A demonstration against an event

(haipo) - Dozens of residents arrived today (Thursday 2/5/24) in the afternoon hours to demonstrate in front of the fundraising event for the residents of Gaza held at the 'Beit Hesgol' on Sderot Magimin 32 in Haifa at the initiative of the organization "Standing Together". Within half an hour, municipal workers arrived and accompanied by police officers dispersed the event.

Half an hour after the opening of the event, the employees of the Haifa municipality arrived and with the help of the police confiscated the products from the organizers while explaining that they are peddling everything and they do not have a sales license.

◄ Eli Ben Dayan, a member of the city council from the Likud, is satisfied with the dispersal of the event ► Watch

"Peace, equality and social justice"

The "Standing Together" movement is a Jewish-Arab socialist political movement that, according to the claim, advocates for peace, equality, social justice and independence for Israelis and Palestinians. The movement has 12 branches and 14 student cells throughout the country.

◄ Shay Glick, CEO of "Betzalmo", after the dispersal of the fundraising event • Watch

◄ The chairperson of the Haifa Beitenu faction, Tatiana John, came to protest against the fundraiser • Watch

In response to the Israel Police confiscating the fundraising event for Gaza of Standing together.
The representative of Otzma Yehudit in Haifa, Dror Ohana, said:

I thank my friend the Minister of National Security who worked to close this shameful and inciting event.
There is no place in Haifa for fundraising events to incite.
There is no place in Haifa for representatives of Palestine. Sali Abed and Rega Zatara are supposed to move to Gaza today. They are not allowed to be council members in the coalition.
We will continue and fight for a Zionist Haifa.

"Food or bombs?"

The invitation to the fundraising event reads: "Feeling depressed because of the situation? Want to act against hunger? Think food is better than bombs? You are invited to a fundraising sale for the residents of Gaza, original works of art, second-hand clothes and books." The order states that the money will be donated to the organization Palestine Children's Relief Fun, which deals with humanitarian aid to the children of Gaza.

► Protests against a fundraising event for Gaza children • Watch

"Prevent the member of the council from public office"

The "Together" website lists the names of the employees working in the organization, including the name of Haifa City Council member Sally Abed, in the position of director of resource mobilization in the organization.

When the plans for the fundraising event became known, right-wing sources were quick to claim that because a member of the group was a member of "Omadim Hamid" this meant that she was among the organizers of the event and for this reason, according to the sources, she should be prevented from holding a public position.

The police officers separated the parties

Dozens of protesters came to the entrance of the building on 32 Mahginim St., ironically called "Defense Square", and next to the beeping of the zamboru, they stood and shouted slogans at youth, who had come to raise money for the children of Gaza. The fundraiser progressed lazily, alongside the chants of the protesters whose cry was that in Gaza they could not do such a thing without getting hurt. Alongside the demonstrators were also dozens of police officers who stood as a buffer between the demonstrators and the picketers.

Abed herself was not present at the event, and even firmly claimed that she had no part in its organization. It should be noted that right-wing elements repeatedly appealed to Mayor Yona Yahav to intervene and express his opinion regarding the incident and regarding the alleged involvement of the city council member, but Yahav chose not to comment on the issue.

"Thanks to the right-wing elements, the event received particularly great exposure"

Uri Waltman, a member of the leadership of the Standing Together movement, explains today what is behind the fundraising event: "Standing Together is hosting a fundraising event at its office in Haifa, organized by Haifa activists, who are as troubled as we are by the severe humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the reports of hunger, including among children. The purpose of the event, in which they will sell second-hand products and there will be performances to raise funds for aid to the children of Gaza."

There were very difficult reactions to the event. Were you surprised by the responses?

"Those who caused the noise are right-wing activists who are not from Haifa, who have made a habit of trying to make a fuss about what is happening in Haifa. Unfortunately, some members of the city council in the opposition cooperate with this, and we ask everyone a question: Shouldn't we be bothered by the mass hunger among the children of Gaza Don't we have a human and moral responsibility to protect the image and image of our society? I think the answer should be clear, and every child has the right to live in security and not suffer from hunger."

Are you bothered by the attacks on Councilwoman Sally Abed?

"She was falsely accused by those right-wing elements as if she was organizing the event, but this is not the case. The event is organized by Haifa activists, and she learned about it from media inquiries. Of course, she supports and even wrote this on social media, that she supports providing humanitarian aid to every child wherever He. What bothers them is that Sally Abed is a rising political figure in Haifa and that nearly 4,000 Haifa residents, Jews and Arabs, chose her to represent them in the council For them to press charges against her."

