2011 in Israel

Israel entered 2011 in a transformed regional environment. The Arab uprisings that had begun in late 2010 gathered force rapidly: Tunisia and Egypt overthrew their regimes, while conflicts intensified in Libya, Yemen, and Syria, and Bahrain's uprising was suppressed with assistance from neighboring Gulf states.[7] The Institute for National Security Studies assessed that the upheavals were driven primarily by domestic political and socioeconomic grievances, but concluded that Arab governments had become less able to cooperate openly with Israel while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remained unresolved.[7]

The fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in early 2011 and the subsequent rule of the Supreme Military Council were of particular strategic concern. Egyptian officials and presidential candidates adopted tougher anti-Israel rhetoric, and the future of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty became a subject of active debate. Egypt moved toward greater openness toward Hamas and, following the May 2011 Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement, removed the ban on crossings to and from Gaza.[7] Public opinion in Egypt was sharply divided: a Pew Research Center poll found that 54 percent of Egyptians supported annulling the peace treaty, while an International Peace Institute survey found that 63 percent preferred a party that maintained peace with Israel.[7]

Israel's direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, restarted with U.S. involvement in September 2010, stalled through 2011 over the negotiating agenda, Israeli construction in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — security arrangements, and Palestinian demands that negotiations proceed on the basis of the 1967 lines.[7] The United States vetoed a Security Council resolution in February 2011 condemning Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria.[7] On May 24, 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the United States Congress and stated that Israel would not return to what he described as "the indefensible lines of 1967."[8]

The 2011 security environment was severe. The U.S. Department of State's human-rights report recorded 924 terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens originating from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including 388 rockets and 247 mortar shells fired from Gaza — a sharp increase from 235 combined rockets and mortars in 2010 — killing 25 people and injuring 119.[9] From January 1 through November 15 alone, Israeli government figures recorded 716 projectiles fired from Gaza that landed in Israel.[3] The National Insurance Institute recorded 76 hostile-action incidents during the year, with 209 people wounded and 20 fatalities; the number of approved wounded was 2.5 times higher than in 2010, even though the number of incidents increased by only four.[5]

Among the most devastating individual attacks was the murder of the Fogel family on March 11, 2011. Five family members were killed in their home in Itamar: parents Udi and Ruth Fogel and their children Yoav, Elad, and three-month-old Hadas.[10] Israeli authorities subsequently arrested two residents of the nearby village of Awarta; one defendant was convicted by a Samaria military court.[10] Less than two weeks later, on March 23, a bomb exploded near a crowded bus stop beside Egged city bus 74, across from the Jerusalem Convention Center and near the Central Bus Station. A 56-year-old British tourist was killed and approximately 50 people were wounded.[2] On April 7, an anti-tank attack struck a school bus in southern Israel, killing a 16-year-old boy and wounding the driver; an October 29 rocket strike on Ashkelon killed one person.[3]

On Nakba Day, May 15, 2011, demonstrations took place at Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. A contemporaneous Israeli security analysis described marches, rallies, riots, stone-throwing, confrontations with IDF soldiers, and attempted violent crossings into Israeli territory; it identified Palestinian refugees' claimed right of return to the 1948 territories as the demonstrations' principal theme.[11] A further wave of border-related events occurred on June 5, connected to the Naksa commemoration of the 1967 war, while the possibility of a third intifada later in 2011 was identified as a significant planning concern.[12]

On August 18, 2011, coordinated terrorist attacks near Eilat on Highway 12 killed eight Israelis. The victims included six civilians, an IDF soldier whose vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, and a veteran member of an Israeli police special unit.[2] Armed attackers fired on buses and cars, used grenades and suicide belts, and targeted workers at the Israel-Egyptian border fence.[13] At least seven attackers were killed by Israeli forces, and three Egyptian security personnel were accidentally killed in the crossfire.[13] Israel subsequently launched airstrikes near Rafah that killed the commander of the Popular Resistance Committees and four other members of the organization.[13]

Attribution for the attacks remained contested: Israeli officials assessed that the attackers had crossed from Gaza through Sinai and identified the Popular Resistance Committees as responsible, while Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu denied Hamas participation. The source noted that there was no direct evidence linking North Sinai jihadist groups to the attack.[13] Rockets and mortar rounds were subsequently fired from Gaza, and at least two were intercepted by Iron Dome.[2] The April 8–11 and August 18–25 periods were the most intense rocket-fire episodes of the year: the April escalation included approximately 140 projectiles, while the August escalation produced approximately 400 projectiles, killing one person and injuring 27.[3]

