An estimated ten thousand Israelis gathered on Thursday evening in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square and protested for Israel’s rocket battered south.
Thousands of red-shirt wearing teenagers from Israel’s south filled the square.
The red shirt representing the “red alert” siren that sounds every time a rocket or mortar is launched from Gaza.
The calls and signs at the protest varied from demands for quiet, for various solutions to the rocket problem, to finger pointing at different groups and individuals who residents of the south believe didn’t do enough, or ignored them, particularly Tel Aviv residents who were not overly present at this protest.
The official slogan of the protest was, “We won’t be silent in red” which is a play on words in Hebrew for standing in silent attention.
The message was to the government and the rest of the country. Angry southern residents believe the rest of the country is silent and ignores the south when the rockets fall only on there [the south].
Alon Davidi, the mayor of Sderot said,
“We are the border communities of Israel, not Gaza, for 14 years we have been living under the “drizzle” of rockets. That name [drizzle] is wrong. It sounds like rain on a greenhouse, not rockets that fall on our heads. We came here to say we won’t accept this unacceptable situation. “Drizzle” is not a working plan. There’s no right or left, religious or secular. We have one clear message: We want a secure and quiet life, without rockets and tunnels, that will allow us to flourish and develop. We are tired of the promises, and suspicious of the compromises being made with our lives and security. Our blood is not free.”
Davidi continued,
“The government must restore quiet to the south, that’s the goal. Not a ‘sense of security’. This isn’t an exaggerated demand. This is a clear demand of every citizen in a normal state. There shouldn’t be any stuttering this time, I hope that all the citizens of Israel are with us, after this war when even Tel Aviv residents were forced to run to bomb shelters and understood what we’ve been dealing with for the last 14 years.”