'Unspeakably cruel.' Tel Aviv rally
Photo courtesy of Anti-Fur Coalition
Activists rally in Kikar Hamedina against fur trade
Hundreds march to posh Tel Aviv square as part of Worldwide Fur Free Friday events, try to persuade passersby to avoid stores that sell fur. 'Industry is unspeakably cruel and unnecessary,' organizer says while lauding Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's position on issue
Some 500 activists from all over the country took part in a rally against the global fur industry, which claims the lives of tens of millions of animals each year.
During the rally, held in Tel Aviv on November 26 as part of the Worldwide Fur Free Friday events, activists waving posters bearing the images of animals that have been killed by the fur industry marched from the meet-up point at Rabin Center to Kikar Hamedina (State Square), the site of high-end shops that sell fur products.
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"Participants, some with tears in their eyes, pleaded with passersby to refrain from purchasing fur products," said Jane Halevy of the Anti-Fur Coalition.
"We hope to persuade as many people as possible to become more compassionate and stop supporting an industry that is both unspeakably cruel and unnecessary," she said, adding that most animal fur products are produced in China, where "there are no animal welfare laws."
Halevy said fur farms in China often skin animals alive "without any concern for their pain, leaving them to a slow and agonizing death."
According to her, ending the fur trade requires activists to create awareness and advance legislation.
'World is watching.' Activists in Kikar Hamedina (Photo: Anti-Fur Coalition)
Knesset Member Ronit Tirosh, who initiated a bill prohibiting the import, trade or manufacturing of fur or textiles that include fur from anywhere in the world, also took part in the demonstration.
Halevy said the bill, if passed, would save millions of animals. "Many countries worldwide are watching us (Israel) very closely, and numerous parliamentarians wrote letters of support for this bill, all saying that they would follow Israel's path," she said.
According to Halevy, Knesset Member Chaim Amsellem (Shas) is doing his utmost to block the bill from passing. "I showed him horrible fur trade movies, but he didn't even blink, and kept telling me about his good friend of his who is a famous furrier in France," she said.
The animal rights activist said that by trying to stonewall anti-fur legislation, Amsellem is going against Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's position on the matter. The rabbi is Shas' spiritual leader.
"I would like to thank Rabbi Yosef for his kind and merciful concern for the animals' torment in the fur trade and his wisdom. The Torah repeatedly and clearly teaches protection, mercy and kindness to all creatures. This is also why i think it is a shame and an international disgrace that MK Amsellem disregards the cruelty of the fur trade," Halevy said.
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