Yigal Amir
צילום: ירון ברנר
Leave Yigal Amir’s son alone
Murderous tendencies not hereditary; Amir’s son shouldn’t be punished for father’s deeds
A child comes into the world. Normally we glorify this as a miracle. New life has been created; new hopes are born. Humanity itself is being renewed. However, Yigal Amir’s and Larissa Trimbobler’s son is not like all other children. Or rather, his parents are not like all other parents.
This past week, this child’s birth was debated throughout Israel’s public discourse arena. Correspondents, commentators, interviewees and various observers have presented a range of views: One expressed pity, another predicted a dark future for the child in the Amir-Trimbobler house, while a third one already envisioned the child becoming an officer in the army and equating the child’s very existence to the victory of the sons of darkness over the sons of light. Yet I haven’t seen anyone who says that this child should simply be loved.
I do not mean that Yigal Amir’s son should be loved as if it is our own son – there is no special reason to do so. I also do not believe that we should be interfering in his life, or showering him with good things and affinity because of his parents. However, the child has been born. And if there’s need for a public decree about what to do with a child that was born, it should be as follows: We shall smile, stroke, hope – and leave the door open for him; give him a place to be.
Certain recipe for isolation, danger
The zealots that support or will support the murder committed by the father would be unable to love his son. In their view, Amir was a tool used by God, a hero in a war of salvation. His son could be, at most, the inheritor of a trace of holiness, earthly glory, and first-hand stories. It is possible that some will look up to him, at least for some time. Love? Acceptance? Not there. Not for him. I would look for those things among those who view themselves as humanists; the descendents of enlightenment. Those who seek peace for the sake of life among the two peoples; those who understand the need and strength to overcome the public or private mood, which makes urgent demands.
Yigal Amir is a person, not the devil. Murderous tendencies are not hereditary. Criminal law does not find sons guilty of the sins of their fathers. Education that is too strict often results in outcomes that contradict the original intentions. However, growing up among millions who are interfering with your life – showing mercy, debating, hating, fearing – this is a certain recipe for isolation, segregation, and danger.
Yigal Amir’s son was scheduled to be circumcised on November 4th. If this date has meaning for us too, I suggest that we leave this child alone, with love. Israeli society can stop fearing Yigal Amir. The path to building democracy does not pass through his son’s cradle. We have many missions that are much more urgent than the artificial, indulgent, and therefore wicked attention directed at the innocent baby. He will be part of the hope; leave the rituals to the Amir worshippers.
Noam Hoffstater is a doctoral candidate at the Hebrew University’s Political Science Department
