Political incitement fired at Bennet and his coalition - editorial

Something rotten fell on the Likud party and some of its right-wing supporters.

There is no expectation that the party and its fallen leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, will sing the praises of the current government headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, but it must also not incite against it.

But what happened last Tuesday night, at the right-wing rally held in Habima Square in Tel Aviv, was exactly that – incitement, hatred and venom – everything is directed towards Bennett and his coalition.

“This government is a terrorist government,” shouted MK Miri Regev of the Likud.

“The megalomaniac, the liar and the thief who took over the country through fraud and deception,” continued Galit Distel Atbrian of the Likud.

“This government wants to overthrow the Jewish government in Israel,” said MK Mai Golan.

And if that’s not enough, Gadi Yabarkan, also from the Likud, shouted “these people will be remembered for generations as worse than our enemies,” about the members of the current coalition.

These incitement words came from members of a party led by a man who is currently on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Yevarkan is the largest hyena. He joined the Knesset in 2019 as part of Blue and White. When that did not work out, he jumped to the Likud. Ideology is clearly not what drives his agenda.

Itamar Ben-Gvir from Religious Zionism was presented at the rally as a “legend” and to the tune “Ata Cannon” by Sarit Hadad (“You are amazing”).

He called MK Ahmad Tibi (the joint list) a terrorist and said he was proud that his party had blocked the formation of a government with the Islamic Movement, referring to the Ra’am, and contrary to the Likud’s denial he had ever proposed to the Ra’a. I am a member of its coalition.

This was probably the most honest remark at the rally. Netanyahu and the Likud have long denied that the party negotiated with the PM to secure its support for a bloc that the former prime minister tried to form to prevent Bennett and Yair Lapid from forming a coalition. Ben Gvir actually said the hard truth Abbas, to whom members of his party now refer as a member of Hamas.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and ministers in his coalition are participating in the inauguration of President Yitzhak Herzog in the Knesset on Wednesday. (Credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM / THE JERUSALEM POST)

What these people are doing is not only poisoning our political culture, it is also undermining the potential success of one of this nation’s great trials. In their struggle to de-legitimize Bennett and his coalition, they are willing to do almost anything, including harming the necessary healing between Jews and Arabs in this country.

If they were citizens who really cared about this country, they would vote against the budget but would still be celebrating the allocation of billions of shekels to the Arab sector in this country. They would fight government policy, but they would also understand that Abbas’ decision to join an Israeli coalition took courage and has the potential to change the Jewish-Muslim dynamics in this country forever.

But as they showed at last night’s rally, their desire to oust Bennett and his coalition partners and restore the country’s leadership is far more important than the possibility of progress in Jewish-Arab reconciliation. They do not care that there are two million Arab citizens in this country who need government help to fight crime, upgrade infrastructure and ensure a better future for themselves and their children. And they will never admit at night that the state finally has a budget after three and a half years vital to the stability of the state.

While politicians like Regev, Yabarkan, Golan and others will not only stop in their campaign to delegitimize this government, it is up to ordinary citizens to explain that they will not let the despicable contempt of these MKs in democracy affect us. These politicians can kick and scream as much as they want. Israel is stronger.

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