כאן זה לא פולין, אז יש"ע זה לא כאן: פוליטיקה של השוואות והצגת העצמי בשיח המחאה

Comparing Israel to Poland and Hungary has become one of the prevalent aspects of the protest discourse against the 2023 legal reform. This discourse of comparisons became paradigmatic and was disseminated widely during the protests. For example, the phrase “Yariv Levin, this is not Poland” became a leading slogan. In a society known for its tendency to think of itself as unique, what can account for the central place given to analogies with other countries in the protest discourse? What functions do these comparisons fulfill in the political imagination? We argue that an analysis of the comparisons that were made enables us to better understand how protest leaders defined the situation, as well as the visions, anxieties, and blind spots behind the protests. In doing so, this analysis helps us understand the 2023 Israeli protests, one of the most significant sociopolitical phenomena of our generation. The article is based on the “politics of comparisons” approach, according to which the question “who compares, to what, and why?” is a key to identifying and understanding social, cultural and political currents. Through their symbolic comparison of Israel to Poland and Hungary, we found that Israeli protesters identified the antidemocratic trends as a new, external threat inspired by foreign countries; a position which disregards deep-rooted historical developments in Israel itself. We argue that the central place given to comparisons with Poland and Hungary was a form of denial and turned a blind eye to the shortcomings of the Israeli regime, which narrowed down the protestors’ claims to a return to an earlier “golden age.” At the same time, the fact that life has never been truly democratic for non-Jews under this regime was ignored. Analyzing the choice to focus on one specific mirror rather than another is therefore an effective way to learn about the identity of the protestors; what motivates them and what they choose not to see.