Thousands march in memory of immolated protester

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets Saturday night in memory of Moshe Silman, the protester who lit himself on fire last weekend and died of his injuries on Friday.

Silman, a Haifa resident in his 50s, had set fire to himself at a Tel Aviv demonstration marking the one-year anniversary of the Israeli social protest movement. Silman was homeless and had been living in Tel Aviv’s tent city for three weeks before immolating himself in front of a large crowd.

Activists gathered outside the Amidar offices in south Tel Aviv and marched towards Kaplan Street, where Silman immolated himself a week earlier. Other protests took place in Haifa, Jerusalem, and Hod Hasharon.

In Tel Aviv, some thousands marchers blocked the Ayalon highway, as they have in protests over the past several weeks. Police reopened the main artery after midnight.

Protesters carrying candles and placards chanted “the entire nation is Moshe Silman” and “Bibi go home.” Activists read aloud from his suicide note, which blamed the government for the misfortune that led to his self-immolation.

Approximately 150 protesters gathered outside the prime minister’s private residence in Jerusalem.

“We hold [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu responsible for the death of Moshe Silman, on account of his policy that doesn’t give citizens shelter or a means of living honorably,” protester Yuval Levy told Ynet.

“Moshe Silman is one of hundreds of thousands of victims of failed government policies.”

Earlier on Saturday, in advance of the march, social protest activists published a video in which Silman says, “We must fix the situation in this country, we need to speak, we need to act.”

Activists invited people on Facebook to the join rally saying, “We will march together, male and female citizens, the men and women who were injured by housing, the men and women injured by National Security, and anyone who wants to join in memory of Silman and against the unfairness and heartlessness of the government.”