Over 1,000 parents stage 'strollers' march'

With kids in tow, residents of Givatayim, Carmiel and Pardes Hanna march in protest of high cost of raising children

Ahiya Raved|Published: 08.07.11 , 21:41

The protest continues: A day after some 300,000 people staged mass rallies to protest the high cost of living, some 1,300 parents held a "strollers' march" in the cities of Givatayim, Carmiel, and Pardes Hanna.

In the central city of Givatayim, some 700 people marched with their children while waving signs reading: "A year in university equals a year of raising a one-year-old."

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Meanwhile, 300 Carmiel residents held a similar procession, attended by Mayor Adi Eldar. At the end of the procession, participants set up a protest tent for the families – the second tent erected in the city thus far.

Roee and Liron Avidar, who attended the rally with their one-and-a-half year old son, told Ynet that they have been living in a caravan outside the city because the rent in Carmiel is too high.

Ronit Zagmen, One of the speakers at the rally, said she has been raising two adolescent boys on her own. "This is a just protest, because the government has been shrugging off its responsibility toward the citizens," she said Sunday.

"The cost of living has become unbearable. Everything is increasing – electricity, water and gas. They tell you to move to the periphery, but the situation here is not much better, and the prices are also high," she added.