We can criticize the protesters who are demonstrating in front of the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem amid the coronavirus lockdown, but we cannot say that they are not the cause of the crisis.
But had an alien landed in the middle of the Holy Land, he would have almost certainly thought the global pandemic was the fault of the many "anarchists" and "left-wingers" wishing to exercise their right to protest.
The alien would have shaken its head, thinking to itself that if only the government had been successful in its efforts to ban the demonstrations in Jerusalem, Israel’s morbidity status would have been a calming green instead of the current frenzied crimson.
This is the crazy political reality prevalent in Israel today. We are in the midst of the worst crisis Israel has ever seen - be it political, social or economic - yet the all the focus seems to be on a group of protesters demonstrating on Balfour Street in Jerusalem.
This is nothing less than a distortion of reality.
4 View gallery
An anti-Netanyahu protest outside his official residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem
(Photo: Haim Golditch)
When Public Security Minister Amir Ohana resorts to tackling the demonstrations by requesting a legal opinion from outside the government (an act of provocation in itself) and when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's loyal aide Topaz Luk dons a baseball cap and violates quarantine in order to catch those rebellious protesters - it is more than clear that the prime minister is more concerned with defeating the protesters than the contagion.
It is if this crisis were unleashed on Israel and the entire world because of the anti-Netanyahu protesters.
A few weeks ago, Netanyahu sneered at the protests, saying they would cost him votes that amounted to no more than a quarter of a Knesset seat in the next elections. So why is he so busy trying to rid himself of these protesters now?
The responsibility for this turn in approach also rests on the shoulders of the protesters themselves as well, for good reason: The Rosh Hashanah holiday dinner in front of the prime minister's residence and the foolish protest on Tel Aviv beach (where I met few real anarchists) only serve to only fan the flames and drive the discourse on the protests out of all proportion.
On Friday night, after the nationwide general closure came into effect, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amiram Levin, himself a proud left-winger, suggested the protesters take a break.
“Now is the time to stop the protests,” he said, “to replenish our energy and plan the protests that will come after the High Holidays and after the closure.”
Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah did the same, urging the protesters to halt all demonstrations until the closure was lifted.
But despite the calls and despite the criticism, the protesters decided to continue demonstrating, exercising their right if not their judgment.
4 View gallery
Protesters sharing a Rosh Hashanah meal in the middle of the street in Jerusalem
(Photo: Gil Barda)
But you can’t make the pandemic all about the protests. Although apparently you can, if you wish to take advantage of the situation for your own political gain.
Israel has found itself facing a genuine crisis of leadership during the pandemic. The decisions made by the government and its coronavirus cabinet simply beggar belief.
And so, if you are a prime minister who lacks a sense of duty, willingness to be held accountable and a clear road map out the pandemic, you naturally look for someone else to blame.
Sometimes it's the protesters in Jerusalem, sometimes it's the head of the Knesset coronavirus committee, a member of your own party, and sometimes it's even the attorney general you appointed.
So you can blame the protesters, but we all know they are not the problem.