In recent weeks, we have witnessed an unusual phenomenon in the media: Reports Israeli government officials are being hosted by dignitaries in Arab countries have not had the impact one might expect. On the radio and on TV, as well as in some print media outlets, scant attention has been paid to what seems like a fantasy beginning to take shape. How can that be? How can it be that the dream of a new Middle East – which marks a surprising change in the tectonic view in favor of Israel – has received less coverage than the tweets of a 27-year old guy on social media, just because that guy happens to be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son?
How can the media be so much more interested in the prime minister's new plane than the new destinations that plane is set to reach? How can a historical process, the likes of which the "peace camp" has fantasized about for years, not be afforded any praise, or at the very least, polite recognition?
The lack of joy exposes a very deep truth about the "peace camp": The normalization of ties between Israel and moderate Sunni Arab states is important, but not as important as the tribe. This is not a political or rational truth but rather an emotional truth – peace is only a consequence of what really matters, which is the Left, or in order words the tribe.
It's understandable. In many ways, the warm ties being forged between Arab states and the Likud government are not a dream come but true rather a nightmare that has pulled the rug out from under the Left. It seems all the basic assumptions of the Zionist and post-Zionist Left have been tossed out the window when in Abu Dhabi they appear to be on the verge of celebrating the annual Likud party summit right before the astonished eyes of the enraged prophets of diplomatic isolation.
They promised us dystopia. They called Netanyahu's stance arrogant, dangerous and patronizing and warned we were standing on the edge of the abyss. They made it clear there was an inherent connection between the forging of diplomatic ties with Arab states and the possibility of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The equation was clear – normalization in return for territory; there was no other way.
It turns out that another path does exist, and while it does not include painful concessions on Israel's part, it does include the woman they love to hate, Culture Minister Miri Regev. Yes, Regev, who wearing a hijab, charmed her hosts on a tour of the UAE's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. In their minds, they envisioned white men from the right tribe signing off on this or that painful concession and shaking hands; Regev was the last person they could have imagined in this context.
The media's conduct has been almost heartbreaking – they are so out of ideas that they have resorted to slamming Yair Netanyahu's tweets as a counterweight to the amazing and unprecedented diplomatic process now taking place between Sunni Arabia and the State of Israel under Netanyahu's patronage.
Among the plethora of Pavlovian responses, of particular note was one that came from Hadashot News reporter Ilan Lokach. Lokach called Kiryat Shmona resident Orna Peretz a "typical Likud supporter" following the much-publicized incident in Kiryat Shmona, where Netanyahu lost his cool and shut her down after she interrupted his speech. Lokach said Peretz would certainly continue to vote for Likud despite the fact that she had been humiliated by Netanyahu, who had called her "boring." According to Lokach, people like Peretz are part of the "irrational herd" which consistently prioritizes the sanctity of the tribe over any other consideration. While I do not know if that is true of Peretz, given the recent developments in the Middle East, there can be no doubt it is true of Lokach and all the other members of the leftist tribe.
