last week young people across the country set up protest tents, following a further rise in apartment prices and rising rents.
The protest has not yet reached the dimensions of its predecessor, but its leaders hope masses of residents will join them soon.
The encampment in Tel Aviv.
15 tents in the meantime, Photo: Coco
Tel Aviv
"We need a plan to curb the rampage"
Earlier this week, the tents returned to Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv.
At this stage, there are only 15 tents set up by young people, residents of the city and the rest of Gush Dan.
This time all present said that they had learned the lesson of the previous protest, and they were not aiming for the political field as some of its leaders had done.
The young people feel that the state has abandoned them, and are determined to continue protesting for many more days.
Either way, the Tel Aviv municipality has not yet sent inspectors to evacuate them.
Hadar Mukhtar, 20, from Kiryat Ono, says: "We have no money for tents - we will sleep in sleeping bags. We must make a change. The government should support young people instead of providing jobs for relatives. We do not have a villa in Caesarea, Ramat Aviv or Raanana. Can lower housing prices, not only for buying but also for rent. "
Arthur Gabay, a 35-year-old economist living in Ramat Gan, adds: "The housing market is in catastrophe. An improved plan is needed to curb the rampage. We hear about price coordination between homeowners, and about many young people who are desperate and want to leave the country. We want to raise awareness."
Gil Sahar from the Pardes Hanna encampment also came to the Tel Aviv encampment to support his friends: "The municipality is welcome to try to evacuate us. We improvised a generator, and we will stay here until something changes. I emphasize that I have no intention of entering politics. The previous protest went in a political direction. Which caused her to fail. "
The encampment that was dismantled in Jerusalem.
Promise to return, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Jerusalem
"I sleep less to earn more"
The organizers of the housing protest in Jerusalem held meetings yesterday to obtain approval from the municipality to place tents as part of the housing protest.
Several locations have been considered, including the Horse Park in the city center and Sucker Park, but no decision has yet been made.
On Tuesday, 15 protesters arrived at the rose garden near the Knesset to set up tents there.
The municipal hotline told them it was possible for 48 hours.
Among the participants - students, young people after school and single mothers with their children.
Three tents were set up, but the sense of satisfaction lasted only a few minutes - until the municipal police inspectors arrived and demanded that they be dismantled, claiming they were a public nuisance.
The allegations did not help, and police and Knesset guards also came and demanded that the demonstrators evacuate.
During the debate about how far the Knesset's immunity zone goes - the sprinklers were opened at a precise time, and the protesters were left with no choice but to move the tents.
Later they left the place - and promised to return soon.
Nir, one of the organizers of the protest in the city, is a student who rents a small three-room apartment in the Nachlaot neighborhood with two other partners, at a price of NIS 5,000.
"Our rent has risen by 12% in the last year," he explains.
"I sleep less to earn more. Water has reached my soul. We did not ask to live in luxury. What will happen when I have a family to take care of her?"
The encampment in Be'er Sheva.
"A crisis we all feel," Photo: Dudu Greenspan
Beersheba |
"My landlord is not my enemy"
Social activists in Be'er Sheva set up tents in the city center, on the lawn near the Performing Arts Center.
"This is not a personal problem, the enemy does not own my apartment, but there is nothing in the country that keeps the tenants safe," says Ido Atias, one of the organizers of the encampment set up last Saturday night.
"We are five friends from Be'er Sheva, but we are starting to form a network. We are in contact with guys from all over the country."
He said, "There is a crisis here that we all feel in our pockets every month. If anyone thought that the young people would continue to sit in their rented apartment and be silent - he was wrong. The area is burning, and we see it in response. "It is possible and desirable to promote solutions as early as tomorrow morning."
Although only a few dozen supporters finally arrived on the eve of the first protest, the organizers do not give up.
"Even in 2011 it took time to start, but in the end we were 40 guys," he concluded, "it was a great opening shot."
Rosh HaAyin
"The dream of buying an apartment is receding"
The protest tent set up in Rosh HaAyin also emphasizes that the direction of the protest this time is not political.
"The protest starts in the periphery, and we want to make a change. This is not a political protest," they say.
The encampment was set up near the Shafir shopping center, in the new neighborhoods.
Several tents were set up, and signs were hung that read, "The road to live on the street is shorter than ever," "A roof is a basic right," and "The cost of living is enough."
Galit Babioff (55), a single mother of a 7-and-a-half-year-old girl, is one of the leaders of the protest.
"Unfortunately, there is nothing that protects tenants," she says.
"The dream is getting further and further away for those who want to buy an apartment. Everyone who got into the lottery story of apartments is going to get financially entangled. They are taking out a mortgage, paying rent, paying construction input tax and not knowing when they will get the apartment."
Babioff rents an apartment in the city.
According to her, for her, a raise of NIS 800 is like a punch in the stomach.
"The prices are excessive. I am originally from Tel Aviv, and I came to Rosh HaAyin because the apartment prices were lower. When my landlord raised the price, he said, 'Say thank you. The situation in the market is much worse.'"
Pardes Hanna
"It's crazy. Where will we live - in a kennel?"
Following the publication of the Consumer Price Index, which indicated a further rise in housing prices, a tent complex was established in the Pardes Hanna center last week.
Protest activists say this is just the prelude to the big protest in the summer months.
Several families moved into the compound and hung signs that read: "Enough for the pigs," "The air is gone, let us breathe," and more.
Alon Ben-Atia, one of the protesters, said: "The landlord turned to me and said that he was raising the rent from NIS 3,000 to NIS 4,800. This is a living unit of a living room and a room. I am divorced with a girl and paying alimony. I cannot afford rent. "It's not just housing, everything has gone up."
Gabriel Ben Yair said: "This is not Tel Aviv here, and apartment owners are demanding rent of NIS 6,000. It is disproportionate. Apartment prices have doubled and tripled. It does not make sense."
Moore Cohen, who came to support the protesters, added: "It's crazy. Where do we live - in a kennel? It's not normal."
Yitzhak Shabatib: "If we do not change the priorities in the State of Israel, the tents will become permanent positions. If the state does not accept responsibility, people will collapse. Housing prices have become a monster. We are emissaries of this whole nation."
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us
