The social justice movement has started up just in time to offer middle class Israelis like Karen Kaufman hope that life in Israel might finally get better - and cheaper By Karen Kaufman I moved to Israel exactly 15 years ago. Almost immediately after finishing my last exam at high-school, I got on a plane, by myself, and left London. Initially I came on my “gap year” between high school and university, but pretty much certain that it would be for good. A year later, I made it official: went back to London, got all the paperwork done and made…

How long can the social justice protests go on without defining what "social justice" means? While there was no official rejection of the Kahanists' visit by protest leaders, some activists confronted them and skirmishes broke out Yesterday far-right groups and prominent settlers, including extremist leader Baruch Marzel, showed up at the tent encampment on Rothschild Boulevard to "join" the protest,  donning "Tel Aviv is Jewish" shirts and other such racist garb. They expressed their desire for "social justice" in the form of more construction in the West Bank, and clarified that they do not want to bring down the government but…

By Don Futterman Accusations from the right that the tent city protests are the product of a left-wing conspiracy backed by the New Israel Fund overlook the fact that the NIF and other NGOs have been addressing housing issues for years, before the middle class woke up Imagine the body heat – not to mention the sweat – generated by a hundred thousand people walking close together, clapping, drumming, chanting, and occasionally, with no warning, but in complete harmony, raising our voices in imitation of a banshee. Mostly young, but not all young – I don’t qualify as young anymore…

The policy of arresting protestors and then banning them from protests is a severe violation of freedom of speech and protest After Saturday night's rally, when it became clear that all those arrested were banned, whether for seven 15, or 30 days, from engaging in the tent protest, it occurred to me that being up in arms about the boycott law seems redundant since severe violations of freedom of speech and protest are taking place right here and right now in Israel - and are of course even more subversive than legislative initiatives since they are under the radar and…

The rent protesters have been criticised for insisting on calling themselves apolitical. Sitting now in the middle of the protest camp, I can report that what's happening here is democratic politics at their finest - and that it's perfectly alright for them not to use the P-word. For the past week, hundreds  of people have been gathering on the uppermost edge of the Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, close to the recently renovated national theatre plaza. Starting with a tiny group of friends who pitched their tents there in protest of Tel Aviv's exorbitant rent prices, the movement has grown…