For the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, not all citizens are equal. Globalist has dedicated dozens of articles to the topic, to the discrimination, in every field, suffered by the Arab minority (over 20% of the population), discrimination institutionalized in July 2018 with the Law on Israel, State of the Jewish Nation, voted by a majority by the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament),
The government in which (copyright Haaretz) “the ministers compete to see who is more fascist”, has put into practice another hierarchization among citizens, this time within the Jewish majority. We are not referring to the financial, military, legislative support given liberally to the settlers. Nor to the money taken away from public education in favor of the circuit of yeshivas (Talmudi schools) managed privately by religious parties. And the list of favors could go on and on.
But discriminatory shame reaches its zenith when people’s lives are at stake. We are referring to the Israeli hostages in captivity in Gaza.
The guilt of being kibbutzim
Carolina Landsmann makes it very clear in Haaretz what this ignoble discrimination consists of.
“Imagine for a moment that all the hostages are settlers. Imagine that the young hostages are modestly dressed students from an all-girls religious high school, the men with beards, the kippot in the head and it tzitzit that dangles from the vest.
Do you really think that the approach of the government and its supporters towards the hostages would be the same? Ok fine. Now imagine that Naftali Bennett was prime minister on October 7. Or, if you really want to indulge yourself, imagine what would have happened if Yair Lapid had been in the prime minister’s seat when thousands of Hamas terrorists violated the border, took over and set fire to the Gaza Division headquarters, and took hostages , seized and destroyed kibbutzim and other communities, reached as far as Ofakim, burned homes with people still inside, brutally killed 1,200 civilians, including elderly people, women and children, and kidnapped approximately 240 people in Gaza .
Just for a moment, imagine the depths of madness that Benjamin Netanyahu and his devotees would reach. She imagines the fury and violence they would vomit, their faces contorted with hatred. Imagine Yinon Magal and his show “The Patriots” demanding Lapid’s head on a silver platter night after night.
Why only Lapid? Let’s take them all, starting with Mansour Abbas, whose United Arab List party was part of the Bennett-Lapid government. How did Netanyahu put it at the time? “A government that depends on supporters of terror cannot fight terror. A government that depends on the Shura Council of the Muslim Brotherhood is incapable of defending our citizens and protecting our soldiers.” Ah, but you are.
There is no way that the government led by Bennett and Lapid lasted six months, let alone six days. Think of what they would have done if the north had been deserted and turned into a large security zone under constant attack from Hezbollah, with the Houthis firing missiles at Eilat.
I’ll tell you what would have happened: Bibi’s disciples, the settlers and the Kahanists would have put the country on fire – nothing of this unity and “Together we will win”. None of this “We are all brothers” stuff. We would have seen lynchings of Israeli Arabs and firing squads for “traitors”.
It is painful to observe the naivety and patriotic obedience of the hostages’ families, who agreed to remain silent and follow the government’s rules. They wasted precious time. It’s hard to believe that the government decided to abandon the hostages. Even when you say these words out loud, your heart refuses to let them sink in. The debate on the return of hostages is similar to that on peace. In neither case are people hostile to the idea. Everyone wants peace and everyone wants to bring back the hostages.
Have you ever found yourself arguing with someone who admitted they didn’t want peace? (“I prefer war to peace, that’s how I am”) or with someone who said they never wanted to see the hostages return home (“Actually, I’m in favor of them staying in Gaza”).
The opponents of peace are always the people who want peace, but… The opponents of the hostage agreement are all in favor of the return of the hostages, but…
But not at any price, not if it means freeing murderers with blood on their hands, not at the cost of ending the war. Nobody says they are against the return of the hostages. Everyone wants to get them back; there are no doubts. They’re just not willing to pay the price.
I tell both of these groups that to really want something means to be willing to pay the price you don’t want to pay. A vague and abstract desire makes no sense.
At this point, the desire to bring the hostages back requires an end to the war. The government wants to continue the war, which means they don’t want to bring the hostages home. And you?”.
Selective memory
In this regard, Uri Misgav notes in the progressive newspaper of Tel Aviv: “Half a year has passed since the invasion of Israel by Hamas, the massacre of the population and children, the rape of women, the kidnapping of citizens and soldiers , from the destruction of the south and the abandonment of the north. First of all, I would like to ask if anyone knows what this “only military pressure will bring the hostages home” is? How is it going with the “destruction of Hamas” and the “absolute victory”? How is Yahya Sinwar, who “prowls the tunnels like a mouse, disconnected from the world”?
I ask because after a torch was thrown onto the sidewalk and a road block and a half were breached for a moment in Jerusalem, we had a new wave of populism, bigotry and cowardice against protesting patriotic Israelis. I’m not referring to lackeys like Amichai Chikli, Jewish jihadists like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, or Prime Minister Yair Netanyahu’s son from the Miami front lines (who wrote “violent torchlight vigils were the trademark of the Nazis.” and shared that “anarchist rioters, most of whom are useful idiots, have been left to do the dirty work”).
Netanyahu loyalists say protesters put his life in danger as Shin Bet and Gantz warn of violence
Benny Gantz announced: “We are brothers, one nation, in one of its difficult moments – we must not go back to October 6th.” We are not in a “difficult time”. We are already half a year into a nightmare that Gantz is complicit in perpetuating. The only one who insisted on taking us back to October 6 is Gantz, when the day after the massacre he galloped with wet eyes into Netanyahu’s arms.
Gideon Sa’ar said: “This is crossing the line. Furthermore, it is not good for any cause and does not advance anything.” Sa’ar has always been pampered by the media. He was portrayed as omniscient, a political genius, a brilliant analyst. We’re a little tired of his cold remarks about what’s good for the cause. When it comes to pushing boundaries, you’d better show some humility. Since October 7, he has crossed the line once by joining Netanyahu, twice when he said he would not rule out joining his government, three times when he dismantled the National Unity Party and a fourth time when he left the government after Ben -Gvir torpedoed his chance of getting a cabinet seat.
Chili Tropper warned: “Violent protests could tear Israel apart.” He and those like him have explained for years that the protests make Netanyahu stronger, discourage the silent majority, prevent the right from uniting and are therefore strategically wrong. Meanwhile, he led the movement to join Netanyahu twice, saving his career. I appreciate it very much, but Israel has been in crisis for a long time. And there is no chance of mending the situation as long as he and his colleagues loyally serve Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.
On Tuesday evening, Shin Bet security service chief Ronen Bar left a meeting about the hostages and rushed to the protest site. The media was told that he came “to keep an eye on events and security arrangements”. This is an imprecise statement, to put it delicately. Just like the night of protests over Gallant’s sacking last year, Bar was hysterically summoned straight from the cuckoo’s nest. His speech consisted of a statement to the media about “a worrying trend that could lead to dangerous realms we must not reach.”
Strange. I don’t remember a public statement from him since October 7th. Not about the Shin Bet’s role in the intelligence fiasco. Nor on the jihadist right’s incitement against protesters, Arabs and journalists. Not even about the crazy police violence, which that night consisted of gangs of uniformed thugs attacking protesters with fatal shootings and a gang attack on young women.
I conclude that these “dangerous reigns” are the overthrow of Netanyahu’s ailing government and the salvation of Israel from his claws. And this, like the hostage agreement and the halt to the disastrous war in Gaza, can only be achieved through the protests of the masses and the families of the murdered and kidnapped. We have already seen what silent generals and servile collaborators have to offer. You had a generous six month grace period, you brought no real benefit and you caused considerable harm. Sit quietly. Now it’s our turn.”
