By cde. Boris Hammershlag
The Internationalist Socialist League
25.07.2013
Rehovot, Israel/Occupied Palestine
Today at 18:30 an ISL contingent of 5 comrades including 2 of our youth group, marched in the main street of the Israeli-Jewish town of Rehovot. The march was organized by the “Coalition for Social Justice” in my hometown of Rehovot. The demonstration protested the planned budget cuts and austerity program to be imposed on the Israeli Jews in the near future.
We came to this march prepared with a large sign saying: “For a Multi-National Workers and Peasants’ State from the River to the Sea!”; also, the 2 members of our Youth Group (TIGER – acronym for Revolutionary Youth – Ramleh) divided some 150 ISL statement leaflets among themselves to be distributed to the public as well as demonstrators.
At the beginning of the march the organizers let me shout some slogans, since they came ill-prepared with their own. The slogans I raised resonated among the radical sections of the demo including Hadash-Ramleh, Hadash-Rehovot, while it made the labor Zionists very uneasy but not hostile being the “civilized folk” that they are. The slogans were:
Rehovot-Cairo/Aleppo/Ramallah – the Same Revolution!
The Answer to the privatization – R-E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N!
Hu Ha – Who Goes There – R-E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N!
Let the Tycoons Pay for the Crisis They Created!
Stop Being Afraid – Start Unionizing!
The Occupation is a Disaster in the Service of the Rule of Capital!
The Cuts are a Disaster in the Service of the Rule of Capital!
A Workers Government – Not a Tycoon Government!
About half the way I was overpowered by the Zionists’ reformist slogans and I decided it’s a fight not worth fighting. Next time I will get into the organizing committee and will insist on some revolutionary slogans on a turn-by-turn basis.
The girls of the youth movement handed out almost all of the 150 leaflets in Hebrew to the ~50 demonstrators and many spectators. These girls worked like a machine and their cheerful looks caused people to smile and be nice to them. They reported that about every third person through the leaflet on the ground after the march left. However, we didn’t experience any danger or hostility.
Later on at the central park we met with another comrade of ours who took upon himself to take photographs of our activity. After the Zionists made their speeches and the Hadash-Ramleh contingent came unprepared and just murmured some incoherent ramble about helping the needy, I took over with my initiative of 5 minute Hyde-Park segment where yours truly made his speech which was well received by the radicals, at least, and other speakers took the stage with me holding the Megaphone for them.
The English translation of the speech could be found here.
An audio version of the speech in Hebrew could be found here.
A person approached me after my speech and asked to join the ISL. I took his info and we will see how serious this guy really is.
Overall it was invigorating and enjoyable just 5 minutes from home.
Long live the Bolshevik Revolution!
