Netanyahuspeaks in a weak voice and prefers to let Shaked deliver the democracy lesson
Photo: Noam Moskowitz, AFP
Tami Arad
Photo: Vardi Kahana
A lesson in anti-democracy
Op-ed: Justice minister Ayelet Shaked aims to label 'Israel haters' by making representatives of leftist NGOs wear badges during Knesset discussions. So what color will she choose for the leftist patch?
At the memorial rally for slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin the organizers hid the Left on the bench, or should I say under the bench. It's possible that they had heard about Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked's plan to label leftists, and sought to defend them before they are placed in a ghetto.
The goal of wearing badges is to declare that foreign countries are involved in the NGOs' activities. That will make it possible to mark Israel haters, the minister believes.
The idea sounds like black humor, but it's not far from reality. While Shaked has no intention of forcing all leftists to wear badges (perhaps at a later stage), according to the bill she is promoting, representatives of NGOs affiliated with the Left will be forced to wear badges when participating in Knesset discussions.
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It will be interesting to see what color she chooses for the leftist patch. And when the Halacha laws take effect, one will also be allowed to stone leftists or find another punishment recommended in the Bible against traitors.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked. When the Halacha laws take effect, one will also be allowed to stone leftists or find another Bible-recommended punishment against traitors (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)
On the other side, representatives of right-wing NGOs that receive funds will not be required to wear badges. They receive most of their money from private funding - donations from rich Jews - or are sponsored by the state, directly from the Israeli taxpayer's pocket, without any need for public transparency. That's what is done for those the government wants to honor.
Shaked's bill is troubling, but it actually points to a fixed pattern. Since the Bayit Yehudi party and the radical Right in the Likud took control of the government from the Likud, constitutional fascism has been thriving. Laws bypassing the High Court of Justice are being enacted, bulldozers are threatening to storm the Supreme Court, and implicit and explicit threats are being made against judges. There is no one to condemn and no one to fight the war to preserve democracy.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who promised to serve as the Supreme Court's gatekeeper, is silent. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in a weak voice when he is pushed into a corner. The no. 1 rhetorician prefers to speak in luxurious auditoriums abroad, in English and on the material he masters: anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Iranian nukes. He prefers to let Shaked deliver the democracy lesson.
The organizers of the Rabin memorial rally tried to escape the "leftist" label and put on a national state rally. But the nationality prevailing in the country is not the one they were aiming for. President Reuven Rivlin, who spoke as always with all his heart, is one and only - and therefore received violent reactions from the dominating street.
The nationality prevailing in the country these days nurtures hatred, violence and fear. The prime minister and his senior ministers are failing to condemn the brutalization on Facebook and are cooperating with lawmakers sent by the radical Right, who are harming the foundations of democracy without any pangs of conscience.
Yigal Amir was a lone murderer, but his ideological way has unfortunately struck roots. The skullcap Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid was photographed with and Zionist Union Chairman Isaac Herzog's aggressive speeches are not working. Netanyahu is winning - or should I say, terror is winning.
"You have to decide," former US president Bill Clinton said. But the truth is that it's not up to us, because we depend on a democratic procedure which serves, among others, those seeking to kill democracy.
