Ongoing social protests in Israel

Manifestations sociales en Israël / Social protests in Israel

The ongoing social protest movement continues in Israel and appears to be intensifying. Hundreds of thousands of citizens have been taking part in demonstrations across the country since mid-July, to protest against soaring housing prices and demand political reforms. Much of the movement is being organized on the web.

Demonstrators have been making great use of social networks to coordinate actions and also to spread information about the movement. Numerous Facebook pages like this one have been set up urging citizens to join the movement, and up to date information on upcoming rallies is available on Twitter under the key words “J14” or “TLV Revolution”.

There have been an increasing number of protests in big cities across the country for over two weeks now. The most recent mass demonstration took place this weekend, as we can see in this footage which is doing the rounds on sharing sites. According to reports, on Saturday night, over 150 000 people gathered in Tel Aviv, a hotbed of the recent protests.

And although the protesters are making serious demands, the atmosphere remains pretty lighthearted as we can see in these online videos. There is a festive feel to the rallies, with some demonstrators singing and dancing, as they demand more social justice in the country. 

Israel has never seen a protest movement like it, and it could be far from over. Hundreds of protesters have set up camp in the town centers of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and also Haifa to show the authorities they will not give up until veritable social reforms are implemented in the country.

Kuwait’s Bidun demand greater rights

Over 100 000 people in Kuwait are stateless and have no civil rights. On the 29th of July, activists for the cause of Kuwait’s Bidun released “freedom balloons” into the sky. The peaceful campaign was organized by a number of web users from this Persian Gulf State.

The campaign was coordinated via social networks and in particular on this Facebook page which was set up especially for the occasion. The movement has been widely relayed online and many web users have expressed their support.

The stated aim is to raise public awareness of the situation of Kuwait’s Bidun. Minority Rights Group International has the same objective and says these people became stateless when Kuwait became independent in 1961. The NGO “Human Rights Watch says these men and women have no identity cards or passports and so are denied access to social protection, education and government jobs. 

Online campaigning has been going on for weeks now. A month ago a Twitter campaign encouraged web users to flip their avatar over as a sign of support. Another campaign, also on the micro blogging site, asked web users to display this logo to demonstrate their solidarity with Kuwait’s stateless residents.

The Bidun are eager for change but the Kuwaiti authorities still refuse to regularize their status. In this footage from February we see a peaceful demonstration being suppressed by security forces. 

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