Devouring our leaders

Op-ed: When did Israel turn into country that shows such hunger to crucify its leaders?

Reuters | Published: 02.16.11, 17:04

What happened to us? When did Israel turn into a land that devours its own leaders? A state that is self-righteous, ruled by lawyers, replete with media hypocrisy, and shallow to the point of paralysis.

Our elected officials are crucified just for being there, regardless of religion, creed or party. People are slamming them just for the sake of slamming, in order to satisfy the masses. While there's a tendency to crucify people in this land, this time around it's much bloodier than usual. Much before the Galant affair, and apparently much after it, we shamelessly look into our leaders' private affairs and despise them.

Take Defense Minister Ehud Barak for example. Even though he was never my cup of tea, it's hard to ignore the way we turned him into the root of all evil. The man had been crucified for longs months now, yet nonetheless some people continue to slam and curse him.

There were days where the Left accused Barak of ruining the peace dream, when he told the world that Arafat was no partner. Today he is being accused of ruining the dream of a righteous chief of staff. What we are seeing is rare Jewish consensus, only meant to offer Barak as sacrifice.

Alternately, if you're sick and tired of headlines about Barak, move over to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The man was democratically elected to the post of guilty party. According to senior commentators, he is responsible for the absence of peace, Arab hostility, the rise of global oil prices, unstable weather, the Carmel blaze, and many more affairs.

Yet what about Ministers Yaalon, Steinitz, Sa'ar, Lieberman, Aharonovitch, Shalom, Yishai and the others? When did you last hear about one positive move they made or one wise decision they took?

It can't be that we live at such a terrible place. Look around you. Indeed, there is much to improve, yet criticism does not always have to include a crucifix and nails. A well-known Hebrew dictum asserts that "one needs to work to gain respect." Yet when it comes to the Jewish state's leadership, the opposite is also true: Without minimal respect, how do you want anyone to work around here?