Israel achieved a milestone in active defense during 2011 with the first operational use of the Iron Dome short-range rocket-defense system. On April 8, 2011, Iron Dome intercepted its first two rockets fired from Gaza toward Israeli communities in the south; the timeline notes that the interceptor missiles were launched only seconds after the rockets.[2] Defense Minister Ehud Barak described the event as a first in military history.[2] Across the Gaza-related flare-ups of April and August, the system successfully intercepted eight rockets during its initial operational deployment.[14]

Two Iron Dome batteries were operational during the year, a third was planned before year's end, and the government committed to acquiring additional batteries.[14] In March, the Knesset approved the creation of the Ministry for Home Front Defense, headed by Matan Vilnai.[14] Despite these advances, the INSS assessment characterized Israel's preparedness for a multi-front confrontation as average at best.[14]

One of the most consequential and emotionally charged events of 2011 was the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been abducted from inside Israel's borders in June 2006 and held by Hamas for more than five years without Red Cross visits.[15] After Egyptian-mediated negotiations in Cairo, an agreement was initialed on October 6 and approved by the Israeli cabinet on October 11 by a vote of 26 to 3.[4]

The terms of the exchange provided for Shalit's release in return for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, to be freed in two stages.[4] On October 18, 2011, Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners and Shalit crossed from Gaza into Israel; a further 550 prisoners were scheduled for subsequent release.[15] The exchange was challenged in petitions filed by terrorism-victims organizations and individuals, but Israel's Supreme Court rejected the petitions several hours before Shalit's release.[14]

The exchange generated sharp debate within Israel. The deal involved prisoners convicted of serious terrorist offenses, and published figures on the number of life-sentenced prisoners included in the first stage differed: the detailed agreement report gave 279, while Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mashaal stated that 315 of the 450 first-stage prisoners had received life sentences.[4] Figures for Hamas operatives released to Judea and Samaria also varied by account — between 55 and 57 — across different official Israeli sources.[4] Supporters framed the exchange as reflecting Israel's national and Jewish commitment to redeeming captives and bringing soldiers home, while opponents emphasized the risks of releasing convicted terrorists.[15]

On September 23, 2011, at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly session, Palestinian Authority President and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas submitted a formal application for Palestinian membership in the United Nations, based on the armistice lines that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.[16] The Security Council referred the application to its Committee on the Admission of New Members on September 28.[16] In November, the Security Council failed to approve the request.[8] The United States had indicated that it would veto a Security Council membership bid.[7]

In the fall of 2011, UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member state. The U.S. Department of State called the decision regrettable and premature, stating that it undermined the goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East.[17] The admission triggered the automatic suspension of U.S. contributions to UNESCO under U.S. law.[17] The Palestinian Authority's broader campaign for international recognition continued: on November 29, 2012, the UN General Assembly granted Palestine non-member observer-state status.[18]

The defining domestic event of 2011 was a mass protest movement that began in July and swelled through the summer and fall, ultimately drawing hundreds of thousands of Israelis into the streets. The tent-city movement started in early July 2011 when activists pitched tents on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv to protest unaffordable housing and rents.[19] Tent camps rapidly spread to Jerusalem, Petah Tikva, poorer neighborhoods, development towns, and localities across the country.[19]

The economic grievances underlying the protests were substantial. Between June 2010 and June 2011, inflation reached 4.2 percent, above the government's 1–3 percent target.[7] Housing prices had risen 39 percent in real terms from the recession of early 2008 through the end of 2010.[7] Commodity prices for food, water, and electricity added to the pressure, while wide wage gaps and the perception that ordinary wage earners were not sharing in Israel's general economic prosperity fueled public anger.[7] A Market Watch survey cited by INSS captured the mood sharply: 75 percent of respondents said they did not feel affected by Israel's economic growth, 18 percent felt somewhat affected, and only 7 percent said they felt affected.[7]

The protests were remarkable for their breadth. Young and middle-class Israelis, residents of poorer neighborhoods and development towns, families seeking housing benefits, settlers, Israeli Arabs, religious and secular Israelis, immigrants and native-born Israelis, teachers, students, workers, pensioners, Holocaust survivors, Gaza evacuees, and Bedouin all participated.[19] Supporters came from across the political spectrum, including people associated with Likud, Labor, and Shas, cutting across the sectoral divisions that typically structured Israeli public life.[19] A retrospective survey found that 25.5 percent of respondents reported participating in at least one protest event during the summer, including 27.6 percent of Jewish respondents and 15.7 percent of Arab respondents.[20]

The movement's central slogan was "The People Demand Social Justice." Its associated demands ranged from affordable and subsidized housing and lower living costs to free education, higher salaries for teachers, social workers, and doctors, greater social and economic equality, better education, recognition of lower-income groups' needs, and greater public influence over national priorities.[19] The National Insurance Institute linked the protests to longer-term structural processes: housing and education costs rising faster than income, declining employment security, and the unequal distribution of economic growth.[5]

On September 3, 2011, more than 450,000 people demonstrated throughout Israel — described by the Center for Israel Education as the largest demonstration in Israel's history.[1] Social-protest activists in Tel Aviv also held a candlelight vigil for those killed in the August 18 southern attacks, illustrating the movement's embeddedness in broader Israeli life.[21]

Prime Minister Netanyahu responded by appointing a committee for socioeconomic change chaired by Professor Manuel Trajtenberg.[5] The committee held open hearings and issued a report, after which the government proposed changes in taxation, family financial support, and education funding.[5] Proposals and related debates included a more progressive income-tax system, early-childhood education, changes to pricing policies, increased domestic spending, and possible reductions in defense spending.[22] The Knesset later approved legislation reflecting most of the committee's recommendations in housing, taxation, education, and competitive markets.[18]

The Israeli Democracy Index described the protests as highly inclusive but noted that ultra-Orthodox Israelis and residents of settlements were largely absent from the demonstrations.[20] By the end of the summer, divisions had emerged between middle-class protesters and protesters from weaker socioeconomic groups.[20] Survey respondents most often said the protests had succeeded in raising awareness of social and economic gaps and increasing media attention, while assessments of their success in changing government priorities were more measured.[20] The Congressional Research Service identified Israel's communitarian heritage, tradition of vigorous public debate, and the effects of deregulation — described by some as producing "crony capitalism" — as possible contributing factors to the unrest.[22]

Despite the social upheaval the protests represented, Israel's macroeconomic indicators in 2011 were strong. The National Insurance Institute reported GDP growth of 4.8 percent for the year, while the Jewish Virtual Library's GDP table, drawing on data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Israel, and the IMF, recorded growth of 5.1 percent at 2010 prices, with national GDP reaching 935,200 million new Israeli shekels.[5][23] The Congressional Research Service estimated 2011 GDP per capita at $30,082, unemployment at 5.6 percent, inflation at 2.6 percent, external debt at 46 percent of GDP, and a current-account surplus of 0.2 percent of GDP.[22]

The average unemployment rate declined from 6.6 percent in 2010 to 5.7 percent, and the average wage rose 1.6 percent in real terms.[5] Consumer prices rose 2.2 percent, within the Bank of Israel's 1–3 percent target range.[6] The state budget deficit reached 3.3 percent of GDP at the end of 2011, compared with a planned 2.9 percent, primarily due to reduced tax revenues in the second half of the year; the public-debt-to-GDP ratio declined to approximately 74 percent.[6] National Insurance Institute cash and in-kind benefits reached NIS 62.7 billion, approximately 7 percent of GDP.[5]

In September 2011, Standard & Poor's raised Israel's sovereign credit rating from A to A+, citing improved economic-policy flexibility, high growth, and cautious macroeconomic management.[6] During the year, the Israeli shekel depreciated 7.7 percent against the dollar and 4.2 percent against the euro.[6] Israel used a two-year budget covering 2011 and 2012, while legal restrictions constrained annual spending growth; the utility of the two-year budget cycle remained a subject of debate.[22]

Israel's economy was characterized by a high-tech sector spanning aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufacturing, medical electronics, and fiber optics.[22] Tourist-hotel revenue in 2011 reached NIS 8.8 billion, though this represented a decline of 1.5 percent in constant prices compared with 2010; revenue from foreign tourists was NIS 3.8 billion.[24] Israelis took approximately six million overnight trips within Israel, and approximately 2.4 million Israelis departed abroad.[24]

Israel's population at the end of 2011 stood at 7,836,600, including 5,907,500 Jews and 1,610,900 Arabs.[25] The annual population growth rate was 1.8 percent; 91.4 percent of the population lived in urban localities, 28.2 percent were aged 0–14, and 10.3 percent were aged 65 or older.[25] During the year, Israel recorded 166,296 live births and 40,819 deaths.[25] Total fertility was 3.00 children per woman; life expectancy at birth was 80.0 years for males and 83.6 years for females; and infant mortality stood at 3.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.[25]

Approximately 16,900 immigrants arrived in Israel in 2011, roughly half of whom were aged 15–44 and approximately 52 percent of whom were women.[25] During the year, 32,700 foreign workers entered Israel with work visas and 32,400 left.[25] Israel recorded 51,271 marriages and 13,460 divorces; Jewish couples represented 76 percent of marriages and 78 percent of divorces, while Muslim couples represented 20 percent of marriages and 13 percent of divorces.[26] The marriage rate was 6.6 per 1,000 persons and the divorce rate was 1.7 per 1,000.[26]

