No pics from our athletes, as they are down in Ashkelon staying with host families Friday and Saturday nights. Many of the coaches got some badly needed Rest & Relaxation at a hotel in Netanya, just 20 miles up the coast from Tel Aviv. Two weeks ago, a disgruntled Israeli set up a tent along a street in Tel Aviv and told Facebook friends he was protesting the high costs of apartments, food, and taxes that are burdening the middle class. Each day, more tents sprang up, and tonight, 30,000 Israelis (plus Coach Adamo, pictured above) marched and chanted in the streets. It was equal parts political action, street theatre, and Woodstock, with the most popular chant being:
"Ha'am, doresh, tzedek chevreti!" ("The people demand social justice.")
Among others, Doctors have gone on strike in the past week, protesting relatively low pay and long hours compared to doctors in Europe and especially the United States. (Example: a highly-trained radiologist in Tel Aviv might 70 hours a week for an annual base pay of $70,000 U.S. dollars, while he or she pays $1,000 a month to rent a 1-bedroom apartment. With the current salaries, it is extremely difficult to support a family and/or purchase a house.)
One major bone of contention: the "charedim" (extremely religious, orthodox Jews including chasidics) receive massive subsidies from the government to support their large families, while they are not required to serve in the Army or even to work. Several religious parties represent important swing votes in the Knesset, however, and thus they are able to maintain control over subsidies for families with numerous children, payments to orthodox men who wish to pray rather than have jobs, the ability of a woman to be granted a divorce ("get") so that she can escape an abusive marriage and/or remarry, and the growth of controversial settlements in West Bank areas with Biblical significance.
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