"I am also one of the million"

I suppose I have something to say too given that we went to the protests both this week and last. Admittedly, protests aren’t my scene — they’re loud and crowded and a bit overwhelming but it seemed too important not to go.

For those of you who haven’t been following this part of the news from Israel you can learn about it here. I’ve been away for much of the summer and missed a lot of the energy, but I was here for the “biggest protest in Israel’s history.” (A couple more links to the Guardian and the NYTimes.)

The phrase “social justice” is vague in English and Hebrew — but I can’t imagine Americans even asking for it in the public square. But the vagueness reminds me of the Obama “Change” slogan — effective for building a movement, not so clear for implementation.

Admittedly reading signs in Hebrew as I walked past people is hard for me, but the themes were varied — from the anarchist to the more standard leftist. Lots of anti-Bibi messages, the protest about the price of cottage cheese, some signs referencing bible quotes, giant puppets of Herzl and Ben Gurion, people for legalization of marijuana and a couple of signs against the occupation. But the general feeling on the street was that you should be there – you should be taking part. We got home close to 1:30 am and it felt like 10 pm. Tel Aviv is a late night city, but last night it felt like everyone was outside and happy to be together.

Well, not everyone. I would be interested in seeing photos from some of the other cities. I didn’t see many kippot, certainly no one dressed ultra-orthodox, saw one small group of Ethiopians and felt like most of the people out looked like me: 20-35 year olds. there were some families with young kids and some “pensioners.” Maybe those demographics are because we were in Tel Aviv, but it did not feel like the TLV that I see in the shuk when old ladies and their Phillapina helpers shop and African men stock the veggies…this is a middle class, Ashkenzai movement that may not be ready to deal with its foreign-worker-sojourners and the demands they’re placing on this society. I didn’t see Arabs last night either, but I did see one sign in Hebrew and Arabic – not sure what it said.

Anyway. I’m glad we went. I’ll be interested, like everyone, to see what’s next.

That damn slogan is stuck in my head:
העם דורש צדק חברתי
(the people demand social justice)