Nine years and a pandemic separate the protests of the summer of 2011 from the protests of the summer of 2020. But there is one interesting similarity between them: the range of demands and the geographic movement is open and flexible. Like in 2011, we are now seeing different calls: the distress of the unemployed and self-employed; striking social workers and nurses, and black flags. Like in 2011, big demonstrations are being held in the centers of the big cities – particularly in front of the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv, surrounded by smaller protests at highway intersections and on bridges.
Like in 2011, the Arabs of Israel are unseen in the protests. The Arab sector, which is in socio-economic difficulties that have only worsened since the onset of the corona crisis, might have been expected to jump at the chance to join the public outcry. The Arab sector and its leaders – heads of local authorities, MKs, and nonprofit workers – should take advantage of the momentum the socio-economic protests provide and take an active part. If not as leaders, then at least as participants. Even though there is no element of the current protests that does not directly touch on daily issues for Arab society, the protests themselves are taking place at a distance. Self-employed Arabs have opted to keep away, and it seems as if the leaders of the protests haven't really noticed.
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For 70 years, the Arab leadership has been screaming against the various governments of Israel, claiming discrimination, but without taking action to influence anything. Will the Arab public, which has been fighting for years to integrate into the State of Israel, miss a golden opportunity to be part of the consensus? Arab communities are at the bottom of the country's socio-economic rankings – the Arab public should be on the front lines of socio-economic protests. And when the self-employed start negotiating with the government, who will speak up for the special needs of Arabs who work for themselves?
Is it possible that all demonstrations by the Arab public against the government will be about Palestinian national issues, or religious issues, such as demonstrations against "attacks" on Al-Aqsa Mosque, or protests after an Arab citizen is killed by security forces or the police? Without dismissing these issues, it's time for Arab society to take part in a non-sectorial battle and join a big public movement about social and economic issues.
True, there is a crisis of trust between the Arab and the Jewish communities, which has only gotten worse after three of the toughest and ugliest elections the country has ever seen, but that doesn't mean that the desire to integrate Arab citizens everywhere in Israel should be neglected. Protests can serve as an excellent base for integration – especially when we see hints of change in the political map and possibly even the beginning of social-political organizing that could upend everything. That is, if the protests continue and the public demands are translated into real change.
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