Social activists: We're being driven to violence

Tel Aviv tent city dwellers brace for eviction, warn of violent clashes with police, city inspectors. 'You can make tents disappear, not the people,' ACRI says

Yoav Malka|Published: 10.01.11 , 21:58

The City of Tel Aviv has been granted the court's approval to evict the social activists who have taken residence in the Rothschild Blvd tent city.

City inspectors are expected to begin the eviction proceedings on 8 am Sunday.

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The social activist held a press conference on Saturday evening and warned against possible clashes with city inspectors and the police.

Elik Maor, of the Social Justice Alliance group, urged the City to negotiate with the activists, warning that they are being "driven to violence."

The social protest, he said, "belongs to all of us. We will stay in the street. We have no interest in being evicted and we don't want to resort to violence when they come to evict us."

מאהל רוטשילד, הערב. האם זה הלילה האחרון? (צילום: ירון ברנר)

Rothschild Blvd activists (Photo: Yaron Brener)

The City of Tel Aviv has already cleared most of the tents and auxiliary equipment from Rothschild Blvd, but has yet to deal with the tent city's "core group," whose members have taken up residence near Habima Theater.

Activist Charlie Biton stressed that "no one wants violate, but when the City of Tel Aviv tries to evict the Rothschild tent city, they'll have a war on their hands. I call on the prime minister and the government to stop this from happening."

Attorney Gil Gan-Mor of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) urged city captains to stop the eviction "until such time that a solution can be found for those who are homeless. You can make the tents disappear, but you can't make the people disappear," he said.

Rothschild tent city dwellers have petitioned the High Court of Justice against their impending eviction. The court initially granted them an injunction against immediate eviction, but gave them until Rosh Hashana to resolve the matter vis-à-vis the City.

Justice Uzi Vogelman urged both parties to seek arbitration: "We, as a society, are not interested in a forceful eviction. An exit strategy must be found."