Some 4,000 demonstrators clashed with police for more than four hours last night in the streets of Tel Aviv, blocking roads, smashing a few bank windows and besieging the local municipality. More than 80 were arrested in the most energetic and enraged J14 (Occupy movement) protest yet.

Occupy Tel Aviv, In protest of the previous day police brutality, Thousands block highway, attack banks, 89 arrested

Some 4,000 demonstrators clashed with police for more than four hours last night in the streets of Tel Aviv, blocking roads, smashing a few bank windows and besieging the local municipality. More than 80 were arrested in the most energetic and enraged J14 (Occupy movement) protest yet.

J14 protesters blocking Ayalon highway, central Tel Aviv, on June 23, 2012 (photo: Activestills.org) http://972mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/sir2.jpg All throughout the winter, Israelis wondered if the summer of protests would repeat itself this year, and some warned that the second time around would not be as “polite.” Last night (Saturday) thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv and proved that the struggle for social justice has not ended – and that things might be heating up this summer.

It all started on Friday afternoon, as police and municipal inspectors stopped some 500 activists from setting up a new encampment on Rothschild Boulevard, arresting protest organizer Daphni Leef and ten others. The attack on the peaceful protest prompted an outcry on social networks, warnings of a “danger to democracy,” and calls for a demonstration Saturday night in order to “protect democracy” and to remind politicians of the movements’ unanswered demands for fair housing, education, healthcare, and other social benefits.

Click here for photos and a report of Friday’s violent arrests and the attempt at renewing the tent protest >> http://972mag.com/police-attempt-to-thwart-renewed-tent-camp-protest-leader-daphni-leef-arrested/49032/

Some 2,000 people showed up on Rothschild at around 10 p.m. on Saturday, many of them arriving directly from a demonstration against homophobia that had taken place not far from there. Clashes with police started immediately as protestors started to move out of the boulevard, with police forbidding any kind of march. However, the masses were greater and angrier, and swarmed through the police blockade.

Over the coming four hours, the demonstration doubled in size, simultaneously blocking several main streets in Tel Aviv, including its central Ayalon highway. Demonstrators chanted slogans against the government and capitalism, against the banks and the Tel Aviv municipality that had given the order to take down the tents the day before, and in demand of social justice. At the center of Ibn Gabirol demonstrators broke several bank windows – something totally uncommon and foreign to local protests in Israel – and also besieged the municipality building.

Police officers in front of a bank with window smashed during a J14 protest in Tel Aviv, June 23, 2012 activestills.org http://972mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IMG_5957.jpg

The police was not prepared for the masses and the energy, and failed repeatedly in its attempts to block the demonstrators march and open roads, eventually simply settling for protecting banks and the municipality from even worse attacks. As the hours went by, police started becoming more aggressive, eventually starting to make arrests and beat people. More than 80 were arrested by the end of the night – again, something almost unheard of in demonstrations in Tel Aviv.

Here is a video showing the protesters blocking the Ayalon main highway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hFH5dGUlAIM

At around 2 a.m., the crowd started to disperse, tired from ongoing confrontations. News of the vibrant demonstration was and still is the leading story in all the media and social networks.

J14 protesters blocking Ayalon highway, central Tel Aviv, On June 23 2012 (photo: Activestills.org) http://972mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/7428089512_69c8172d34_b.jpg

There’s no telling where things will go from here, with activists calling for more demonstrations in days to come, and a no-confidence vote against Tel Aviv Mayor, Ron Huldai, planned by the municipal opposition in tomorrow’s city council session. My own estimate is that things that happened last night are just the beginning, as what I witnessed in the streets is people who have lost their sense of fear. “Arrest one – a thousand more will come” was a popular slogan all through the night. If people last year sat in groups in the encampments and learned what they want and why they want it – last night was their first chance to learn firsthand how to get it while on the streets. After this, people will not return to quiet rallies of the kind we saw last year

Among the many red flags and a lonely Israeli flag few RedNblack were seen too. Anarchists were mainly in the pink-black feed of the one hour earlier Queeraction demonstration.