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New York Times writer Ethan Bonner missed the mark earlier. The above link comments on his July 31 article, typical of how their writers fall short. At best, they go so far and no further, omitting what's most important to know. Readers have to go elsewhere to learn them.
On August 6, Times writer Isabel Kershner outdid Bonner in her article headlined, "Protests Grow in Israel, With 250,000 Marching," saying:
In the largest protests so far (yet downplaying their size, except for briefly mentioning 300,000 in her text), they "demonstrate(d) against the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing...."
She also briefly mentioned high taxes, food and gasoline, a growing gap between rich and poor, and eroding social services with no background, context, explanation, or analysis of what caused today's crisis and why.
It didn't arrive like "Topsy," the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" slave girl, who when asked if she knew who made her said, "I s'pect I (just) growed." Israel's crisis "growed" over decades of social neglect before boiling over.
Bonner's article was longer, yet inadequate. Kershner's was woefully weak and short. In both, readers came away with no understanding of longstanding Israeli social injustices. Nor were they given context to understand them, or why they happened in the first place, what's most important to know.
Notably: Who gains? Who loses, to what degree, for what purpose, and an explanation of the curse of neoliberal extremism, ravishing all Western societies, Israel one of the most unequal.
The best from Kershner was to say "Netanyahu announced a series of measures late last month meant to alleviate the housing shortage. The organizers dismissed them as insufficient," and who knows if he'll even follow through.
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