A new quality of protest The hot summer of 2011 changed Israel's political agenda

In Summer 2011, the fairly numb and sweaty Israeli domestic political scene was dramati cally shaken up by a massive wave of grass roots protest. The focus of this eruption of public unrest was mainly socioeconomic: In the beginning, participants in the various manifestations of discontent protested against the rising cost of rent, gas, and basic food items. Later on, with the increase in number of groups participating and their respective in terests, the protest adopted a more extensively abstract slogan - the demand for "social jus tice," which could bring almost every Israeli on board.