In the midst of tent protest leaders' preparations for Saturday night's massive march, voices are calling for a change in leadership.
Adam Dovzhinsky, one of the tent protesters at Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard, has been on hunger strike for 16 days. He said today, "The protesters are sitting and suffering here. Amid the heat, noise, and bellyaches, more and more people are talking about an alternative leadership. The people going to the press conferences, to the Knesset, and who are in the media front lines do not represent us. They're not even sitting here. A demand has been made to oust the prime minister - a political demand - and that is not a real demand of the people sitting in the tents."
Dovzhinsky is not the only disgruntled demonstrator. Many agree with him, saying that the rising demands and dialogue are made by people with no burning need to end the situation. Tent protesters say that they would also like to see Shas supporters join them. "It isn't clear to us why, until now, social movements like it have not joined us. The moment that happens, we'll have huge power here that no on will be able to withstand," said Dovzhinsky.
Dovzhinsky and his colleagues say that there are similar rumblings at other tent protest sites around the country. "My demands for ending my hunger strike are simple," he says, "I want the prime minister to meet and talk with us, and I want a law passed to cap rent, as in many other places in the world. That's the beginning."
Dovzhinsky adds that he has received no reply to his letter to the Prime Minister's Bureau.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 4, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011