I live in Israel. I do not vote because of our extremely corrupt system of elections and form of government. Monopolies do control our economy. If you let it bother you, religious laws and regulations that effect our daily lives, can be a pain. But no one is forcing us to be religious. There are even ways to get married and get buried that are not religious. Which is a fairly new concept here in Israel. Taxes are high but we somehow manage. People in general most often live beyond their means anyway, and have a standing 'overdraft' in the bank. It's taken me many years, but I'm now more or less used to this. With all that can and must be said about our problems here, I find that Israel allows me tremendous personal freedoms, and many people that I know (especially ones that came here from 'Anglo' countries) agree with me. You really cannot compare Israel to any other country in the world.

My first kid's going to be born soon. Many of the people agreeing with the article don't seem to be living their lives in Israel. My wife works, I work. I earn 50% more now than when I was a teacher. My wife has a better job than me. Yet we still couldn't dream of buying a flat we'd actually like to live in and the general cost of living is astronomical. Given that I grew up mostly in London and that that is my main frame of reference, that's quite a statement. The reason that I think most of those agreeing with the article don't live here is that the arguments and complaints of the social protesters are those I've heard from friends, family and colleagues for years. The economy may not have collapsed (as in the UK), but life's getting harder and harder.