Amnon Levy
צילום: אלדד רפאלי
Is Eli Yishai right?
Is Shas leader right when he charges that attacks on party are motivated by racism?
The radio announcer opened his popular show by disgustedly slamming Shas for using that old weapon officially known as “racism” and affectionately known as the “ethnic demon.” Imagine that, in this enlightened day and age, which is free of any discrimination, Shas leader Eli Yishai is attempting to argue that the attitude to his party is racist. He says that when Shas demands a billion shekels for child allowances, it is being treated as if it’s a despicable extortionist, while it’s ok for the Labor party to demand a billion and a half shekels for other causes.
The radio announcer and his guests, leading public relations experts, dismissed the claims of racism. Come on, the ethnic demon is rearing its ugly head again? What’s this nonsense, accusing someone of racism in this day and age? These Shas people are shameless; nothing will stop them.
On the one hand, we’re talking about top PR experts here, people who must know what they’re talking about. Even if it’s clear that they are motivated by money, we should carefully consider their words, even more so than the words of regular people – after all, these people say things that are worth money.
Yet on the other hand, I was thinking about what Eli Yishai says, and realized that shamefully, he might be right. We can agree to what Shas demands, or we can object to it, but why does it become “ugly and despicable extortion,” while Ehud Barak’s demand to serve as senior deputy PM is all about pure ideology?
Reminder of something we wish to forget
Why is it that when Shas wants allowances to families with many children this is seen as such a condemnable act, a truly disgusting move, yet when the Labor party demands a billion shekels for God knows what, it becomes a justified social struggle? Why is the demand for child allowances a case of extortion when 800,000 children live below the poverty line, and when Israel is ranked second last in the Western world when it comes to child allowances? Perhaps what disgusts the radio announcer and the top PR people is Shas’ exaggerated preoccupation with children? And why the hell do those Shas people have such large families anyway?The more I thought about it, the less certain I became that Yishai was wrong to charge that the attacks on Shas have a racist element to them. Perhaps the stunned radio announcer was wrong; perhaps the ethnic demon still lives amongst us.
I was also thinking about Aryeh Deri, who was prevented from running for Jerusalem mayor six years after being sentenced, because he is still tainted by moral turpitude, and everyone agreed with that; yet Prime Minister Ehud Olmert can go ahead and serve as PM for long months to come, and everyone accepts that.
So perhaps it’s a good thing that the ethnic genie rears its ugly head and emerges out of the bottle where they try to trap it, raining on everyone’s parade, and reminding them about something in their hearts which they so much love to forget about.
