Israeli social justice protests still alive, just not in streets
In an interview with Al-Monitor, social activist Itzik Alrov argues that even though people don't take to the streets to protest, as they did in the summer of 2011, they keep watch on the distortions of price centralization and expect the government to intervene.
"We have failed in whatever concerns housing prices and cost of living, and we, the government, must deal with that." Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon made this ostensibly social and heartfelt confession on Oct. 15, in a series of interviews he gave for the Sukkot holiday, responding to the so-called “Milky” (chocolate pudding snack) protest. The confession was drowned out by the melee of headlines he made regarding the defense threats facing Israel.
But it is actually this statement, not backed up by any action, that reflects the disconnect between the government and the changes that Israeli society has undergone since social protests broke out in the summer of 2011. Like the prime minister and other Cabinet members, Ya’alon may believe that caring words will appease the public, but the fuels of the protest are constantly simmering below the surface.
“The ministers’ big mistake is not understanding that they have an opportunity to save an entire generation,” says Itzik Alrov, the architect of the 2011 “cottage cheese protest” and one of the founders of the consumer movement against the high cost of living. “They think the protest will pass, but they don’t understand that the protest is alive and kicking. Today’s public understands much more and knows it is being robbed. It won’t give up.”
Alrov is one of the less familiar heroes of the 2011 social protests. Whereas Daphni Leef, Knesset members Stav Shaffir and Itzik Shmuli became media darlings of that time, with Shaffir and Shmuli subsequently elected to the Knesset, Alrov remained somewhat anonymous, though he is considered one of the most influential figures on social networks regarding the cost of living issue.
