Social activist ends hunger strike after 32 days

Social activist Tamir Hajaj ended a 32-day hunger strike on Wednesday,  a day after he was rushed to the hospital for the third time.

Hajaj, who stopped eating in order to protest public housing eligibility standards, announced Wednesday that he was ending his fast to prevent irreversible damage to his health.

“I did all I could to cause [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to meet with me and listen to the people, but it appears that he would prefer me to die of hunger,” Hajaj said at a press conference outside the prime minister’s residence.

Hajaj was hospitalized for the third time on Tuesday after he began to refuse water. He fainted and was rushed to the Shaare Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem, where he was believed to have received a blood transfusion.

The activist, who had said he would refuse to eat until Netanyahu agreed to meet with him, is believed to be homeless, unemployed, and in debt to the government. He had been sitting in front of the premier’s Jerusalem residence to urge governmental reform of the criteria for social security benefits and public housing. His request for a meeting with the prime minister was largely ignored.