Is Israel having its own kind of revolution?
I was talking this week to a Jewish friend, who once lived in Israel for 18 years, and he complained that the current round of demonstrations in Israel was receiving so little coverage in the British media. He was making a good point.
Our media seems to have a different prism through which it sees the news value of each country. For all the Arab countries at present, the angle is the extent to which street demonstrations are challenging the relevant authoritarian regime. For Israel, the viewpoint is how Palestinians are being repressed.
The notion that Israel might actually have domestic politics and that the country could have its own demonstrations challenging the policies – if not the legitimacy – of the authorities seems just too difficult for the British media. But, somewhat belatedly, the “Guardian” (which most of my Jewish friends insist is anti-Israel) has picked up the fascinating story.
The large-scale protests represent a demand for social justice which embraces issues including the high costs of housing, rearing children, fuel, electricity and food and the need for cuts in indirect taxation and higher taxes for those who can afford them. Of course, there is a connection between the cost of social provision and the cost of running such a vast security apparatus.