The truth can now be told: The threats against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which led to the arrest of a left-wing reservist officer, were posted in a forum for reservist officers operated by the Almagor Terror Victims Association, of which I am the director.
The forum is intended to be used in emergencies, such as looking for missing persons. The officer who was arrested was one of my good friends from the army, who both demonstrated across from me at the left-wing protest tent outside the Prime Minister's Office and danced at my wedding.
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We remained friends despite our differences of opinion. That's what Israelis are like – opponents and friends from all along the political spectrum gather together in an emergency, and argue and duke it out when things are normal.
Now? Do we not understand that we are in an emergency situation? My comrade's remarks, even if they were made in anger, reflect the short fuse attached to our lives right now, as people attack each other as if there weren't thousands of people who have contracted the virus and hundreds who have died from it. Jerusalem fell because of baseless hatred – this was written about the Second Temple, but is more relevant now than ever.
One of the results of this fight is the wave of ridiculous conspiracy theories about how there isn't any pandemic, that it's all a trick by the authorities. These are theories whose roots lie in hostility and mistrust. The best doctors and experts are united around the need for social distancing and wearing masks, both simple but life-saving measures. How can it be that while we are fighting for our lives, conspiracies like these are floated and regulations are knowingly flouted?
Who is responsible for the problematic decision to exempt protests from the restrictions on public gatherings, which will cost lives? Is it the legal system, which sees freedom of expression as more important than human life? Why do the police have to allow demonstrations that violate all the public health regulations, and allow roads to be blocked by protesters who cling to each other and put themselves and the police officers in danger?
All this has to stop during the coronavirus epidemic. Right now, we are marking 15 years since the settlers from Gush Katif and four settlements in northern Samaria were expelled from their homes.
No decision could have been more wrong than that one, which was made in a corrupt and deceitful way. Nevertheless, the people being expelled followed the law. Rabbi and IAF pilot Brig. Gen. Rafi Peretz even danced a sad dance with security forces and with the army officers. I admit, I didn't have the strength to dance when I was evacuated from the Sephardi synagogue in Neve Dekalim with my late friend Hanan Porat and others.
It would be appropriate if the protesters against the government and its leader would learn about governability and national discipline from the way people behaved in Gush Katif after their homes were destroyed and they were uprooted. They paid a heavier price than those who don't want to see Netanyahu remain in power.
The prime minister was legally elected, despite the indictments against him. His trial is being held in a courtroom, and it must continue to be held there, rather than in the street, and certainly not by protesters blocking roads and plazas at a time of emergency or in a protest tent that is a breeding ground for coronavirus.
Sadly, there is no enforcement. When there is no enforcement – people must take it upon themselves to uphold discipline. Let Prime Minister Netanyahu manage the battle against the virus, while also leading the fight against the threat from Iran and its satellites.
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