Rabin top Israeli hero
About 20,000 Ynet readers choose late prime minister as most impressive Israeli figure
TEL AVIV - Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated by a right-wing radical in 1995, was selected as the top Israeli hero in an online Ynet poll ahead of Independence Day that drew about 20,000 votes.
Some other notable mentions on the list include Menachem Begin (4,) late astronaut Ilan Ramon (5,) late President Ezer Weizman (9,) and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (18.)
The somewhat surprising result - most Ynet editors predicted founding father David Ben-Gurion would take top honors - shows the generation that remembers Rabin’s peace efforts and the hope that evaporated following his assassination is still very much here.
Moreover, the votes for Rabin remind us that despite his tough exterior and somewhat course personality we still miss his straightforwardness, particularly lacking in our current Netanyahu-dot-com, overly programmed world.
Almost 10 years have passed since his murder, but the people of Israel still remember. Rabin’s top spot not only reflects an appreciation for the peace heritage he left behind him, but also serves as an echo for that despicable act in the heart of Tel Aviv.
For a large part of the poll’s respondents, the drops of blood are still fresh and lying before us, and no rag would be able to wipe them.
Three Israels
Such list of heroes, which brings together politicians, scientists, and celebrities, is bound to rattle some readers. Is Israel turning its back on the heroes of yore in favor of new, “glittery” stars who are ultimately not as worthy?
However, this is also the essence of Israel - everything is mixed up around here. Indeed, only recently, we saw senior politicians coming together for the funeral of noted songwriter Ehud Manor, who came in at third spot.
So who’s more Israeli, Manor, or late Prime Minister Menachem Begin for example, who finished fourth?
The list of the top 20 local heroes indicates that Israel respects its dead, particularly those who passed away recently, and those who did not receive due recognition during their lifetime.
Notably, only two of the top 10 figures on the list are still alive - One is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (8,) the other is young singing sensation Ninet Tayeb (10,) whose road to fame started in the local version of “Star Search.”
On the hand we have the elderly prime minister, who is pursuing the most daring move seen here in recent years, and on the other hand is the modest youngster with the amazing voice, who came out of nowhere and took the country by storm.
And this, we have to admit, is “us.”
A more thorough examination, however, reveals we are actually seeing three different Israels taking part in the vote.
One is the Israel of old, which admires those who determined the state’s character, be it Ben-Gurion or famed writer and Nobel Prize laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon.
The second Israel is the more mature, more middle-class one, which viewed Rabin’s assassination as a constitutive, critical event. Members of the second Israel sought out the assuring father figures, be it Rabin, Sharon, Manor, or Vice Premier Shimon Peres.
Then there’s the third Israel, which flickers and glows on our television screen, an Israel of glitter and wild advertising campaigns. Its heroes have been molded from marketing and television materials, such as Tayeb and TV personality and Ynetnews writer Yair Lapid.
Is anyone listening to right-wingers?
A sharp-eyed anthropologist would have identified a rift between the three Israels - a generational gap but also an ideological rift.
The first Israel believes the country was better and more ethical and principled in the past. The second Israel thinks we need heroes, because we lost our way and our conscience (and that is why Rabin’s murder is so significant.)
The third Israel, meanwhile, thinks young means good, famous means wonderful, and beautiful means good.
Then, there’s another Israel we must pay attention to. The Israel whose members wrote again and again the name Jonathan Pollard, who was not included in the list of 200 names we provided.
For that Israel, a poll that does not include the top religious Zionist rabbis is a disgrace. Indeed, this is the Israel that today feels left out, particularly because of the disengagement plan, but not only because of it.
A religious, very right-wing, and mostly frustrated Israel. Is anyone listening?
Top 20 Israeli heroes chosen:
1. Assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
2. Deceased Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.
3. Deceased songwriter Ehud Manor.
4. Deceased Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
5. Columbia Space Shuttle victim Ilan Ramon.
6. deceased songwriter Naomi Shemer.
7. Slain right-wing politician Rehavam Zeevi.
8. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
9. Deceased President Ezer Weizman.
10. Singer Ninet Tayeb.
11. Vice Premier Shimon Peres.
12. Missing Air Force navigator Ron Arad.
13. Entebbe rescue operation hero Yoni Netanyahu (killed during mission).
14. Comedian Zeev Revah.
15. Legendary IDF fighter Meir Har Tzion.
16. Comedian Elli Yatzpan.
17. Singer Shlomo Artzi.
18. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
19. Writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon.
20. Deceased scientist and philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz.
