Breakthrough. The New York Times Op-Ed page today prints a piece by two +972 contributors, Dimi Reider and Aziz Abu Sarah, linking the Israeli demonstrations over housing to the state’s subsidy of the settlement project and occupation. And shockingly, the piece isn’t loaded with “on the other hand”s. Two great excerpts:
But even as they call for the strengthening of Israel’s once-robust welfare state, the protesters are disregarding the fact that it is alive and well in the West Bank. Although some of their demands can be met without addressing the settlements (like heavier taxes on landlords’ rental income to discourage rent increases), Israel will never become the progressive social democracy the protesters envision until it sheds the moral stain and economic burden of the occupation….
Moreover, the impending United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood in September imposes a deadline of sorts on the protesters. If Palestinians react by marching on Israeli army checkpoints to demand freedom, Israeli protesters will have to choose between losing internal support by siding with the Palestinians, or abandoning any claim of a pro-democracy agenda by siding with the Israeli soldiers charged with suppressing them.
