A number of social justice rallies were held across Israel on Saturday evening, with the largest taking place in Tel Aviv where thousands of people gathered in Rabin Square.

Protest marches in Tel Aviv began in the Shapira, Levinsky, and Hatikva neighborhoods, before uniting and continuing on to Rabin Square. Demonstrators chanted “We want justice, not charity” and “Taking from the poor, giving to the rich, what a country of corruption”.

“The message is one against the political system that does not count the citizens,” Orli Barlev, a rally organizer, told Haaretz. “What we saw this week [the unity government deal] were moves that resulted from personal interests of power and control.”

“This government has greatly deepened social gaps,” she continued.

Rallies were to be held in cities throughout Israel, including Jerusalem, Haifa, Kiryat Shmona, Nahriya, Pardes Hanna, and Eilat, under the banner of “Returning the country to the citizens”.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.

This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions. 

We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.

As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday! 

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a gift and our board will match it.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$129 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT