Israel's ‘Tent Protests’: The Chilling Effect of Nationalism

Abstract

The Israeli 'Tent Protest' movement enjoyed wide popular support, but displayed a distinct lack of political radicalism. Not only did calls for discrete welfare policies replace explicit anti-capitalism, but there was a widespread insistence on the movement's 'apolitical' nature and an avoidance of any direct confrontation with the neoliberal Netanyahu government or calls for new elections. The article argues that these anomalies can be explained by the chilling effect of the patriotic, stateloyalist discourses which reached unprecedented prominence in Israeli society in the past year. This led movement participants to avoid at all costs being perceived as left-wing and disloyal, and created an atmosphere of deliberate self-censorship which silenced any engagement with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the mobilization. The movement is understood here as an all-too-brief interlude in Israel's ongoing move away from democracy.

De Tahrir a Wall Street por la Puerta del Sol la difusión transnacional de los movimientos sociales en perspectiva comparada

“…Iniciadas el 14 de julio, las protestas a favor de un nuevo contrato social en Israel culminaron el 3 de septiembre con la manifestación más multitudinaria en la historia del país (Gordon, 2012). Gamson analiza las conexiones entre estas movilizaciones a partir del concepto de marcos de acción colectiva, es decir, la «acción orientada hacia conjuntos de creencias y signifi cados que inspiran y legitiman las actividades y campañas de los movimientos sociales» (Snow y Benford, 1992; citado en Gamson, 2011).…”

“…Initiated on the 14th of July, the protests in favour of a new social contract in Israel culminated on September 3rd with the largest demonstration in the history of the country (Gordon, 2012). Gamson analysed the connections between these protests based on the concept of collective action frames, that is, "action oriented sets of beliefs and meanings that inspire and legitimate social movement activities and campaigns" (Snow and Benford, 1992; cited in Gamson, 2011).…”

Movimentos Sociais e Redes Sociais Virtuais em perspectiva comparada

“…Consistindo em manifestações semanais realizadas aos sábados, a iniciativa reúne no seu último protesto a 3 de Setembro de 2011 cerca de 400 mil pessoas, sendo também por isso considerada o maior movimento popular da história do país (Gordon, 2012 A resposta do Governo variou ao longo e de acordo com a notoriedade dos protestos. Inicialmente, e apercebendo-se da relevância dos Novos Media na organização dos protestos, recorreu a terceiros para propagação de mensagens online de descredibilização dos manifestantes, associando-os a anti-semitismo, radicalismo de esquerda, traição à pátria ou apelidando-os de 'crianças mimadas' motivadas por acesso gratuito a habitação financiada pelo Estado (Gordon, 2012: 3).…”

Ethos numérique et image de candidat dans les campagnes électroniques : le cas des élections israéliennes de 2013

“…14 Inspirée partiellement par le mouvement contestataire de 2011 (Gordon 2012), cette aspiration à un « changement » se reflétait dans la promesse d'une « nouvelle politique » qui -pour résumer certains des messages de la campagne -diminuerait le fossé traditionnel entre la « gauche » et la « droite » dans la politique israélienne, redéfinirait l'« intérêt public », établirait de nouvelles relations entre « citoyens » et « politiciens », et donneraient l'avantage à l'« intérêt général » sur des « loyautés partisanes » :…”