ABSTRACT
On 14 July 2011 Israeli protesters representing a broad social spectrum poured into the streets demanding ‘social justice’ in housing. Six months after the first mass demonstration of middle-class Egyptians in Tahrir Square, and after 20 years of neoliberal privatization, Israeli protesters were demanding that the Israeli state reassume its commitments to them. As observed by Michael Walzer, ‘This is the first uprising, anywhere in the world, against a successful neo-liberal regime’ (Walzer, 2011). The movement critiqued Israel as an oligarchy of the rich and affiliated itself with Arab Spring demands for a ‘revolution’ in terms of how the state of Israel is governed and managed. ‘Governments can be replaced – citizens cannot,’ called protesters, adding, ‘When the government is against the people – the people are against the government’ (Allweil, 2013; Marom, 2013; Leibner, 2015).
