The social protest in Israel that began in the summer of 2011 has had its achievements. But until now it has been more of a political lightning rod and social shock-absorber than a challenge to the existing political order, whose single purpose is to prevent the Israelis from truly mourning what they wrought upon themselves and upon the minorities living under their rule, thanks to their political choices.
“Melancholy protest” might be a fitting description for the lethargic awakening that’s been stirring in Israel for the past few months in connection with the struggle against the government’s natural-gas deal. This struggle is just, but at the same time symptomatic of a generation that prefers to fight for a just distribution of the country’s riches than for the just division of the country. It’s a generation that would rather lament over the shortcomings of capitalism and its unfulfilled promise for “a sound (political) mind in a healthy (economic) body.”