Can you understand the sensitivity of people when there are abductees in Gaza and a fundraiser is held for Gaza children?

"We all support the return of the abductees home to their families. There is a large majority of the public that prefers a deal for the abductees over an invasion of Rafah. This is precisely the government, whose ministers have spoken out in recent days, such as Minister Orit Struck from religious Zionism, who suggested sacrificing the abductees and forgoing their return alive. It seems to me that if Those extreme right-wing activists would really care about the abductees, they would march like us in demonstrations in Horev center and Kaplan and demand the government to reach a deal now."

"heart warming"

Waltman adds that since the incident was exposed, it is heartwarming to see the responses received from Haifa residents asking how they can help, and that it is good to see that there is such a large public in Haifa that cares about the preservation of human life. "This event gained a lot of exposure precisely because of the right-wing elements," he explains.

Attorney Ohana Dror, representative of Otzma Yehudit in Haifa, said that the city of Haifa is proud of the IDF soldiers and cares about the soldiers and hostages in Gaza. "Haifa is not the capital of Palestine and under no circumstances will there be an event to support and collect funds for the residents of the enemy. We will all come to the place and pray for an event to support the enemy in time of war."

Shai Glick, CEO of Betzlom, claimed that the reality in which a council member declares that she is a proud Palestinian and instead of caring for the residents of the city of Haifa chooses to care for the residents of the enemy entity who chose Hamas, cannot exist. to the residents of Gaza and thus she proves that she is not worthy to continue in her position in the administration of the city of Haifa even for one more day. Father Khushi is turning over in his grave that there is a woman sitting on the council who declares that she is a proud Palestinian. I demand that Mayor Yona Yahav remove Sally Abed from the coalition and all its positions today. Sally is invited to move to serve as a council member in Gaza and establish a museum there named after Palestine that never existed. We will not rest or remain silent until Sally Abed is removed from the coalition."

City Council member David Etzioni: "Thousands of Haifa people are currently protecting us and the country, and while there are enough needy people in Haifa, Jews and Arabs, who have no food for the holiday, I am amazed that Israelis who live here in the state, here in our city - and others who sit in the municipal coalition and enjoy all its rights - still prefer to help those who fight against us." .

A member of the city council from the Likud faction, Eli Ben Dayan: "Members of the Haifa City Council are supposed to act for the benefit of the residents of the city of Haifa and not for the residents of other cities, certainly not the residents of an enemy city where 133 of our brothers and sisters are dying and suffering. I call on the mayor and all members of the city council of the national factions not to be partners in a coalition whose members work for the enemy and not for the citizens of the city."

The chairperson of the Haifa Beitenu faction, Tatiana John, said: "I was surprised to find out that a member of the Haifa City Council, who is also a member of the coalition in the council, is organizing a large fundraising event for Gaza. Just less than a month ago, we swore as members of the city council to maintain loyalty to the State of Israel and to work for the benefit of the city of Haifa and its residents. Now Councilwoman Sally Abed, instead of worrying about the residents of Haifa, actually worries about the residents of Gaza, during a war.

While our 133 abductees are held captive by the Hamas scum, without food or medicine. At a time when our soldiers are putting themselves at risk for the security of the citizens of Israel, and when thousands of families have lost their loved ones and thousands are left homeless, a city council member in the State of Israel is calling for money to be donated to Gaza, money that will end up in the hands of Hamas. She must not be allowed to hold any public office in the State of Israel and certainly not be a member of the coalition in the city council."

The 'standing together' response:

The Standing Together movement, which hosted the fundraising event at its office, said: "Every child, Jewish or Arab, deserves to live in security and not suffer from hunger. In view of the terrible humanitarian crisis in Gaza, we are proud to host the initiative of young Haifa peace activists, who wanted to raise money for the children in the Gaza Strip , and it is inappropriate to see that the police are behaving like the Ben Gavir police, instead of maintaining public order. Since the fundraising event was published in the media, we were happy to receive many positive reactions and reinforcements from the residents of the city who asked to help. The residents of Haifa are better than the government in Jerusalem."

The initiators of the fundraising event responded: "We, teenagers and young adults, have decided to stand with our peers in Gaza. Harming innocents is unjust. Not the harming innocents and the brutal kidnappings that took place on October 7, and not the destruction and hunger in Gaza. We believe in a political solution and peace. Shockingly, the police response to the incident Ours - which was conducted quietly, and there was no protest - was to break the tables and confiscate our equipment."