Between inclusionary demands and sociopolitical divides: The Israeli 2011 summer of discontent

This chapter examines processes of collective identity formation and performance that evolved around and over the massive social protests that took place in Israel, and to trace their complex connections to the broad sociopolitical field. It addresses tensions between the material and cultural interests of the protest’s initiators and leaders deriving from their class-generational background and analyzes their efforts to build an inclusive identity. The chapter also addresses the class-generational dynamics that led to and shaped the massive mobilization. Then it analyzes the form and content of the protests, focusing on the complex relationships between the formulation of an inclusionary collective identity and well-entrenched sociopolitical divides in Israeli society. It appeared that most Israelis, especially among the middle class, were not at all interested in taking part in collective action with political objectives, particularly when those objectives were related to the politics of the distribution of resources.