Divided we fall
Op-ed: Housing protest test of Israelis’ ability to put differences aside, unite for common goal
Most Israelis agree that skyrocketing housing prices – in Tel Aviv and much beyond – are a problem that afflicts large sections of our society, namely the middle class and lower strata. Yet while the nationwide protest is escalating, cracks are beginning to show. Various sectors within Israel are starting to clash over the struggle’s agenda; this may not be fully apparent yet, but a review of online discussions leaves no room for mistake: Israelis are again sinking into the mire of disagreement and dispute.
In this respect, there is much more at stake here than what meets the eye: The housing protest is a crucial test that will show us whether Israelis can put their differences aside in favor of a common goal – any goal - or whether Israeli society will continue to grow increasingly fractured and sectarian. Indeed, developments in the coming days and weeks will offer us all a glimpse into the future.
One bone of contention that already emerged in respect to the housing campaign has to do with the so-called “far Left.” Several protest activists have already linked the housing battle to Israel’s settlement policy and presence in Judea and Samaria. While protest organizers are seeking to distance themselves from such statements, we are hearing leftist calls to refrain from “hiding the truth” and explicitly declare that the housing crisis, and its solution, is inexorably tied to settlement funding and prioritization.
Predictably, such calls are already keeping some Israelis – who fully identify with the protestors’ housing woes but refuse to accept a “package deal” that also includes anti-settlement activities – away from the protest. The perception that the struggle is being led by leftists, even if it may not be fully accurate, is prompting some rightists to declare that they refuse to join the protest as not to be a “puppet of the Left.”
Struggle a litmus test
On Wednesday, the rightist Im Tirtzu movement, which initially endorsed and joined the struggle, announced that it was quitting the main protest site on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard. In a statement on its website, the group charged that “to our regret, the New Israel Fund and the radical Left are managing to take over the struggle.”
Meanwhile, other protest participants and supporters hail from Tel Aviv’s southern neighborhoods, which in recent months had been overrun by growing numbers of African newcomers. These protestors stressed what they view as the crucial role played by illegal aliens in driving housing prices in the city up. Yet such arguments are not likely be embraced by some protestors, who hold favorable views towards the foreigners. Indeed, thus far there has not been any statement by organizers linking the housing crisis to the growing African presence in Tel Aviv and elsewhere.
For the time being, the housing protest is still gaining steam, as the issue at the core of the struggle cuts across political ideologies and is stronger than those who try to undermine it – for now. Yet growing alienation and suspicion among protestors will doom this battle, while serving as a harbinger of what lies in store for Israel.
In order to ensure that Israel remains a state that is greater than the sum of its parts and heads in positive directions, vastly divergent public sectors will have to promote shared national interests, now and in the future. In this respect, the housing struggle will be the litmus test of what lies ahead: A united Israel able to rally around common causes, or a divided Israel increasingly breaking up into “tribes.” If the former is true, there is much hope for all of us. Yet if the latter will prevail, we are all in big trouble.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
