Israeli racism and violence are symptoms of a ‘sick’ society

For whatever reason, some mistakenly perceive the Israeli newspaper Haaretz as liberal, progressive and even “pro-Palestinian.” Of course, none of this is true. This misconstrual tells of a much bigger story of how confusing Israeli politics is — and how equally confused many of us are in understanding the Israeli political discourse.

On Nov. 28, Israeli President Isaac Herzog stormed the Ibrahimi Mosque in the Palestinian city of Al-Khalil (Hebron) with hundreds of soldiers and illegal settlers, including a who’s who of Israeli extremists. The scene was reminiscent of a similar occurrence when then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon stormed Al-Haram Al-Sharif in East Jerusalem in September 2000. It was this event that unleashed the second Palestinian uprising, which led to thousands of deaths. Herzog’s gesture of solidarity with the Kiryat Arba settlers was identical to Sharon’s earlier gesture, which was also made to win the approval of Israel’s burgeoning and influential right-wing extremists.

Only a few months ago, Haaretz described Herzog as a “centrist, soft-spoken, ‘no-drama’ person” who, at times, “felt out of place on Israel’s stormy and fractured political battlefield.” According to the newspaper, Herzog “may be exactly what Israel needs.”

But is this really the case? Marvel at some of the statements made by Herzog as he visited a site where 29 Palestinians were in 1994 massacred by a Kiryat Arba extremist,

Baruch Goldstein.

“We have to continue dreaming of peace,” Herzog declared while marking the first night of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah inside the mosque compound, which had been emptied of its Muslim worshippers. Proudly, he “condemn(ed) any form of hatred or violence.”

“If he had walked around the corner,” the Israeli news website 972Mag reported, referring to the Israeli president, “Herzog might have seen the graffiti on the walls reading ‘gas the Arabs.’”

The Israeli far right’s “mission” has been a great success. They have managed to steer Israeli politics almost entirely toward the right. Even the “centrist, soft-spoken” president is now fully embracing their sinister aims.

But will Haaretz acknowledge this reality? And will it admit that the “liberal” and “progressive” editorial line it has allegedly championed for many years has completely failed. Will it depict the truth about Israel?

Compare the newspaper’s positive portrayal of Herzog with its coverage of the former right-wing Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. When Rivlin, in October 2014, declared that “Israeli society is sick and it is our duty to treat this disease,” a Haaretz columnist lashed out, suggesting that his comments “are positively bursting with Jew-hatred.”

Of course, the sickness of “violence, hostility, bullying (and) racism,” which Rivlin had pointed out, is very real. Other symptoms of this horrible disease also include military occupation, apartheid and genocidal violence like that frequently meted out against the besieged Gaza Strip.

While this Israeli “disease” is becoming common knowledge globally — with organizations such as Human Rights Watch and many others describing it in the most honest and blunt terms — the vast majority of Israeli society, including their representatives and their “soft-spoken” president, remain blind to it.

There are no indications that the Israeli society, government and media — “liberal” or right-wing — will, on their own, develop the necessary antibodies that will cure the racism, military occupation and apartheid.

Whether right wing, left wing or centrist, Israel is committed to its military superiority, its racism and the military occupation. The sooner we accept this fact and quit subscribing to the illusion that change in Israel will happen from within, the sooner the Palestinian people will finally achieve the justice they need and deserve.