For years it seemed as if the bitter dispute between the Israeli right and left had been on a long hiatus. Well, it’s back now, in a big way. In the last Knesset elections in January 2013, the debate over Israel’s borders and the country’s relationship to its Palestinian neighbors made way for a completely different agenda. Issues like the cost of living, social justice and sharing the burden between the secular and ultra-Orthodox sectors took center stage in Israel. Finance Minister Yair Lapid caught this wave and within just a few weeks, he went from television host to the head of the country’s second-largest party.
Over the past few weeks, however, and especially since the murder of the three teens, the political climate in Israel has gone sour, and the debate between left and right has taken a sharp turn into dangerous territory. Today's toxic spectacles are reminiscent of the days of mass demonstrations, with their palpable expressions of hatred and blatant incitement.
This time, however, the social networks have also entered the picture. In combination with the demonstrations in the cities’ squares and the seething rage on the street, they have raised real fear among the public and the political establishment alike about what might happen next.
Within hours of the announcement that the bodies of the three teens had been found, tens of thousands of people flooded the Internet, pointing out the direction they thought the country should take. Almost all the new groups that appeared online called for revenge. The most prominent of them was “The People of Israel Demand Revenge.” Within minutes, tens of thousands of people joined the group, driven by its call to hurt the Palestinians as punishment for the act of terror. In that tense atmosphere, Internet users had no qualms about showing their faces to everyone. There were soldiers, young men and women and adults, all of whom took photos of themselves holding makeshift signs demanding that the blood of the three teens be avenged. Some of the signs were brusque and violent.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
