"I sold my tent, to pay the Rent...."

"The Rent is Too Damn High!" I first heard this stated from a newly formed political party in New York. The rent is too high was not just the name of the political party, but it was the basis for its agenda. What happens when a government does not regulate prices, when price ceilings are not enforced and it allows for cost of living to sky rocket? I ask this question
but I realize the question is relevant outside the perimeters of Manhattan.

This past year has sparked something that I believe has been sitting and waiting to erupt. Protests, revolutions, passion, fighting for ones rights to afford the cost of living, a social media phenomenon, and in Israel..

..Tent Cities.

What happens when prices rise, but peoples salary's stay stagnant? What happens when the cost of food continues to skyrocket with no controls, no ceilings? What happens when the youth of this generation decide that they are fed up with neglect of the government on its own people? Protests.

"Economic Gaps Widen in Israel" - YNET

This summer in Israel I think I have the luxury of experiencing something different, something unique. I first heard of a student protest in Jerusalem about the cost of rent a few weeks ago. What I didn't realize was the extent of these protests. I was told that students were going to be protesting in Jerusalem because prices of

rent have continued to increase and students can't afford to live anymore. These protests became a country-wide protest that sprung up throughout the country in the form of what they are calling: Tent Cities. Throughout Israel you can see these tent cities, where students and now even non-students are camping out in tents to protest the government. Organizing marches throughout Tel Aviv, in front of the Prime Ministers Home in Jerusalem, down the streets of Jerusalem and in front of the Knesset. Today, I even read an article that protests have even occurred in front of the Israeli Embassy in Berlin. Young Adults who couldn't afford the cost of living in Tel Aviv that moved to Berlin because of the lower cost of rent.

What they are fed up with is the rising cost of living. Landlords who are raising the cost of rent in the middle of the year, food prices that have skyrocketed,

low salaries that don't compare with the rising price indexes. These are all key issues that are finally being shoved in the faces of governmental officials. Security has been a main topic of interest in Israel for several years, but as things have died down, people have begun to fight for the issues that have been pushed aside. What I read about the other day in a YNet article, is that Israeli's have understood for years the importance of security and have dealt with the economic struggle. Except now, this summer they no longer want to be ignored.

The key similarity here to the uprisings we saw in Egypt, Syria and other middle eastern countries is the use of Facebook to spark interest, to rally people together. I don't see this being a revolutionary protest like we saw in Egypt. But I do see these tent cities, protests against the government to have a major impact on policy. The Prime Minister and other members of Knesset finally need to take a look at the people, and the needs of the people.

At this point in history, at a time when social media such as Facebook are wide-spread, the people can no longer be ignored. What I have seen in the last year, tells a story of what happens when you allow too many people to suffer, to allow too many people to not afford to live a decent life. If you don't put policies in place to keep people happy, you see revolutions, riots, uprisings.

I find it interesting how a social media site like Facebook can have such a important impact on global history.

The New York Times - "Israeli's Feel Tug of Protest, Reviving the Left's spirit"

***Pictures taken by Miriam Wasser in Tel Aviv, Israel***