Some three decades ago, the theme of incitement was inescapable. The mainstream media was reporting, at times daily, on the statements and actions of those opposing the Oslo Accords. Placards and chants with vicious content were highlighted. The charge “traitor!” was condemned and castigated by all.
As it turned out, no small percentage of all that incitement was the product of an inadequately supervised government employee, a contract agent provocateur of the General Security Services. In fact, it was part of his job. That agent, codenamed “Champagne,” was allowed to act as he did and was even released from various arrests with the connivance of a future president of Israel’s Supreme Court when she was serving as the attorney-general.
Beginning in March 2020, Shikma Bressler initiated the Black Flags agitprop group as a follow-up to Uri Misgav’s Facebook call of March 15. Eventually, spin-offs were spawned, among them “Crime Minister,” “No Way,” “Israel Arise,” and “UnXeptable.” They eventually focused on protesting the judicial reform agenda but their true essence became apparent when Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz formed a coalition government.
The group’s common denominator is an extreme, if not pathological, detestation of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who they see as a dictator. They loathe him. He is repugnant to them. It is his perceived personality that they hate.
Following the December 2022 election and his assumption of the role, once again, of prime minister, the anger and frustration resurged, this time in greater intensity and with discrediting attacks of a personal nature; some, undoubtedly, were primed by the tweets of his son, Yair, and the perceived persona of his wife, Sara, whom they despise.
Judicial reform is no more. Benny Gantz re-joined the government following October 7 and served until recently. The slogan “Together in Unity” was adopted by all, and the atmosphere had seemed to clear. Nevertheless, the protest movement, which had been in abeyance, was only dormant and came back to life with a vengeance.
The first stage involved the transformation of the Brothers in Arms group, which had previously pushed for a refusal to serve, into a social aid society that provided supplies for soldiers and, most importantly, the displaced population from the Gaza Envelope area. President Isaac Herzog even singled them out for recognition. The second stage was the perceived dissolution of the “Kaplan Force” rallies and marches that had clogged the highways and junctions.
Yet, the ongoing war , particularly the continuation of a situation in which Hamas refuses to release the hostages, alive and deceased, or even provide details of their health status, provided the link between the so-called “Kaplanites” and many of the families of hostages.
Protesting is an essential act of democracy. Citizen involvement is not a one-day affair when elections are conducted but continues in order to ensure proper government functioning. Democracy, however, comes with responsibility. To block roads constantly is harming public welfare. There needs to be a balance.
In addition, to ratchet up the level of bellicosity must not be unrestricted. Adopting an ongoing policy of inflammatory speech only serves to endanger property and people. Insensitive and threatening speech could not only cause anger but may also provoke violence. Emotive speech can produce uncontrollable motions and actions, such as, for example, the tossing of a burning torch at a mounted policeman on April 2 and the decommissioned grenade last week at Netanyahu’s Caesarea home. After all, that is what the Left accused the Right of doing back in 1994-1995.
In February 2023, Uri Yaakov, a former media assistant to Ehud Olmert, was filmed painting “Bibi’s a Traitor” on a Tel Aviv boulevard. At the end of December 2023, Guy Tzur, a former IDF chief of the Ground Forces Command, called Netanyahu a “traitor” from a rally platform and repeated the call months later, adding, “He is an enemy of the people.”
Last November, rapper Rami Matan, outside Netanyahu’s Gaza Street residence in Jerusalem, used the term “traitor.” At very recent assemblies demanding that the government accept the Hamas demands so as to release, hopefully, the hostages, abductee relative Ayala Metzger shouted out to Netanyahu and his wife, “We are waiting for you with a hangman’s noose. That’s what you deserve.” Another relative, Noam Dan, yelled that Netanyahu leaves “a legacy of a mass murderer. He is a war criminal.”
FINALLY, YOTAM Guttman’s tweet caused even President Herzog to respond.
On June 30, after a television interview, Iris, mother of Yotam Chaim, a hostage mistakenly shot and killed by an IDF sniper, was attacked by Guttman, who, back in July 2023, had encouraged the halting of volunteering in the reserves. Iris has been speaking on behalf of unity. Guttman penned, “She’s unbearable. An abominable Bibist who glows ever since her son was shot. I am happy that it has been made easy for her.”
Oddly, on May 9, he tweeted: “Anyone arriving at Kaplan and cursing the families of hostages [meaning pro-Netanyahu counter-demonstrators] is no brother of mine, and I do not wish any unity with them.”
This past January 24, Jerusalem Post analyst Herb Keinon asked, “Will political rivals cease being ‘traitors’?” President Herzog had called in November 2021 – and April that year – to ban the use of the word “traitor.” Someone is not listening. And that applies to all sides of the public square.
Released hostage shares thoughts on PM
Released hostage Tami Metzger, whose abducted husband, Yoram, was declared dead in early June, called the Netanyahu government “heartless.” She was then invited to appear on Channel 12’s Ofira & Levinson show, where she announced, “I am not embarrassed to say that the first thought I had after coming out of Gaza was that, if I could, I’d shoot [Netanyahu] in the forehead.”
Opposing a political rival does not require incendiary language. To campaign for a cause, one need not foul-mouth the adversary. Uncivilized and poisoned language will corrupt one’s politics. It can harm and injure. It needs to stop.
The writer is a researcher, analyst, and opinion commentator on political, cultural, and media issues.