Mass protests in Israel over housing prices and growing gap between rich and poor

[Kuya]

It looks to me like there's a growing international trend with all these protests all over the place, and in the face of spending cuts in the US, people might wana look at Israel:

More than 100,000 Israelis have taken to the streets nationwide to protest rising housing prices in the largest turnout since the grass-roots demonstrations began two weeks ago.

The protests over housing costs have tapped into wider discontent among Israelis over the high cost of living and the growing gaps between rich and poor.

Other protests include doctors striking over working conditions and pay, parents demonstrating against expensive child rearing costs and similar outpourings over increasing gas prices.

Tens of thousands thronged the streets of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other major cities on Saturday and chanted, "The people demand social justice."

Protesters waved Israeli flags and placards that read: "work 3 jobs but don't make ends meet", "killing ourselves to live" and "social gaps are killing us".

The demonstrations began two weeks ago in Tel Aviv, where young activists set up a small tent encampment in a central neighbourhood to draw attention to the country's housing crunch.

The protests, inspired in part by unrest in neighbouring Arab countries, have continued to gain steam and show no signs of slowing.

"This is a great success; people are marching in the streets and living in the streets for the past two weeks," Stav Shafir, one of the protest leaders, told Channel 2 TV.

"Finally people are choosing to determine how they want to live. We want affordable housing, health, education and welfare."

The weeks of popular demonstrations are becoming a headache for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with polls showing a sharp drop in his approval ratings and strong support for the protesters.

Netanyahu announced a package of reforms meant to lower housing prices last week but it did little to defuse the anger.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...161903849.html

[Correction]

What's the rate of Israel's population growth compared to other small-ish industrialized countries?

Oh and we're looking at Israel all right. Just not for the proper types of inspiration.

[Ryany]

More than 100,000 Israelis have taken to the streets nationwide to protest rising housing prices in the largest turnout since the grass-roots demonstrations began two weeks ago.

I wonder if their equivalent of the NAR is calling it a "healthy real-estate market" and telling everyone "you must buy now before you get priced out".

[test123]

http://6.asset.soup.io/asset/0691/1638_6e92.jpeg

[Lucavi]

I thought Israel had no problems being the promised land and the object of right-wingers affection and mancrushes. I fail to comprehend how any of this is happening, given how perfect they are.

[Xno Kappa]

Don't they have little bags of jew-gold hidden on them on somewhere for these occasions?

[Mazmaz]

Motherfuckers just being cheap

[Hyan]

I think building a 1.1km tall skyscraper would make things alright again.

[kuronosan]

I wonder how long until people in the U.S. start doing the same. It must be hard to deal with the cost of living in your country when you are living on someone else's land.

[Elvis]

[Leva]

inb4 someone sees it as an opportunity to suicide bomb some Jews and it's ok to discriminate against them, but not the blacks!

[Elvis]

inb4 someone sees it as an opportunity to suicide bomb some Jews and it's ok to discriminate against them, but not the blacks!

what

[Alleya]

America is too passive and too in love with authority and the myth of ambition to ever do something like this Kuyababy.

[WahiGuard]

Where the fuck is our revolt?
I have been talking to friends to get some marches around here going for jobs and shit. Niggas is just lazy and wanna head back to college to party >.>