A little note to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Enough is enough. The multitude of interviews he has given to foreign media outlets, mainly in the US, conveys a message at home as well.
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And this message is getting frustrating. Why is the prime minister willing to give interviews to reporters abroad, including those critical of his policies, but Israeli viewers only get a pre-written sterile statement from a podium?
Video: Israelis protest against the judicial reform for the 30th consecutive week. Credit: Yoni Rikner
Why is it that Jennifer and Jimmy from Arkansas get to watch the Israeli prime minister answer challenging questions on the crisis in Israel, but Yael and Amir from Gedera have to settle for a 40-second video from the hospital?
The problem is not so much in Netanyahu's many interviews with foreign news outlets, but the conspicuous and defiant absence of meaningful interviews here, in Israel, in Hebrew.
It sends a message that the Israeli public's opinion does not matter; that Israelis, including right-wing voters, do not deserve such reports, not even when it comes to questions about the unprecedented, perhaps even existential crisis brought about by the judicial reform.
And the same goes for Justice Minister Yariv Levin: One simply cannot spearhead a change as major as the judicial reform without consistently and continuously communicating to the public through the means at one's disposal.
Going around the public like that could lead to something much more fearful than the possibility of a "lack of respect" or "trolling" on behalf of the journalists toward Netanyahu.
While a justified concern, it cannot be an excuse for Netanyahu's continuous absence from Israeli media. Could the experience be difficult for him? Yes. But he is the prime minister and he should be able to deal with it.
The more serious message conveyed by this unofficial boycott of Israeli media – compared to the extreme generosity toward American ones – is the indifference to the great drama that washes over the public, marked by a reluctance by those in charge to provide answers, explain their moves, and calm the winds.
It is a most divisive practice that leaves many supporters of the government and reform helpless at a time of unprecedented public discord and polarization.
Netanyahu, speak to your people.
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