In some form of protest, people get together and line up side by side, holding hands, spreading out over a very large area (depending on how many people participate).
I have participated in one human chain. Prior to the Disengagement, when the Jewish communities of Gush Katif were slated to be removed from Gaza. I stood in the area of Shaar HaGuy and linked together with 200,000 or so other protesters forming a chain from Gush Katif until the Kotel.Wikipedia tells me that the human chain is used to express political solidarity. Among the notable protests using human chains are included Hands Across America in 1986, protest against violence in East Timor, the Disengagement in Israel, Stop Russia, and a whole bunch of others..
Bet Shemesh is joining the list of protests to use a human chain as its form of expression.
Today, at 6pm, protesters are meeting at "Watermelon Square", otherwise known as, in the original Hebrew, Kikar HaAvatichim, to form a human chain. They will be expressing the demand to split the city of Bet Shemesh into two separate cities.
I don't know historically how successful such human chain protests have been. I know the one we did during the period before the Disengagement did not really do much. I do wonder how many people will show up this evening to form a chain to split Bet Shemesh, though I will not be there.
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