In 2011, hordes of youth went out to protest Israel’s high cost of living. Now again, tents have gone up on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv as if nothing happened in between. Beginning this past May and soon spreading across the country, there were at one point over a dozen tents next to Habima Square in Tel Aviv. While most of the youth leaders have since left, often under pressure by society and municipalities, Hadar Muchtar, 21, from Kiryat Ono, made it her passion to continue the fight and to highlight the impact of Israel’s high cost of living on its youth. She established the Tzeirim Boarim (Youth on Fire) movement, a youth-dominated political party focused on the negative impact the major rise in the cost of living, particularly real estate, is having on the next generation of Israelis. “The politicians do not care for anyone – their children are set and taken care of. There is a major disconnect between the politicians and the rest [of us], who are increasingly being left behind,” she told reporters
at the time.
“The politicians do not care for anyone – their children are set and taken care of. There is a major disconnect between the politicians and the rest [of us], who are increasingly being left behind.”
Hadar Muchtar
When I visited her for the first time this past Sukkot, she was again on Rothschild Boulevard, this time in a special “protest” sukkah. A dynamic young woman, she was constantly surrounded by people fascinated by her appeal and quick tongue and slogans. “How will you decrease the cost of housing?” a passerby asked her. “Simple, we will demand that the Israel Land Authority release all its holdings.” “Hadar, how will you reduce the cost of food?” “We will open the country up to more competition, have more options, and break monopolies.”
Known as Israel’s Youth’s TikTok star, she was on her phone creating a new video every few minutes. Most are just sound bites only a few seconds long; however, many would be combined to become proper videos bringing home her message about Israel’s sky high cost of living and politicians’ neglect of the subject. While often ignored by adults, as many do not use the platform, Muchtar quickly rose to be Israel’s TikTok star of choice among Israel’s pre-voting population. Among the many people approaching her that day, the majority seemed to be teenagers under 18 years of age.
Alongside TikTok, Muchtar also quickly became a household name through her constant media presence. When she was not being interviewed, she often took center stage on her own, such as when she interrupted an N12 interview with United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni by shouting to the crowd to address the real estate and cost of living crisis. However, she is no stranger to controversy, such as her declared boycotts of mainstream media, despite the constant media attention she receives; and her declaration on Channel 12 that she owns an apartment, despite her rallying cry that the cost of apartments is too high for Israel’s youth. After it was discovered that her apartment had been purchased by her parents, it prompted Israel’s tax authority to launch an investigation.
Electionwise, Muchtar’s party received 8,800 votes or 0.18%. Nevertheless, the results did not disappoint her. She contemplates expanding the role of Israel’s youth to drive policy in key areas.
A week after the elections, I interviewed Muchtar about where she sees the movement going.
Why did you start campaigning for change in Israel?
When I noticed how expensive it is here, I realized that I don’t have a future here. There is a catastrophic situation here. People don’t understand this. My dream was not to be a politician but rather to change and to influence; but it is really hard to change and to influence when you are not in the Knesset. It is a bad situation here…and it hurts me that the nation of Israel complains about the cost of living all the time but still votes for the same people.
What about certain politicians such as Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, who represent special interests?
Not just Smotrich – all of them. They’re all in the same social club. It is challenging, and the nation is foolish.
But there has been an increase in prices in Israel for quite some time – at least 10 years. What prompted you to start your campaign now?
Let’s not exaggerate, but 10 years, okay. Your parents, our parents are foolish for going to the polls and voting for the same people… that have been in power already for 20 years. There wasn’t a specific moment. I understood that it is expensive here. I understood that I have no chance to be able to live here. I understood that the nation is going down the drain because of our parents who vote for the same politicians over and over again. I wanted to make a change. There wasn’t a specific moment.
What is your agenda, besides protesting against the cost of living?
I want to put youth into the Knesset, that there will be young representatives in the Knesset. I think one of the problems is that there are not any young people [in the Knesset]… There are old and senior people who don’t care [about the situation]. I want to put the youth into the Knesset, I want to lower prices. The ideal state won’t wake up tomorrow morning. What matters to me is the cost of living in Israel. I want it to be comfortable for the youth, students, soldiers to live here, that it will be good – that’s what interests me. I want youth on the committees and in positions of power because no one understands the issues of the youth except the youth themselves. In the same way that the haredim want haredi representatives to be in positions of influence and power, and Lapid wants his people to be in positions of power, I want youth to be in positions of influence.
But you didn’t succeed in breaking into the Knesset. So how do you see the situation?
I think we won huge…. to start a party with no budget at all. Who do you compare me to – Bibi, who has half a billion shekels to hire online bots to troll Instagram? I didn’t make a shekel. Look where we made it to… everyone is talking about the youth… everyone is talking about the cost of living, and we have only just gotten started. Next time, I will be a lot readier for politics. Politics is part of me, and I very much believe in what I do. We made history. I don’t think there is a comparable political movement that has made such a change with zero budget.
All that we did was strategy… everything we did, the provocations were planned to the letter. Everything was marketed to maximum effect. To start from zero and to make it to every house on Friday evening prime time, no one else was able to do that, especially in just three months. The marketing is very interested in me. I will get into the Knesset. The question is when.
Why couldn’t you mobilize people through social media, through TikTok? What about all your media coverage?
Right now, bringing votes through TikTok cannot be done. Why? TikTok is for 14-year-olds. Don’t forget that these same 14-year-olds will be able to vote in four years. I’m not worried. We need to bring people to the ballot box, but that requires a lot of money. To hire people to stand there next to the ballot box for an hour takes a lot of money. We need to encourage them, to have them inspire others is difficult. I won big time. We did it with nothing, what no one else could do.
How do you see things in the future for Youth on Fire?
The success was in public relations. Look, we have created a youth movement that wants change. I think we made history… we won. We will continue to run. We’re now focusing on the municipal elections. I want to continue to expand the space for youth. I want to develop the youth [so they can succeed] in the movement. I very much believe in what I’m doing. I don’t think Israeli society was ready yet for Hadar Muchtar and the youth. But no worries; soon the elderly will pass away, and the youth will be more vitalized and organized for change. We will recruit more people.
THE YOUTH on Fire party didn’t release an official statement but had the following to say about the November 1 election results: “We want a real change and would like to thank all our volunteers and activists. No amount of water will be able to extinguish our fire. The movement continues.”
“We want a real change and would like to thank all our volunteers and activists. No amount of water will be able to extinguish our fire. The movement continues.”
Youth on Fire
The election season is over, but Hadar Muchtar has big plans of her own. Finished with electioneering, she has begun working on a medical-based start-up on the topic of pressure sores and is seeking donors. She also has an enlistment date for the IDF – March 2023. Writing on her Facebook account, she says she’s proud to enlist in the army and hopes to easily outdo Bezalel Smotrich’s 14-month stint.
As for protesting the cost of living, she continues her struggle. Her recent post slammed the 19% rise in housing prices over the last year. And at the end of 2022, Google Israel published an astounding fact: Hadar Muchtar was the name most searched on Google Israel during the year. ■