Middle East Focus: An Arab Spring of Yesterday’s Men , a New Jewish Spring, an American Tea Party Madness……….

Arabia Deserta

An Arab Spring of Yesterday’s Men , a New Jewish Spring, an American Tea Party Madness……….

Rattlesnake Ridge

BFF

“A few months back, citizens' protests targeted the pricing of specific commodities like gasoline, water and cottage cheese. Now, protest is everywhere. Students are camping out in the streets in tents. Dairy farmers are blocking roads with cows. Doctors are striking, the head of Israel's medical association is on a hunger strike. The latest is a Facebook call not to show up for work on Aug. 1. Israel's economy is strong, the public is constantly told; the country has money, the economy is growing………. Over the last five years, the average income in Israel has increased by 17% and food prices by 25%. Water rates have gone up 40% and gasoline by 23%. The average apartment price has gone up 55% and rent by 27%. That last item, housing, sparked the protest sweeping the country. But it's not only the last five years, Plocker writes. Real wages haven't increased since 2000, while companies traded on the stock exchange have grown by 300%. The rich are getting richer, the middle class is treading water and "this unusual prosperity has passed it by,"…………..”

This Israeli situation sounds similar to the plight of the American middle class (actually since the 1980s), except that the Americans seem to be moving politically toward the Republican right wing that ushered in the debt crisis and nearly ruined the economy. Maybe the American middle class will come to its senses before the 2012 elections and move away from the economics of madness, maybe.
I have strong doubts about this so-called Arab Spring, that it will improve the lot of Arabs in general, with the exception of Tunisia. Every other country that has revolted has seen a combination of old regime offshoots/rejects and/or fundamentalists make inroads. From Libya to Egypt and Syria and Yemen, the so-called Arab Spring is being ushered by young men and women but is usually hijacked is by yesterday’s men, men well in the winter of their lives. Just look at the pictures of some of these men: they are not the Arab future, they should not be the Arab future. It is almost like replacing prince X Bin Whatishisname with prince Y Bin Whatishisface in some regional absolute monarchies.
Unfortunately, it is possible that the only change that may come out of these Arab uprisings is to get rid of a few octogenarian despots and replace them with septuagenarian leaders, possibly elected or, more likely, quasi-electe. There is much hope for Tunisia, though. Yet Egypt is the key, Egypt is the Arab center now as in the past, regardless of the price of petroleum. The people of Egypt need to quickly get rid of the ruling military junta, all Mubarak’s men, before the usual Egyptian inertia, the usual Arab inertia, sets in and they end up in the same stagnant swamp that was the Mubarak era.
Cheers
mhg

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com