ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief background on Israel's energy sector before and after the discovery of gas, and outlines the profound impact which the gas findings have had upon Israel's regional perception and opportunities. The high and at times unrealistic expectations which gas development created in the minds of the Israeli public created a socioeconomic discourse that grew emotional and uncompromising over time, making the task of developing the gas fields and transforming the East-Mediterranean into a "gas region" an increasingly difficult one. Although initially unrelated to the gas findings, the public struggle over Israel's economy began in the summer of 2011, as hundreds of thousands of Israelis marched in the streets in what became one of the largest rallies in Israel's history. The demonstrators, mostly young, Jewish, and urban members of the middle class, protested against the high cost of living in Israel, the cost of housing and food products being most emblematic.
