Israel, land of inequalities

Stephen Lendman*: Growing social and economic inequality has affected most Israelis. Since at least the mid-1980s, state policies have disproportionately favored the rich, causing wealth disparities, unemployment, poverty, hunger, homelessness and gradual loss of social benefits.

A race to the bottom followed, notably since mass privatizations in the 1990s, placing profits about human needs as in America where only corporate and elitist interests matter.

As a result, recent studies show 1.77 million Israelis are poor in a population of 7.7 million (including Jews, Arabs and members of other faiths). About 850,000 children live in poverty. About 69% of them lack nutritional security. Around 75% of them miss meals, and 83% of them lack proper dental care. Some, in fact, beg for money or steal to eat.

Executive Director Eran Weintraub of the Tel-Aviv-based Latet humanitarian organization said poverty increased significantly in the last decade because of macroeconomic neoliberal policies. It shows up noticeably in housing because of sharply rising prices, making it unaffordable for many.

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, average Tel-Aviv apartment prices doubled from 2007 - 2010. In Jerusalem, they increased by 60%. Rents also rose steeply, creating an intolerable burden for growing numbers of Israelis being priced out of a place to live.

No wonder they finally reacted, protesting for affordable housing for over two weeks in cities across Israel. What began as a Tel Aviv middle class protest mushroomed after being joined by the National Union of University Students and then others, turning small protests into huge ones.

On July 30, six Haaretz writers headlined, "More than 150,000 take to streets across Israel in largest housing protest yet," saying:

"Marches and rallies took place in eleven cities, (the) largest ones in Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem (al-Quds), Be'er Sheva and Haifa." Protesters chanted:

"The people demand social justice." "We want justice, not charity." "Proper housing, legitimate prices." "The power is with the citizen," and "This generation demands housing."

Thousands also held signs saying "Game over - Bibi go home." They demanded government intervene to reduce prices, introduce rent controls, and require affordable housing be built.

Some observers compare visceral anger to uprisings in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Tunisia, and other Arab countries, so far with no violence.

Tent cities were erected in protest - for some, a tent city revolution. On Tel Aviv's Rothschild Blvd., Israel's Park Avenue, they sprung up amid crowded cafes and ficus trees. In cities across the country, they're blocking roads. Some activists practically besieged the Knesset.

The crisis, in fact, is serious given poll results, showing 87% of Israelis support the protests. According to Bar-Ilan University Professor Sam Lehman-Wilzig:

"What is very troubling for Netanyahu is that this is not a left wing versus right wing protest. It's one of the few issues that cuts across all political spectrums." As a result, he's "definitely nervous, and he should be nervous."

"Whereas the street has been relatively quiet in the last 20 years, it's beginning to wake up and demand part of the national wealth that does not seem to be trickling down as much as it should. It's not a call to return to Israel's socialist past, but to a more collective feeling of society as a whole."

(*This article has been shortened. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and blogs at sjlendman.blogspot.com.)