the previous five years. As an act of protest Leef decided to open a Facebook page and ask people to help her in organizing a protest. Ten people, among them Stav Shaffir (later to become MK in Israeli Parliament), Regev Contes (filmmaker) and other activists, replied and attended a preparation meeting, in which they decided to pitch tents in Tel Aviv, claiming young people in Israel have no way to pay their rent. Two weeks later, on 14 July, they pitched five tents at the Rothschild Boulevard in Tel-Aviv, while police warned them against camping in the public sphere without permission. Soon afterward the protests gained momentum as thousands joined the protests, pitching tents in the central streets of cities across Israel. sparking off the 2011 Israel housing protests. On 29 August 2011, in the context of aspersions about Leef's background and intentions, Leef abruptly ended an interview when asked about not doing mandatory military service or Sherut Leumi, her affluent upbringing, what the Trajtenberg Committee was dealing with, and a question about her lack of presence or if she has even slept in the Tel Aviv tent area. She revealed that she received an exemption from the army for having epilepsy but had volunteered in a children's shelter, and that she had not slept in the Rothschild Boulevard tents the preceding week. 2012 protests At 22 June 2012, Leef and several other activists tried to restart the housing protests by re-erecting a tent encampment in the Rothschild Boulevard in Tel-Aviv. The municipality had not issued a permit and as a result Leef, along with eleven other activists, were arrested when they resisted the 20 policemen and municipal inspectors who arrived to dismantle the tents. The protesters' tents were confiscated by the police forces as well. "Before My Feet Touch the Ground", 2017 Movie Leef's debut film as a director came out in 2017 in the opening of the Docaviv - Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival. The documentary movie uses news clips and Leef's own video footage, as she looks back on the turbulent period in 2011 when she was transformed from a somewhat naive young woman into a celebrated and controversial national icon. The movie was produced by Yael Abecassis and Hillel Roseman, and was edited by Tal Shefi. Controversy As the housing protests continued, personal criticism of Leef and her political views mounted. Opponents charged that Israeli