Something is rotten in the State of Israel
Op-ed: President Rivlin's comments about a sick and racist society were well-meaning, but only served to further fan the flames and draw more international criticism; meanwhile, no one in the world press bats an eye at a series of arsons at refugee centers in Sweden.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett had an uneasy interview with Tim Sebastian. The tough British interviewer, the politicians' boogeyman, came very well prepared. Sebastian didn’t need false claims and lie-strewn propaganda to give Bennett a hard time. He used only what was said by high-ranking members of the Israeli government. Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan has said in the past that “a Jewish soul is at a higher rank.” Did you denounce him, asked Sebastian. Bennett said that he denounces all incitement. That was evading the question. What’s the problem with denouncing a racist statement?
The highlight was quotes from President Reuven Rivlin. Sebastian hit Bennett with them, again and again. He said that Israel is sick with racism, he said that he was shocked by the bullying, he said that Israel is plagued with serious discrimination against the Arabs. It’s true that in most European countries, the state of Muslims, even those who are second-generation, is worse than that of Arabs in Israel. And it’s true that the treatment they get is sometimes more hostile than the treatment Arabs in Israel get. But not a president or a king in Europe has said that they stand at the head of a sick society. Statements are more important than facts.
Sebastian didn’t use empty slogans. He fired accurate shots. When he interviewed a Hamas supporter, Dr. Azzam Al-Tamimi, he discombobulated him with past quotes of the interviewee himself. So Sebastian did his work well. The problem is with those politicians who spew racist statements, and with the president, who was well-meaning, but whose remarks further fanned the flames. We can only hope that Rivlin, at least Rivlin, can find a way to fix the impression gleaned from his words. It’s not too late yet.
The case of Sweden
Over the past few months, more a dozen refugee absorption centers have been set on fire. The situation escalated over the past week. Three centers in two days. The wave of arsons forced the immigration authorities to hide the locations of these centers.
Sorry, my bad, that didn’t happen in Israel - it happened in Sweden. You can assume that if it had happened here, the nation would have been in turmoil, and rightly so. Important media bodies would have sent special crews to report the deterioration of the sickly Israeli society. But Sweden? Clearly that’s a civilized, democratic, egalitarian country.
Carl XVI Gustaf, the king of Sweden, did not deliver a speech about a sick and racist society. Most of the world’s newspapers didn’t use the series of arson attacks to paint Sweden as racist. They all realize that, like any normal country, it too has a small percentage of racists, hooligans, and neo-Nazis. It’s not the country. It’s not the society. It’s a small minority. But why, damn it, what is clear regarding Sweden is not clear when it comes to similar incidents, and in much smaller numbers, in Israel?
Fight the hooligans
We need to salute Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon. His decisive statement last week against the takeover of privately-owned Palestinian land in Givat Ze’ev, against the hooligans who are trying to rebel against the Supreme Court and the government, is like a cool glass of water on a hot day. It’s not pleasant to see a synagogue demolished. Not at all. But the construction of a synagogue is also subject to the law. And a Supreme Court decision that a synagogue that was built on stolen land should be demolished isn’t anti-Semitic or anti-Zionist.
The hooligans are itching for a fight. Too many times they’ve succeeded in dragging Israel into terrible places. They build outside the major settlement blocs. They are creating one big state. They are sabotaging the chances of having a Jewish state here. They are dragging us towards a binational state. The execution of one verdict won’t bring about a change. But it will bring hope to those who want to hope that Israel hasn’t lost its sovereignty to a group of a few hundreds or thousands that don’t care what the state, the IDF, the government, or the Supreme have to say.
Ran Baratz has been wronged
I was wrong. I wrote about Ran Baratz twice. He’s a much more serious man than it appears when looking at his Facebook posts. He’s been wronged. I further claimed that he shouldn’t have to resign. The US also had politicians who spewed nonsense before their nomination. For instance, Samantha Power, the United States’ Ambassador to the UN. People forgot how she said that the US might have to invade Israel in order to prevent a genocide.
But the snowball kept on rolling. The angry statement by American Vice President Joe Biden shows us that a new situation has been created. Circumstances have changed. So has my position. I spoke to Baratz about it. I told him I was wrong. Baratz would have done a solid for Israel, the prime minister, and himself, if he were to announce that he decided to pass up on the job, before Netanyahu does it for him. As I write this, his position is different. Too bad.
