Elections in Israel 2020 round III by Shimi Cohen

About 600 people attended the first "Yellow Vests" demonstration in Tel Aviv.

Ten protesters were then arrested in clashes with police.

Among the cries that were heard: "We will not give up", "Until now", "Mafia", and "It's a robbery".

It is easy to describe the costly protests in Israel as a political left protest, but a world view reveals that this is a global phenomenon of rebellion against the elites and fears for the future.

So it is true that in the state of Israel, where everything is painted black and white and divided to the right and left, it is easy to turn any matter into a party issue and blame the heads of the vests of protest they are familiar with from previous demonstrations and sponsored by foreign bodies, whose sole purpose is to overthrow Netanyahu's rule. But if the yellow vests movement is not only that much more - a movement of rebellion against the political and economic elites and against the existing order, a movement that is part of both local and global phenomena - these statements are foam on the water.

Boycotts, demolition of shops, tear gas, detainees and wounded are most often the result of large demonstrations around the world. Governments are trying to suppress or resolve the crisis - but sometimes the protest is greater than any issue, government or even the protesters themselves, and can gain momentum that no one can predict.

The State of Israel is going for the third time in a year!

Fighting rounds like the one taking place in recent days around the Gaza Strip tend to strengthen the right-wing parties in general and the Likud in particular, especially when it comes to the last days before the elections. At this point it is a cease-fire, but there is no telling what the next few days will give birth to.

In any case, life in Israel seems to have turned into a sequence of rounds - a round of elections, a round of fighting and a recap. If the situation in the south escalates, and at the same time the Corona fright increases, we may face an election campaign with a particularly low voter turnout, which may also bias the results in one direction. In any case, at this stage we do not seem to be heading for a decision.

Bottom line, US President Donald Trump's Centennial Plan, also known as the "peace plan" even though it completely ignores the existence of the Palestinians and is therefore unclear who is supposed to make peace, has not caused the Israeli public to wake up from its slumber.

I chose to translate a song from "Mashinah" which, although written years ago, still felt relevant to me today, Why Why Politics Now?:

Thousands of mercenaries gather in a mosque

They talk about me but not with me

And my neighbour's uncle got his rank

My wife's son's wife said:

“Ahh my sister, ah my sister”

Shamir and parsley meet in the dark

Solve the current situation

And in New York they invented a new strain of disease

And one man claims to be my brother

“Ahh bro, uhh bro”

I lied that I said everything was so wonderful