'We will shut Tel Aviv down'
Right-wing activists decide to block Tel Aviv area next Monday during anti-pullout convention in which all non-violent rebellion methods become kosher
JERUSALEM - The entire Tel Aviv area will be sealed off next Monday to protest the planned pullout from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, the anti-disengagement organization "National Home" announced Monday.
The activists decided on this course of action in a convention they held in a Jerusalem hotel Monday night.
Also Monday, right-wing protestors set fire to tires in the city of Bnei Brak, blocking main traffic arteries.
Arik Sharon compared to Stalin
During the Jerusalem convention, Head of Binyamin Regional Council Pinchas Wallerstein said: “Had Stalin been alive, he could have learned from Arik Sharon how to establish a police state.”
Knesset member Arieh Eldad (National Union) spoke of Sunday night’s administrative detention issued against Neria Ofen.
“Congratulations, I recommend we invest in barb wire cutters; they will become pricy in the next few weeks, and we will need ten thousand of them. We are not willing to give up Israel, even if the State of Israel decided to commit suicide and betray the deposit it has been trusted with,” he said.
“They have yet to see a struggle like the one that will take place here,” he said.
Eldad also offered new methods of protest.
“There is no need to block the roads,” Eldad said. “It is enough if 10,000 people decide to drive around the country at 20 km/h (12.5 mph), on an hourly basis. You know what’s going to happen here if that happens? We’ll shut down the country.”
Throughout the conference, one of the National Home organization recruiters repeatedly called for activists to interfere with daily routine all over the country, but stressed this should be done in a non-violent manner.
He also called to initiate more protests in central junctions throughout the country and to block Gush Katif intersections on May 15th.
'Required equipment for arrest'
Nonetheless, the convention’s organizers did not settle for speeches, as each audience member received a booklet titled: “How to stop the uprooting.” The pamphlet instructs activists to wage war in three fronts: Gush Katif, civilian rebellion and refusal to carry out orders (mainly for soldiers, of course).
“With the help of God, we can stop the madness,” the booklet read.
The pamphlet stressed the protest is a non-violent civilian rebellion.
The booklet refers to the day the West Bank and Gush Katif would be shut down for traffic as “Order day.” From that moment on, it read, people should simply walk towards Gush Katif to disrupt life in the country.
In order for that to happen, the National Home pamphlet specified each citizen must carry supplies for four days, including: water, bread and spreads, video and still cameras, cell phones.
In addition, the booklet offered a list of necessary equipment in case of arrest, including tallit and tefillin, two sheets, towels, whites, clean clothes, shower sandals, a book, shower supplies, radio and a phone card.
