Not Your Average Jane Doe

TEL AVIV — Her name is Riki Cohen, she is 37 and a teacher, and she lives in Hadera, a small city between Tel Aviv and Haifa. She has three children and a husband who works in the high-tech sector. Together, the Cohens earn just over $5,500 a month. They travel abroad every two years and worry about having to assist their children financially well into adulthood. Also, they are imaginary. Meet Israel’s Jane Doe. A hypothetical character meant to embody the plight of Israel’s middle class, Riki has become a very real embarrassment for one overreaching politician. Riki Cohen is the brainchild of Israel’s new and inexperienced finance minister, Yair Lapid. After a long career as a journalist,...