In this protest camp in Tel Aviv, the epicentre of Israel s social uprising, a vast array of slogans is scrawled, tagged and pinned on the dozens of structures erected by activists. "We all live in a tent. This summer the revolution is in the streets," reads one of the many rallying calls of the unprecedented movement, which brought over 400,000 people out for protests on Saturday evening, breaking Israeli records. The movement is united in one demand: "The people want social justice," a call that appeals to Israelis from all walks of life, crystallising widepread anger over how difficult life in the Jewish state has become. In some ways, the scene on Tel Aviv s Rothschild Boulevard has a Sixties feel -- young people caught up in a moment of unprecedented political fervour, challenging inequality, feeling they can effect a real change. But the movement is also very Israeli, emphasising a patriotism that is displayed in the numerous national flags adorning tents, and calling for a return to the social Zionism that prevailed in the early years of the state. The slogans of the movement pay tribute to its many strands -- "defence of the middle class," one reads, "the right to happiness," says another, while a third nearby calls for "free love." A range of groups have hitched their wagons to the movement, including activists fighting violence against women, environmental organisations and even those calling for the integration of Orthodox Jews into the military. But the movement has at its core the economic problems faced by many Israelis, and a plethora of signs call for cuts to the cost of housing, food and education -- "We fight for the house" reads one. It is also an indictment of the neo-liberal economic policy followed by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- "privatisation kills the state" and "the market is free, but not us," signs read. For some, the movement is Israel s "tentifada" -- an allusion to the two intifadas or Palestinian uprisings that Israel has faced since 1987. The protests, and the tent cities that have sprung up like mushrooms across Israeli cities, are the closest thing to an uprising that Israeli society has ever seen, a sort of intifada of the silent majority, protesters say. On the streets, doctors and taxi drivers can be seen alongside students and housewives. Sephardic Jews of Middle Eastern origin join Ashkenazi Jews of European origin and even Arab Israelis. Netanyahu has said he understands the grievances of the protesters and has pledged to undertake economic reforms, even promising to rethink his liberal economic policies. But demonstrators accuse him of failing to take their cause seriously, and have shown no mercy for him or his wife Sarah. "Sarah, you re not alone, Bibi has screwed us too," reads one sign on Rothschild Boulevard, using Netanyahu s popular nickname. The movement began in mid-July, when young activists angry over the price of housing in Tel Aviv decided to pitch their protest tents on Rothschild, but quickly swelled into a movement the likes of which Israel has never seen. Non-violent and non-partisan -- a popular sign reads "Neither right, nor left, all together" -- its vigour has been the envy of Israel s beleaguered left, even if the slogans touted by some protesters suggest a sort of youthful naivete -- "We can dream," or even "Take acid, make revolution." These sorts of slogans prompted some on the Israeli right to dismiss the demonstrators as "sushi eaters and water pipe smokers," but as organisers brought increasing numbers of people out for protests, the criticism dwindled. Aware of the tenuous ideological ties between the movement s supporters, protest organisers have been eager to gloss over differences and steer clear of divisive questions like the Israeli occupation, the cost of settlement construction and the enormous weight of the defence budget. Still, the "Israeli Summer" has not been afraid to tie itself to the "Arab Spring," with many signs paying tribute to the wave of revolutions seen across the Middle East this year.
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