Camping out for the long haul in Israel

August 1, 2011 - 8:13 AM by David

One inadvertent boost to the Israeli economy due to the current tent city protests over the exorbitant costs of housing and other goods in the economy has been the sale of… tents.

Camping goods stores have posted spikes in their sales of tent and related camping equipment in the last week or so, as more and more Israelis join the tent protest that have sprung up around the country. See Viva’s report from Rothschild Boulevard from yesterday.

That’s not to say that most Israelis need to purchase camping gear – we’re an outdoors people in general, and in the summer, the national parks and beaches are full of tents and backpackers. But I guess what’s fun and relaxation for some people is turning into a life and death matter for others, as the tent protests seem to be only expanding and not winding down.

If you’ve spent three or four nights in a tent on a camping trip, you know how grungy you can feel, with the dream of only taking a shower and collapsing in a comfortable bed. While the huge majority of the tent city protesters aren’t homeless and can pop up to their apartments to shower, relax and eat when they feel like it, the bottom line is that it’s still spending a lot of time outside in the stifling heat in a tent!

It will be interesting to see if the protests persevere as the balmy 90 degree July weather makes way for the real scorching hot August nights.

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