Hanoch Daum
Photo: Rafi Deloya
Beware the media
In near future, Israeli media will issue baseless warnings about Bibi, Lieberman
In the near future, most medial outlets will tell you that Avigdor Lieberman as foreign minister will cause Israel grave damage. As if our situation in the world in recent years was satisfactory.
The media will also explain to us that a rightist government will lead all of us into a diplomatic dead-end. As if we experienced peace deals being signed around here at a dizzying pace in the past three years.
Israeli media outlets are also expected to take pleasure in covering the probes against Lieberman. The man was never convicted of anything; he was questioned only once (on his own initiative.) Yet despite this, for 15 years now he has had to deal with police leaks about how dangerous he is to the rule of law.
One of these days, it would be worthwhile to check how many resources and how much time and money were invested by the police to this day, using the taxpayers’ money, in order to monitor, follow, and investigate Lieberman. I think we could have done away with the State deficit with all this money.
The follow question is the one we should all be asking ourselves: Why is it that when a new immigrant reaches so high up, we get scared? Why do the media constantly look into the “Lieberman phenomenon”? Who decided that Lieberman is a “phenomenon” that needs to be looked into? Why isn’t his rise merely an authentic expression of the people’s will?
Targeting Netanyahu
Something else will be happening in the near future: Israeli media outlets will undertake great efforts to tell you how badly Netanyahu is hurting the weaker strata of society. It will happen as Netanyahu will lead an unprecedented cut in the State budget.
The media will interview various Israelis whose government allowances were cut, while ignoring the fact that the Israeli economy must undergo a painful process of dramatic rescue, or else all of us will collapse.
This happened in the past, in the case of single mother and social activist Vicky Knafo. The overwhelming majority of media outlets enthusiastically joined the Knafo protest and accompanied her cries, without listening to the other said.
Today, everyone knows that single mothers also gained from the moves led by Netanyahu, yet at the time they made his life hell - even though he salvaged Israel’s economy.
