Priorities

Above left - Moran ; above right- Irit and Daphna at Masada,

Below left Michal and Irit, below right Daphna with megaphone.

Reclaiming my place at the breakfast table at work was part of the return to routine. The table, as mentioned before, is the hub of our ongoing political debate, often referred to as the "parliament." Our merry band of self-appointed Middle East affairs experts usually manages to solve the nation's problems during the allotted breakfast break. From where I sat at the table I looked out at the field across the road, the same field I've mentioned many times. A few hours earlier I passed the field during my morning walk and noticed the healthy crop of cotton now in full bloom. Nearby a score of beehives was positioned strategically to ensure good foraging for the bees.

A-Taibeh, a neighbouring Arab village lies a few kilometres north of the cotton field. The village was built 250 years ago on the ruins of a Crusader stronghold. Saladin destroyed the fort in 1186, however one house nearby survived the Saracen attack and the ravages of time. More than eight hundred years later it remains intact and according to reliable sources is lived in.

The house in A-Taibeh came to mind while our breakfast forum was discussing the current tent compound on Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard.

You are probably wondering what bees, cotton blossoms and an old house in Galilee have to do with the tent dwellers struggle. I'll get to that later on.

There’s also a link from a most unlikely quarter – Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

The focal point of the “Arab Spring” that started in the Maghreb and spread throughout the Arab world was and still is Tahrir Square. Facebook deserves much of the credit for what appeared to be spontaneous grass-roots uprisings. Some Arab observers predicted that the Palestinians too would be part of this revolutionary Tsunami. So far the only attempts to storm the barricades were the short-lived Syrian orchestrated border crossings at Majdal Shams and a half-hearted demonstration near Jerusalem. It seems the Palestinian leadership is more concerned with trying to resolve its own internecine conflict in an effort to present a “one-nation profile” in September when it may or may not appeal for recognition of a Palestinian state by the U.N General Assembly.

The focal point of the tent dwellers demonstration that started two weeks ago in Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard and has now spread throughout the county is still Rothschild Boulevard. I confess I’m just a “country bumpkin” trying to understand what all the commotion is about.

As usual I gleaned some information from local and foreign news media sources.

The Washington Post correspondent Joel Greenberg summed up the demonstration as follows, “A growing protest movement against rising housing prices in Israel has spawned the tent camp that sprawls along Tel Aviv’s elegant Rothschild Boulevard.

Young Israelis fed up with high rents and soaring apartment prices have held raucous protests, blocking intersections in major cities and marching to parliament.

The demonstrations began about two weeks ago, after Daphni Leef, 25, of Tel Aviv moved into a tent because she couldn’t find an affordable apartment and then invited others, via Facebook, to join her. The movement, which has mobilized Israelis in ways that weighty questions of war and peace have not, shows the influence of the Arab Spring, emulating not just its organization methods but also some of its slogans.

‘Corner of Rothschild and Tahrir,’ read a hand-lettered banner at the tent camp here, invoking the Cairo square.”

I think Mr. Greenberg is putting too fine a point on the Tahrir Square influence.

The tent dwellers protest aims to persuade the government to provide affordable housing. Over the past four years both rents and housing prices have increased 30%. Owning a home or even renting an apartment is now beyond the means of many middle class families.

In a world of economic uncertainty the Israeli economy is doing well. Unemployment is at the lowest level in 20 years, yet young families with both partners working can’t find affordable accommodation.

This week the news network anchor people descended in droves on Rothschild Boulevard searching for colourful interviews. Hundreds of sympathisers were also there supporting the protesters.

A lead article in Haaretz described the scene as follows – "Spirit of revolution starts in Tel Aviv, sweeps across Israel

Hundreds visit tent compound on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv to protest rising house prices; similar sites planned for Be'er Sheva, Netanya, Kfar Sava and Kiryat Shmona."

This coming weekend mass demonstrations will be held all over Israel.

I’m familiar with my own neck of the woods and often get lost when I go to Tel Aviv. Just the same I know that Rothschild Boulevard is one of the city’s major thoroughfares. Shenkin Street is one of a number of streets that cross it along its length. Shenkin Street has a different character, it is the centre of the Tel Aviv “bohemia” and a place that offers an ultimate escape from the cares of life. You can find the street lined with boutiques featuring some of the country's most talented and eclectic designers as well as global brand-name fashion houses. Trendy Israeli women shop Shenkin for the wide and unique range of shoes and accessories as well as the unique jewelry. Many people are attracted to its coffee houses and restaurants. Here is where you will find the people with the John Lennon glasses and the laptops. Our daughter Irit shares a flat in a small lane off Shenkin Street. Irit works in the field of presentational graphics. She is a team member of a small startup enterprise which has yet to take off or disintegrate. She is also an avid demonstrator. Whenever a meaningful demonstration is taking place in Rabin Square you will find her there. Irit is not a banner carrier or on the stage holding a megaphone, just a supporter.

