It was a disappointing Saturday night for the social protest organizers. They were unable to draw the enormous crowds they had in previous weeks. People stayed away from the public squares not because they have changed their minds, but because they have realized the organizers have lost touch with reality, which was actually one of their defining characteristics at the outset. The organizers failed in their use of artificial catalysts to motivate people to take to the streets, and their means of doing so - including Daphni Leef's bizarre call for Professor Manuel Trajtenberg to resign - sparked reservations among their followers. The social protest movement has made some important specific demands. If we want to lower the cost of living, we need to dismantle the tycoons' monopolistic pyramids. To build new housing quickly and cheaply we need to implement the national housing committees law, in spite of the protest leaders' objections. If we want a welfare state, we need to get our hands on the NIS 190 billion of "black money" that flows through our national economy unhindered. This means effective enforcement and harsh punishments for tax evasion. We also need to crack down on the 100,000 ultra-Orthodox men registered as yeshiva students who cost the government up to 6,000 shekels per month per family and don't produce anything. All of these are worthy goals for the struggle. They are amenable to a variety of solutions. There is no question some of the tent dwellers have an overt socialist ideology, and there is nothing wrong with those voices being heard as well. Still, it seems the protest leaders are hurried and may have lost their way. They are trying to move in every direction, to please everyone, and if they continue this way they will end up nowhere. A specific example is the invitation to Noam Shalit to speak at the social justice rally. There is no question that Shalit's voice deserves to be heard loud and clear every day, and he should avail himself of every opportunity to give a speech. But what does freeing Gilad Shalit actually have to do with social justice? The terms for the captive soldier's release from Gaza, as well as the U.N. and Red Cross's total disregard for his rights, are a diplomatic, political, legal and moral issue. It is an extremely important issue, but it belongs in the tent opposite the prime minister's residence and not on Rothschild Boulevard. One gets the impression that the social protest has lost its sense of direction. It may have also lost its self-confidence, and as a result is trying to recruit every Tom, Dick and Harry to the cause. This doesn't make the movement stronger. It waters it down. Let's just hope that Trajtenberg and the government that appointed him don't take advantage of the situation to turn a blind eye to the tent protesters' justified grievances.
