Last update - 00:00 11/10/2006
Youth on right, left unite to protest war
By Lily Galili
The public protest over the Lebanon War, which was declared dead weeks ago, is nevertheless refusing to expire. Even though the political establishment appears to have gone back to "business as usual," the extra-parliamentary arena has refused to surrender to attempts to force it into oblivion. It is not just the demonstration to call for a state commission of inquiry that is planned for tomorrow in Jerusalem; mainly, it is the change in the nature and makeup of the protest that indicates the depth of crisis left by the war.
Only genuine fear of the state's conduct, both at the front and in the rear, could create a political alliance between right and left and give rise to a protest coalition that includes, alongside bereaved parents, the youth divisions of Meretz, Yisrael Beiteinu and Labor and the chair of the National Union of Israeli Students.
Such political alliances are not rare in the Knesset, where they are forged for the sake of survival. But they are nearly unheard of in the protest domain, which is all about underscoring differences. This time, things are otherwise: The chasm is not the ideological gaps among the party young guards, but rather the deep rift between the government's intentions and the protesters' shared desire. Only a sense of panic and urgency could create such an alliance, if only for a specific goal.
But far more important than the unusual political alliances, the Second Lebanon War led to a rare phenomenon in our divided political reality: alliance on a generational basis. The youth of both rightist and leftist parties have joined forces with their peers, the reservists, to make a statement by an age group that not only personally experienced the war's fiascoes, but knows that the failings revealed - both at the front and in the rear - are a legacy that will fall to them. For a moment, the ideological gaps among the representatives of rival parties have been set aside, and a chorus bound only by age and fear is speaking as one.
"What the war exposed is more relevant to people our age," said Uri Zaki, chair of Meretz-Yachad Youth. "Meretz youth who were at the front returned with a bellyful. As a young person and as a party activist, I cannot ignore these voices. In my conversations with activists, ancient fears are emerging, and questions about whether we are capable of defending ourselves."
Zaki said that this made it easy to enter an alliance with the Yisrael Beiteinu Youth. In fact, Meretz youth were the first to join this surprising coalition, out of "a common interest in setting things in order before each goes back to fighting for his ideology."
Dani Toledano, chair of Yisrael Beiteinu Youth, agreed with every word, but added another goal for the youthful mobilization. As a student, he said, he experienced the student body's apathy toward various campaigns. Now, he sees this youthful coalition as an opportunity to energize his generation. "This war shook the foundations," Toledano said. "We have no problem demonstrating shoulder to shoulder with Meretz. Sure it's unusual, but it's beautiful."
Eran Hermoni's situation as chair of the Labor Young Guard is certainly more complicated than that of his peers from opposition parties. Labor's participation "may not be natural to the political landscape," he said, "but the role of a party's youth division is to serve as a compass."
Furthermore, Hermoni agrees with Toledano that this generational coalition is also fighting against youthful indifference. "In this respect, it arose to give voice to the young generation, and also to awaken it," he said.