More than 3,000 Israelis marked the two-year anniversary of the social justice protest movement and demonstrated against current government economic policy at a rally in Tel Aviv.

The protest against the high cost of living, government budget cuts and the failure to initiate social reform blocked the major Ayalon Highway on July 13. Protesters marched in downtown Tel Aviv as well as south Tel Aviv.

The rally also commemorated the one-year anniversary of the death of social activist Moshe Sliman, who set himself on fire at a demonstration in Tel Aviv last summer. A letter written by Sliman shortly before his self-immolation was read at the main demonstration and protesters observed a moment of silence in his memory. — jta