Her older sister Daphna (from my first marriage) is the one with the megaphone (see the photo attached) and the revolutionary genes. The genes come from her great-uncle the late Ray Nunes veteran New Zealand Communist Party activist. Daphna and her husband Mark are active members of the New Zealand Workers Party (not to be confused with the New Zealand Labour Party.) They are also very nice loveable people.

Irit is my on the spot reporter at Rothschild Boulevard. She goes there every evening mainly to express her support for the protest. In turn I gather information from her. Irit describes the tent dwellers as mainly young people, some of them still students, not quite middle class. Our son Moran is a systems engineer and describes himself as middle class. He sympathises with the protest but fears it has no clear objective.Our youngest daughter Anat is an interested observer.

When Daphni Leef posted her Facebook invitation the moribund doctors’ strike had been dragging on mostly ignored by the health and finance ministries. I doubt if they were jumping on the tent dwellers bandwagon when the Medical Association’s chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman announced he was going on a hunger strike. For further emphasis he led a large medical entourage on a march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Dr. Eidelman was encouraged by the National Labour Court’s rejection of requests to issue an injunction against doctors on strike. The court ruled early Monday morning that the doctors’ strike is legal, proportionate, and does not yet require an injunction.

Nevertheless there have been a few hitchhikers – single parents, students and other underprivileged groups, so be it. This morning I read an op-ed in Yediot Ahronot written by a young undergraduate student at the Hebrew University. He wrote, “The Israelis who have gone out to protest in the heavy July heat demand broad government interference in all areas of their lives: They want the State to protect them from food cartels and real estate sharks; they seek a high-quality public healthcare system and superb education. They don't want any more privatization or further renunciation of the State's responsibility in favour of ‘market forces.’ Leftists and rightists, secular and religious, communists and settlers are marching side by side. This is not just another homogeneous protest, but rather, the entire people of Israel urging the government to wake up and save our society. Let's put it on the table once and for all: The protesters' demands are leftist demands. The social-democratic values that the protesters wish to entrench here constitute the pillars of the Left's socioeconomic policy.” Yesterday the Histadrut (general federation of labour) chairman Ofer Eini announced he was supporting the protests. He threatened to take “necessary steps” if the government did not respond to the protesters demands. He didn’t state exactly what he meant. The protesters don’t constitute a defined labour dispute so he can’t call a general strike; nevertheless the Histadrut has considerable clout and can make life difficult for the government without formal strikes. Initially there was little government response to the protesters’ demands. Likud Knesset member Ofir Akunis was quick to identify the tent dwellers "Part of the protest going on at the moment on Rothschild Boulevard is being driven by a gang of anarchists," he said. Fellow Likud Knesset member Miri Regev said the protesters were “leftist extremists” while others were content to describe them as “guitar strumming bohemians.” Opposition parties politicians have issued statements supporting the protesters but in general have been wary of appearing to exploit what is essentially a grass-roots phenomenon. The Prime Minister has offered some corrective measures, mostly intended to splinter the different protest groups. However his “divide and rule” tactic wasn’t well received. At the core of protesters’ grievances lies the “order of priorities.” It’s unclear how much Israel’s governments have invested in settlement building in the West Bank and Gaza. Estimates of between $90-110 billion have been claimed by various observers. Now it’s time to build here and not there! Although Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly claims he is only continuing the policies of previous governments it’s clear that his ruling coalition has invested heavily in settlement building, giving preference to Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities to the detriment of the general population. The government has embarked on a policy of privatisation preferring “market economy” to controlled economy. It’s difficult to predict how the current unrest will affect the parliamentary election scheduled to take place in two years time. I’ll hazard a guess and say that the government will offer partial solutions hoping to appease the protesters. If they grow weary of their struggle and return home (not the home they want) the grievances will come to the fore again during election year. Finally, let’s go back to the old house in Galilee. In fact to a new neighbourhood built in A-Taibeh with the active participation of the Gilboa Region mayor. He managed to overcome bureaucratic red tape and facilitate the allocation of the land required for the building project. I know the greater Tel Aviv area has almost no land available for further construction, so my example from A-Taibeh is hardly relevant. Nevertheless instead of luxury apartments few can afford, contractors should be building affordable family units. Have a good weekend Beni 29th of July ,2011.