Far from the synagogues and festive family meals held throughout New York City, hundreds gathered on the streets in downtown Manhattan to celebrate the Jewish New Year and the one year anniversary of the Occupy movement near Zuccotti Park. “It’s not just our birthday of the Jewish people, “one leader shouted to the crowds to repeat, or ‘mic check’ as it is commonly called in Occupy events. “It’s our birthday of people-period!” the group echoed back. The event drew …More

As corporate profits continue to rise among companies that employ low-wage workers, the federal minimum wage has remained stagnant for the last three years and the average worker’s paycheck has dropped 1.7 percent. To draw attention to this growing wage disparity, social group Uri L’Tzedek joined with other faith and social action organizations on July 24 in Union Square in New York City for a National Day of Action on Minimum Wage. “The only way to protect the rights of the working people of …More

Several days ago, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz received a letter from Shmuel Reifman, who heads the Ramat Hanegev Regional Council. "For the first time in decades, public health in the periphery has been made a priority, both for those in the field and for residents of the Negev and Galilee," Reifman wrote. "After decades during which residents of the periphery suffered from limited access to doctors, who preferred to work in the center of the country, the agreement allows the periphery access to public health …More

Two months after the largest demonstration in Israel’s history, social justice activists hope to again rally protestors to the cause. Though the movement has been largely absent from the news since a half million Israelis took to the streets to protest high living costs on September 3, demonstrations have been called for Saturday night in cities across Israel. The protestors hope to pressure the Knesset to act on their socioeconomic agenda despite the fact that the cabinet is expected to approve the …More

August 15, the Prime Minister of Israel addressed twenty seven America leaders – Republican members of Congress – expressing his concern about Iran, calling it “the largest danger standing before us today…Its goal is to destroy any chance of democratic governance, peace and freedom in the Middle East.” Almost at the same hour, Rabbi Jack Moline spoke with the Algemeiner about a July 28 meeting between American Jewish leaders and White House officials. “Relationships between …More

With the four-week old Israeli cost-of-living tent protests swelling in intensity -- capped by 300,000 demonstrators taking to the streets on Saturday night -- I am fascinated by the fact that the term "social justice" has become a household word. The official slogan of the demonstrations -- "The nation demands social justice!" (Ha'Am doresh tzedek chevrati!) -- involves the headiest and most ethereal of concepts. But commentators have been rightly asking whether the use of the term "social justice" is deserved. …More

Israelis residing in the US held small protests identifying with Israel's national uprisings in New York's Times Square and even the White House, pitching tents and holding signs that play on the Hebrew language, saying: "B is a tent". "Our friends are sleeping in tents throughout Israel in an effort to lead to significant policy changes, and this is our way of supporting them from afar and encouraging them to continue their important activity until we return to Israel to participate in the struggle," the …More

Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv in protest at the growing disparity between rich and poor. …More

With the recent social justice protests that have dominated the streets of Israel, a new band of protesters have joined. Taxi drivers have now joined the masses in blocking Menachem Begin Street, a main road in Tel Aviv, to protest the high price of diesel fuel in Israel. This protest and rally will be one of many held throughout Israel starting Thursday evening, touching on all issues ranging from education system issues to housing prices. Teachers are also scheduled to protest outside the home of the Education …More

Throughout Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheva, Kiryat Shmona, Modi’in, Ashkelon, and Nazareth, hundreds of thousands of Israelis participated in a countrywide protest demanding governmental change regarding social issues. Protesters have several demands ranging from a broad spectrum of social issues: equality of healthcare, free education, price control over housing costs, better salaries and benefits, and other issues within the realm of social justice. The origin of this mass protest started with a small …More

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took part in protests held in cities across the country on Saturday night, the largest collaborative protest yet in a popular movement over social issues that has swept the country in the past two weeks. Taking to the streets and to the microphones to protest the high cost of housing, food and raising children, as well as low salaries, people demonstrated in cities that included Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Nazareth, Kiryat Shmona, Modi’in and Ashkelon. They …More