Conceivably, either the resumption of school or a diplomatic crisis could dissipate the impressive reserves of energy, enthusiasm and deep-seated social grievance that have fueled the Jewish state’s biggest demonstrations in years.
Still,
the conservative government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — an implicit
target of many protesters — isn’t out of the woods yet. Organizers have called
for mega-marches in dozens of Israeli towns Sept. 3, with a goal of bringing 1 million people to the streets. Not counting Israel’s
Arab citizens, who have mostly skipped the protests so far, that would
mean a sixth of the country’s Jewish population would participate.
Even
by the standards of a famously querulous country, these demonstrations, and the
urban tent cities they have spawned, are something new, and not just because of
their size. Lacking recognized leaders, fixed goals or allegiance to any
political party, the rallies have morphed from low-grade anger over the price
of cottage cheese, an Israeli breakfast staple, to a broad manifestation of
genuine discontent with the nation’s social contract.
Among
the objects of the protesters’ fury are the soaring cost of living — for
housing, gasoline, food and a decent education — and the widely shared sense
that Israel’s go-go economy has enriched a new class of elites and oligarchs
while leaving middle-class families in the dust. What does it matter if the
country is spawning high-tech start-ups and posh restaurants, say the mostly
young protesters, if hundreds of thousands of well-educated people with jobs
can barely afford to pay rents that climb by 5 or 10 percent each year? Who
cares whether unemployment is among the lowest of any rich nation if the
distribution of income and wealth is among the most inequitable?
The
resentment has its roots in nostalgia for a more egalitarian era and in an
economy that, even as it boomed, was warped by lack of competition. Tycoons and
family-based conglomerates, a relative handful of whom control outsized swaths
of industry, are household names in Israel and hardly beloved. The
concentration of power and wealth has contributed to spiraling prices, a
spreading sense of unfairness and signs hoisted by demonstrators proclaiming,
“People Demand Social Justice.”
Mr.
Netanyahu is walking a tightrope. Though he is a free-marketeer by inclination
and experience — he was finance minister in the 1990s — the protests caught him
(and everyone else) off guard. He has cautioned against “irresponsible, hasty
and populist steps,” signaling that he will not endorse waves of new social
spending.
On
the other hand, Mr. Netanyahu can hardly ignore a broad-based movement, popular
in the polls, that has seized the nation’s imagination. He has promised to meet
with protesters, pledged to build more affordable housing and named a
high-level commission to recommend the next moves.
The trick will be to set in
motion steps leading to a more equitable and balanced Israeli economy without
sapping its entrepreneurial spirit and enviable growth.
First Published on Washington Post
No comments:
Post a Comment