The huge protests breaking out all across Israel do not bode well for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The same thing happened nine years ago, in the summer of 2011, with the social justice movement. Back then, Netanyahu failed to foresee the enormous wave of protests that swept across the country.

Inspired by the Arab Spring, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in 2011 to protest the high cost of living, the real estate bubble and the collapse of the middle class, believed to have been brought about in large part by excessive taxes and interest fees. At the height of the demonstrations, a million Israelis were in the streets protesting.

It all happened at the start of Netanyahu’s second term. Sensing the precariousness of his position, the prime minister promised to fix the country’s deep social and economic disparities. He went on to form a number of committees to investigate the problems being raised and even implemented some of their suggestions. In the end, he survived the crisis.

Thus it seemed like deja vu when large numbers of desperate, angry Israelis took to the streets the night of July 11. Those protesting were largely made up of the self-employed and unemployed who have been struggling to make a living since the coronavirus crisis began four months ago. They have used up their savings, and their business are paralyzed and collapsing; the government, rather than extend a hand to pull them out of the mire, instead just let them sink.