Pants off to Israel’s motorcycle protestors

October 14, 2009 - 11:32 AM by Nicky · 3 Comments
Filed under: General, Life, Picture of the Week 

Motorcycle protest in Tel AvivMaybe it’s the hot weather, but protesters in Israel seem to like to get naked. The latest group to strip down to their underpants were the motorcyclists, hundreds of whom took to the streets of Tel Aviv late last week protesting against a hike in their insurance fees.

This is the fourth demo by the motorcycle community, who are getting increasingly incensed by the thought of the insurance rise, which is due to take place in November. In the last protest they snarled up route 2 causing heavy traffic jams.

Their motto this time was “They are leaving us without coverage”, which in Hebrew is a play on words that also means “without clothes/covers”. Hence the absolute necessity to whip off their clothes.

Walla covered the protest with lots of snaps and a video – naked people make good news obviously.

The demonstration comes just a few months after the Israel Bicycle Association and the Tel Aviv Rollers staged another protest ride to oppose the lack of government support for urban bike riding – in their thongs.

David reported on the bike protest here in Israelity. From a purely visceral point of view, it probably made better viewing, as bike riders and roller-bladers tend to be in much better shape than bikers.

But as Stephanie pointed out in her nude demo post a couple of years back – shape isn’t what counts in a naked protest.

Pic by Liron Almog/Flash 90. The sign at the back, by the way, reads: “The insurance companies strip us naked.”

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13 years and counting

November 3, 2008 - 8:51 AM by Nicky · 2 Comments
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Life, Politics 

It’s hard to imagine it was 13 years ago that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
No-one can forget where they were or what they were doing when the news came.

I was actually at the rally itself, standing on a building looking out over what is now Rabin Square. We left before the end, bouyed by the incredible mood of hope and optimism at the demonstration. There were so many people there – 300,000 out of a population which was then only five million or so – we thought that this time peace really had a chance.

We drove to a friend’s house just a short distance away and as we walked in the door, they told us he’d been shot.
Minutes later, as we watched the TV, we heard in disbelief that he was dead.

Here, for the 13th anniversary, is a video celebrating Rabin’s life.

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