Several significant political and legislative developments occurred during 2011 outside of the protest movement. In January, Tamir Pardo replaced Meir Dagan as director of the Mossad.[2] Also in January, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and four other Knesset members departed the Labor Party to form the Atzmaut (Independence) faction, which joined the governing coalition; Labor-affiliated ministers resigned their positions as a result.[18]

In March, the Knesset approved landmark legislation setting the government's share of income from the development of fuel and natural-gas resources at 52 to 62 percent, following recommendations by the Committee for Fiscal Policy regarding Fuel and Natural Gas Resources chaired by Professor Eitan Shasinsky.[18] The legislation followed the discovery of major natural-gas fields off Israel's Mediterranean coast.[18] Also in March, the Knesset approved the creation of the Ministry for Home Front Defense, headed by Matan Vilnai.[14]

On March 15, 2011, Israeli naval forces intercepted the Liberian-flagged cargo vessel Victoria approximately 200 miles west of Israel's coast, reportedly carrying as much as 50 tons of weapons, including 60 mm and 120 mm mortar shells.[2]

On March 27, 2011, Israel and Russia signed a framework agreement for cooperation between the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Israel Space Agency, covering space research, observation, navigation, medicine and biology in space, advanced materials, and launchings.[2]

Following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, an IDF Home Front Command and Medical Corps delegation arrived in Minami Sanriku on March 28 and opened an advanced medical clinic the following day — providing pediatric, surgical, maternity and gynecological, otolaryngology, optometry, laboratory, pharmacy, and intensive-care services.[2]

Israel faced growing pressure during 2011 from boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns and from what the INSS described as lawfare.[7] Notable examples included Deutsche Bahn's withdrawal from the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem rail project in May, divestment by Swedish and Norwegian pension funds from Elbit Systems, the University of Johannesburg's decision to discontinue a joint program with Ben-Gurion University, and cancellations of cultural visits and performances.[7]

The INSS assessment nonetheless concluded that the campaign's macroeconomic damage remained negligible at the time, pointing to continued economic growth, more than three million tourists in 2010, high foreign investment, rising foreign-currency reserves, and a stable shekel.[7] Separately, Standard & Poor's upgraded Israel's sovereign credit rating to A+ in September 2011, citing high growth and cautious macroeconomic management.[6]

The events of 2011 left lasting impressions on Israeli politics and society. The social-protest movement's immediate policy legacy included the Trajtenberg committee's recommendations, a package of Knesset-approved legislation on housing, taxation, education, and competitive markets, and a renewed national debate about the relationship between economic growth and social equity.[18][5] Measures approved or planned in the protest's wake included improving benefits for disabled people, stricter enforcement of labor laws, expanding the negative-income-tax program nationally, and increasing subsidies for low-wage workers.[5]

Noah Efron argues that the protests created a new political "we" by bringing together Israelis previously divided into separate sectors, and predicts that future generations will study 2011 as a turning point in Israeli politics — though this interpretation is presented as one perspective rather than an established consensus.[19]

Iron Dome's combat debut demonstrated the operational viability of short-range rocket defense. Two batteries were operational in 2011, a third was planned before year's end, and the government planned to acquire additional batteries.[14] The Gilad Shalit exchange became a focal point in the continuing debate over Israel's obligation to redeem captive soldiers and the security risks of releasing convicted terrorists.[15]

The fall of Mubarak and the opening phase of the Syrian conflict created a period of strategic uncertainty for Israel, with the eventual character of the region's new or surviving regimes still unsettled.[7] The Palestinian Authority's UN membership request failed to secure Security Council approval, while UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member and the General Assembly granted it non-member observer-state status in 2012.[17][18]

Several significant facts from 2011 rest on disputed or internally inconsistent reporting. Attribution for the August 18 Eilat attacks was contested: Israeli officials identified the Popular Resistance Committees and assessed a Gaza-Sinai crossing route, Hamas denied involvement, and contemporaneous reporting noted that no direct evidence linked North Sinai jihadist groups to the attack.[13] Figures for the number of life-sentenced prisoners released in the first stage of the Shalit exchange differed between Israeli official accounts (279) and a statement by Hamas's Khaled Mashaal (315), while the number of Hamas operatives released to Judea and Samaria was given as either 55 or 57 in different Israeli agency records.[4]

Gaza projectile counts differed between the U.S. Department of State's terrorism and human-rights reports, likely reflecting different definitions, time periods, or counting methodologies.[3][9] The Israeli Ministry of Finance's annual report contained differing debt-to-GDP ratios — 74.1 percent for public debt and 72.7 percent for the narrower government-debt measure.[6] The reported scale of the social protests also varied by methodology: the figure of more than 450,000 demonstrators on September 3 has been widely cited, while the Israeli Democracy Index cautioned that retrospective participation estimates tended to exceed real-time counts.[1][20]