Israeli protests: Demonstator sets himself on fire

[bemildred]

A rally to mark the anniversary of last year’s social protests in Israel turned dramatic when a man doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire.

The 52-year-old was rushed to hospital where he is in a serious condition, according to officials.

The man left a note at the site of the protest in Tel Aviv claiming that the state of Israel had robbed him and left him helpless after he suffered a stroke. He had apparently refused social housing.

An estimated two thousand people joined the protest, which is due to continue on Sunday. Israeli’s are angry about the high cost of living.

http://www.euronews.com/2012/07/15/israeli-protests-demonstator-sets-himself-on-fire/

[bemildred]

1. Protesters in solidarity with Silman block TA streets

Several hundred protesters were blocking Yitzhak Sadeh Street in central Tel Aviv on Sunday in a show of solidarity with demonstrator Moshe Siman, who set himself on fire in the name of social justice a day before.

Earlier, protesters held a moment of silence when rumors circulated that Siman had died of wounds he suffered from the immolation.

Protesters began banging on an ATM machine but border policemen gathered around it and protected it from further damage.

"It's going to be a rage demonstration," said Yael Ben Yefet, an organizer and director at the Democratic Mizrahi Rainbow. "I think people are on the verge of crying, me also, or want to strike someone or something." She added that if violence erupted, it would not be initiated by protesters, but would be a form of "counter-violence."

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=277567

[azurnoir]

2. translated copy of the letter left by Moshe Siman and more details of what happened

http://972mag.com/breaking-man-sets-himself-on-fire-at-the-end-of-tel-aviv-march/50970/

[bemildred]

3. The fruits of kissing Bush's ass coming home to roost. nt

[shaayecanaan]

4. those look like terrible burns

youve got to feel sorry for the poor bastard. Hope he comes through it okay.

[azurnoir]

5. Pro-Netanyahu daily omits criticism from protester’s suicide note (Sheldon Adelson's paper)

There was considerable shock among social protest activists after a protester named Moshe Silman from Haifa set himself on fire yesterday, during a march in front of a government building in Tel Aviv. Mr. Silman saw his business collapse because of an unpaid debt; many activists in Haifa knew him from previous protest events. The government’s refusal to provide Mr. Sliman with subsidized housing, even though he was unable to work due to his medical condition, touched on the main issue that ignited the protest movement last year – i.e., the lack of affordable housing.

Mr. Sliman is fighting for his life in a Tel Aviv-area hospital. Meanwhile, emergency rallies were held in Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Several protesters were detained by police for attempting to block roads.

Before setting himself on fire, Mr. Silman distributed a letter in which he blamed Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Steinitz (as well as some low level government bureaucrats) for his troubles, and for “what the country is doing to people like me.” The letter was read by protesters in rallies and published by every major media outlet in Israel.

Every outlet except one, that is. Israel Hayom, the free daily published by rightwing gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson, ran a photo of the letter but redacted the part criticizing the prime minister. The paper didn’t choose to publish only a part of the letter, but rather cropped out a couple paragraphs so the sentences about Netanyahu and Steinitz were completely deleted. The parts complaining about social security were left in the letter.

http://972mag.com/pro-netanyahu-daily-omits-criticism-of-pm-from-protesters-suicide-note/51080/

[bemildred]

6. Protesters torch National Insurance Institute branch

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Protesters set fire to a branch of Israel's National Insurance Institute in solidarity with a man who set himself alight the previous night.

The vandals set fire to the NII branch in Ramat Gan Sunday night following a rally in Tel Aviv to support Moshe Silman, who poured gasoline on his body and set himself alight Saturday night during a demonstration marking the one-year anniversary of the start of social justice protests last summer.

The words “Price tag Moshe Silman,” were written on the wall of the building. Several thousand protesters had blocked the main Ayalon Highway in central Tel Aviv in support of Silman, whose issues with the NII and other government agencies are said to have led to his desperate act.

Silman, who was burned on more than 90 percent of his body and remains in serious condition at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv's Tel Hashomer Hospital, left behind a letter in which he blamed “the state of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz for the humiliation that the weakened citizens go through every day, taking from the poor and giving to the rich.”

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/07/16/3100826/protesters-torch-national-insurance-institute-branch

[oberliner]

7. Israeli protester who set himself alight dies: hospital

(Reuters) - A destitute Israeli man died on Friday from injuries he suffered after he set himself alight at a demonstration for economic reform in Tel Aviv last week, a hospital spokesman said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-israel-protester-idUSBRE86J0ZE20120720

[Scurrilous]

8. Disabled man sets himself alight in Yehud

<snip>

"A 45-year-old disabled IDF veteran set himself on fire in Yehud on Sunday. Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated the man Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer.

The man was in serious condition with burns on over 80 percent of his body.

Passers-by found the man burning and extinguished the flames before paramedics arrived. The attempted suicide was the fifth self-immolation to take place in Israel in the past week."

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=278446