Eyal Sagiv in the New Republic, on how tent protests are giving Israelis a new way to think about politics. Hmm. Some changes afoot inside the lobby…
Is there any chance that this language can move from Rothschild to the Knesset? Is there any hope that the many visitors to the tent protest will realize that the fight for welfare rights is inseparable from the fight for human rights in Israel and the occupied territories and the fight for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? It is difficult to answer these questions. The pessimists might well be right. A war or a conflict could easily put an end to this summer haze and return us to the language of nationalism and survival. Yet even if the protests do not yield all the change that we want, it is not unreasonable to hope that the ideas that have been put forward about welfare this summer on Rothschild Boulevard will, at least, give all Israelis a few more things to consider the next time they go to vote.
