Hunger striker rushed to hospital after refusing water
Knesset speaker visited Tamir Hajaj in the hospital, told him the earlier promise of a meeting with Netanyahu was a mix-up
A social activist on a 31-day hunger strike against public housing eligbility standards was hospitalized for the third time on Tuesday, after refusing water and fainting.
Tamir Hajaj, who has refused to eat until Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with him, was rushed to the Shaare Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem, where he was believed to have received a blood transfusion. He has lost more than 30 pounds and on Tuesday began to refuse water as well.
He is believed to be homeless, unemployed, and in debt to the government.
Hajaj, a frontman for the social activist group “Disappointed by the Likud,” has 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 has been largely ignored. He was vaguely promised a meeting with Netanyahu, but Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who paid him a visit in the hospital Tuesday, informed him that it was actually just a mix-up, Haaretz reported.
Last week, Gabbi Kadosh, an aide to the prime minister tasked to convince Hajaj to end his hunger strike, suggested that the activist put his protest on hold — and to resume it once the Knesset reconvenes in the fall.
Kadosh tried to explain to Hajaj, albeit unsuccessfully, that no changes could be enacted except through new legislation, which will not happen during the Knesset’s summer recess.
Doctors believe that in the third week of a hunger strike, individuals begin feeling dizziness, weakness, and heart tremors. By the fifth week, they begin having jitters and uncontrollable vomiting. By the sixth week, their body begins to stop functioning and a loss of consciousness and death become possible.
Sam Ser contributed to this report.
