Globes: The social rebellion in Israel will burst into violence

5 july 2011, Communist Party of Israel המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית http://maki.org.il

"This protest is the start of a broader and much more serious social rebellion. It is an expression of terrible anger that will burst out in violence," the owner of a large consumer products factory told yesterday to business evening newspaper in Israel "Globes".

He added, "Bibi (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), is a nice guy, he has created a free economy, flourishing, but the partners to this prosperity are the owners and a very thin socio-economic layer of talented and young people in senior positions in high-tech, in industry and in the banks. 50% of the population have sub-normal salaries and are not part of the celebrations."

"People Before Profits", May Day in Tel-Aviv, 2011 (Photo: Al Ittihad)

He continued, "In the end it will be like a bomb hitting our heads. We cannot carry on with 10% of the population living and 50% of the population earning the minimum wage plus a little. A democratic state will be here for many years only if there is a very strong middle class. There cannot be a polarization of the rich when most of the population has their heads in the ground. I'm hurting."

The senior executive is harshly critical of the government. He said, "What sort of government do we have? What sort of idea was it to raise excise on fuel? It's OK to take excise on fuel but what's the point of putting up excise when the price of all fuels is going up? The government is putting up all prices all the time and without any limits."

He added, "They are asking women to go out to work. And who will look after the kids? How can a young couple where both partners are working spend NIS 5,000 on two children per month? Why do we need such surpluses in the government coffers? To build more roads in the (occupied) territories? While putting the age of compulsory kindergarten down to three, give something to ordinary citizens."

If you sat in the government what would you do?

"I see the macroeconomic picture. Those in the government only see a picture where they need to air the opinion that it is possible to raise the minimum wage. The revolutions in the Arab countries are not happening because of Mubarak's corruptness but because of 40% unemployment among young people. If we want to prevent that we need to give to the population. I'm in favor of enlightened capitalism not greedy capitalism."