page_title: 2011 Israeli social justice protests
section_title: Organizations and individuals who have joined the protest
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 Israeli social justice protests / Organizations and individuals who have joined the protest
caption_attribution_description: English: David Grossman, Meir Shalev and Yossi Abulafia at the real estate protest in Gan Hasus, Jerusalem, 31.7.2011עברית: דויד גרוסמן, מאיר שלו ויוסי אבולעפיה בהפגנה במסגרת מחאת הדיור, גן הסוס, ירושלים, 31.7.2011
context_page_description: The 2011 Israeli social justice protests, which are also referred to by various other names in the media, were a series of demonstrations in Israel beginning in July 2011 involving hundreds of thousands of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds opposing the continuing rise in the cost of living and the deterioration of public services such as health and education. A common rallying cry at the demonstrations was the chant; "The people demand social justice!".
  As the protests expanded during August 2011, the demonstrations began to also focus on other related issues relating to the social order and power structure in Israel.
  The housing protests which sparked the first demonstrations began as a result of a Facebook protest group that initially led hundreds of people to establish tents in the Rothschild Boulevard in the center of Tel Aviv, an act which soon gained momentum, media attention and began a public discourse in Israel regarding the high cost of housing and living expenses.
context_section_description: Many movements and organizations have joined the protest. According to the Israeli newspaper "Israel HaYom", two weeks prior to the protest, the Israeli social movement "the National Left" sought people on Facebook "who have unreasonable rent fees" to start a campaign to lower the cost of housing for young people. On the day on which the protest began, "the National Left" movement called its activists to get to the Rothschild Boulevard, and organized the delivery of 20 tents to the encampment. In an interview with the Israeli morning show "HaOlam HaBoker" the chairman of the movement, Eldad Yaniv, addressed "Israel HaYom"'s report and explained that the movement "organizes many protests like this throughout country and it just happened that this one became popular". Several activists posted Daphne Leef's call on the movement's web site and invited their friends to join the encampment. The movement also initiated the establishment of a website to accompany the protest and assisted in managing the encampment, in part by the introduction of "popular assemblies" for making decisions on the conduct of the protest.
  The protest also gained support from the National Union of Israeli Students and the local student unions throughout Israel, who helped establish the encampments and organized transportation to the demonstration in Tel Aviv. The Jewish U.S.-based non-profit organization "New Israel Fund" gave guidance and logistical support to the encampments in Kiryat Shmona, Be'er Sheva and elsewhere. The head of the Shatil activist wing of the New Israel Fund admitted that the group was working behind the scenes and coordinating multiple tent locations and published a report on its activities. Most of the protests were financed by online donations.
  The Zionist extra-parliamentary group "Im Tirtzu", which initially supported the protests, later announced that it would stop its involvement due to the participation of the "New Israel Fund". The Bnei Akiva and the "Rannim" movements (both of the religious Zionism) announced that they would also stop their involvement in the protests in Tel Aviv. The "Rannim" movement later announced it would continue its participation in the protest but only in the Jerusalem encampment.
  The protests were also joined by "The Coalition for Affordable Housing" and "The Headquarters for a Liable Housing" who bind the following organizations: Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Bimkom, Women Lawyers for Social Justice, Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Movement for Quality Government in Israel, Greenpeace Israel, Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow Coalition and the Israel Union for Environmental Defense. Additional organizations who joined the protests include the Koach La Ovdim General trade union, the Socialist–Zionist youth movements HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed and Hashomer Hatzair, the non-Zionist left-wing organization Ma'avak Sotzialisti the Israeli human rights organization Rabbis for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, and the political parties Meretz and Hadash.
  The protests also gained the support of various Israeli mayors and local councils, including the mayor of Tel Aviv Ron Huldai, the mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat and the chairman of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel, Shlomo Bohbot. Knesset members from both the coalition and the opposition have expressed their support for the struggle; some even visited the various protest encampments. Two weeks after the start of the protest, the chairman of the Histadrut, Ofer Eini, met with protest leaders and announced that the Histadrut would assist them in their contacts with the government.
  Jimmy Wales, a co-founder of Wikipedia, visited the tent cities in Tel Aviv where the protests were taking place. He said, "It's wonderful that in the democracy here, people have the right to go out and express their opinion. I do not know if I agree with the protest or not, because I'm not familiar with the economic and social situation in Israel, but the very fact that freedom of speech and discourse are free in Israel is remarkable."
  
caption: Meir Shalev, David Grossman and Yossi Abulafia at the demonstration in Jerusalem
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