of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Israel.
150,000 to 200,000 Israelis from across the political spectrum who gathered in Tel Aviv on Thursday night to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, rally organizers said they were planning a series of events with the same goal and would not stop until the prime minister had gone.
The event's main organizer, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, told the crowd that "Democracy is in danger." The very committee that the prime minister established, Dayan said, had "stood before him and bravely said, 'Mr. Olmert, you have failed.'"
This is what Democracy looks like.
photo by Nir Kafri
People from the left right and center came to demand a change in government.
The Jersusalem Post reports on the broad political spectrum of people who came out in opposition to Olmert:
Meretz, Likud and NU-NRP used their party networks and institutions to call supporters to the rally - underlining the unique representation from across the political spectrum, even though the speakers themselves were not serving politicians.
The Likud sent several dozen busloads of supporters from offices and branches across the country, while NU-NRP made 7,000 phone calls and sent 1,000 text messages as part of its mobilization effort. The rally was marked by support from right and left, with Meretz slogans alongside posters blaming the war's outcome on the disengagement from Gaza. Some 10,000 students were also present.
http://www.jpost.com/...
Altough this was a very political rally, politicans did not speak. As HaAretz reports
The organizers of the mass demonstration decided Wednesday that politicians would not speak at the rally, but bereaved families, artists, and intelligentsia would speak instead.
http://haaretz.com/...
This rally is the start of a series of rallies and public engagements to try and end Olmert's leadership, either by his resignation or by his government coalition falling apart.