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An all-vegan party is set to run for office in Tel Aviv’s upcoming municipal election.
Led by Omer Shalev, Tel Aviv Tivonit intends to make the city – which has a vegan population of 25,000 – more vegan friendly.
To do this, the party aims aims to fill the town hall with ‘motivated vegans’ prepared to enact change.
‘Vegan capital’
Shalev says that pro-vegan government could make Tel Aviv a ‘vegan capital of the world’.
He told Plant Based News: “Tel Aviv has seen the vegan population boom in the past five years.
“These elections are an incredible window of opportunity for the vegan community to shape Tel Aviv’s future in the next five years.
“Ultimately, we want veganism to be accessible, inviting and to become mainstream.”
Goals
Shalev said that Tel Aviv Tivonit plans to introduce a ‘Vegan Center’ and foster vegan tourism in the city.
He told PBN that the center will serve as a hub for local vegan organizations, and provide ‘all things vegan’ to both locals and tourists.
The party also aims to foster vegan tourism by staging events such as conferences and parades.
Hurdles
Shalev explained to PBN that the party anticipates hurdles along the way.
He said: “As Tel Aviv Tivonit gains traction, I suppose there will be some form of opposition whether in the city council itself, or among the general population.
“We come with a very inclusive approach and we don’t expect the whole city to turn vegan the day after elections, of course.
“However, change is always feared by some, and I guess it will be the case in the upcoming years too.”
Progressive platforms
Shalev says he was inspired to start the vegan part by LGBTQ+ council members in Tel Aviv.
He saw how the representatives advocated for the community, which he is a part of, and thought the same system could be applied to vegan advocacy.
He told PBN: “I realized that for veganism to really be pushed forward in Tel Aviv, we needed to have strongly motivated vegans inside the town hall.”
