Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian teen, has put the hysterical propaganda against Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People into the proper context. It's suddenly clear who this law bothers so much. "It is a law of racism and apartheid," said Tamimi, the propaganda icon of the Palestinian revolution and the Israeli Left. The Israeli public, by and large, doesn't care much for her opinions. It is displaying impressive mental fortitude against the psychological warfare surrounding the nation-state law in particular and the propaganda barrage in general. Tamimi is like Pavlik Morozov, the poster child of Stalinist Russia.
That Tamimi has jumped aboard the bizarre coalition against the nation-state law – from Saeb Erekat to Tzipi Livni – is unquestionably a shot in the arm for the Right. Over the past week, we've seen a rather large contingent on the Right is suffering from buyer's remorse over the law. They want to exchange the item they purchased. Chief among them, of course, is Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and his COO on legislative matters in the Kulanu party, MK Roy Folkman.
Tamimi used the word "apartheid," and she is moderate compared to those describing the law as "Nazi," such as A.B. Yehoshua, who asked: "Why is the word 'Jew' constantly mentioned?" and mainly those who claim it discriminates against the Druze. (And what about the Abkhazians and Circassians?) Truly disconcerting are the comments from the incoming Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni and a group of retired army officers. Livni dragged herself to a Bedouin village to incite and inflame. MK Avi Dichter, a person who has fought shoulder to shoulder with Druze comrades, tweeted over the weekend: "What is Mrs. Tzipi Livni looking for in Bir al-Maksur right now? In the name of cheap politics and cynicism, she is trying to incite conflict between the Bedouins and the state." Dichter, of course, was met with harsh retaliation from the revolutionaries who "at this very moment" are trying to disrupt democracy in Israel and to intimidate the government and its elected representatives.
Even more concerning than Livni is the conduct of dozens of retired senior officers, led by three former chiefs of staff: Moshe Ya'alon, Benny Gantz and Shaul Mofaz. It is frightening that a letter penned by senior officers is lending a hand to the dangerous politics of extortion and separatism. Some in the Druze community, in the wake of the false propaganda, together with the senior officers, are pointing a gun at the head of the Israeli government. Others see the attempts to drive a wedge between the Druze and the state for what they are.
As a reminder, the legislation process was halted when President Reuven Rivlin and Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit vehemently opposed the clause pertaining to Jewish-only communities. The clause was changed and became something entirely different. The president and attorney general didn't foresee any special problem for the Druze or other minorities, and it's hard to say they weren't sensitive to the legislative flaws. It is rather dishonest, therefore, when Druze MK Akram Hasson, from the coalition Kulanu party, remembers a week after the fact that the law discriminates against Druze. It's just ridiculous.
The senior officers standing for the Druze cannot see that signing their letter as a group and noting their ranks means they are partaking in a clearly political fight, essentially in uniform. Due to the dismal hysteria over the issue, the former chiefs of staff and generals are unaware of the damage they are inflicting on our democracy. Under the current atmosphere, the army is essentially replacing the will of the voter.
What the officers could have done, before anything else, is reassure the Druze that the nation-state law won't harm them in any way. Here, of course, is where the "intellectuals" sprang into action – the authors and poets who apparently have a hard time with reading comprehension. Writing is all they do. Even if the retired generals oppose the legislation – and that's their right – they are playing with fire by encouraging the Druze community to rebel against the state.
For many years now, Israel has been undergoing a revolution. This revolution isn't Bolshevik in nature and the military isn't attempting a coup; it is slow, over a long period of time, more in the vein of trench warfare. All signs indicate that many of the state's organs no longer heed the elected government. They only follow the commands of the alternative hegemony, headed by the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court is just as interested in having the power to govern as in upholding the rule of law. We must wait and see whether the Druze leadership can take a step back from the ledge. Perhaps Tamimi will help them understand who their new friends are.
