The Impact of Social Revolutions on the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Abstract

The Arab Spring refers to the protests and revolutions that spread across Middle Eastern and North African Muslim countries in the spring of 2011. It was the first “social media revolution”, which demonstrated the spread of social revolution and the way civil protests and demands for political reforms can swiftly spread globally through social media. Following the social movement in the Arab World, the turmoil in the Middle East continued with the Israeli Social Justice movement of summer 2011, which was also identified as a social media revolution. Same as in the Arab World, in Israel too new media increased the role of the public, who could influence political issues by bypassing the monopoly of the political establishment and traditional media on the political discourse. The research examines the way that the concept of democracy in the region changed in the digital age. The findings show that social media became crucial in shaping the political discourse and determined dramatic changes in the balance of political power in Israel and Arab countries. Through digital technology and online campaigns politics changed as young Arabs and Israeli altered public agenda from the traditional religious and political Arab-Israeli conflict to social and economic issues.