The Hoax
I don't know if we were fooled by others or if we fooled ourselves, but the appointment of our first-ever Muslim Arab minister had to turn sour sooner rather than later.
True, he is a Knesset member for Labor. True, of the Arab MKs he has been silent on many a volatile issue over which his fellow Arab parliamentarians roared ferociously from the small, auburn dais in Jerusalem. Yet he's an Arab after all. Can we expect anything but trouble? After all, the dagger must be hidden somewhere underneath his cloak.
Our political pallet didn't have to wait long for the anticipated sourness. Just this morning I heard a most embarrassing discussion on Raleb Majadele's refusal to sing The Hope (Hatikva), the throbbing heart of whatever it is we still like to refer to as Zionism.
"A minister in the State of Israel turns his back on one of its foremost symbols?" The radio news anchor wondered aloud in Majedele's ears? "Will you or will you not sing the anthem" she added in a tone that would make any cadet Shin Bet interrogator proud.
The answer was a plain "No." No.
The recalcitrant minister, a Muslim Arab, would not utter the lyrics depicting the yearning soul of every Jew for the Land of Israel.
Our anthem is unlike other national unity songs, because it does not call for the unity and togetherness of all inhabitants of the land. It appeals only to Jews worldwide to partake of the yearning for freedom in our country, the land of Zion and Jerusalem. It does not echo the call of the Declaration of Independence for Israel to be a country of all of its citizens. Nowhere does it even relate to the existence of any nationality but the Jews on Israeli soil.
The counter-arguments raised by the anchor, and later by right-wing parliamentarian Zvi Hendel, don't even merit their mention here. The patronizing air of their all too amicable conversation reeked of a Jewish conspiracy against the poor Arab boy who, for a minute, was led to believe he got accepted into the Club.
I apologize for the radical leftist subversive air of my commentary today. But I didn't touch this comment by MK Hendel: "If an Arab chooses to join a Zionist party we must encourage him."
We are not doing any Arab a favor by making him or her Knesset member, a public servant, or our car mechanic. The scepter of infinite wisdom is not held in our hand, for wise we are not nor are we superior in any way to the non-Jew or the generally Other.
Let us not disgrace The Hope by allowing it to expose our ugliness. Let us not turn it into The Hoax.
I don't know if we were fooled by others or if we fooled ourselves, but the appointment of our first-ever Muslim Arab minister had to turn sour sooner rather than later.
True, he is a Knesset member for Labor. True, of the Arab MKs he has been silent on many a volatile issue over which his fellow Arab parliamentarians roared ferociously from the small, auburn dais in Jerusalem. Yet he's an Arab after all. Can we expect anything but trouble? After all, the dagger must be hidden somewhere underneath his cloak.
Our political pallet didn't have to wait long for the anticipated sourness. Just this morning I heard a most embarrassing discussion on Raleb Majadele's refusal to sing The Hope (Hatikva), the throbbing heart of whatever it is we still like to refer to as Zionism.
"A minister in the State of Israel turns his back on one of its foremost symbols?" The radio news anchor wondered aloud in Majedele's ears? "Will you or will you not sing the anthem" she added in a tone that would make any cadet Shin Bet interrogator proud.
The answer was a plain "No." No.
The recalcitrant minister, a Muslim Arab, would not utter the lyrics depicting the yearning soul of every Jew for the Land of Israel.
Our anthem is unlike other national unity songs, because it does not call for the unity and togetherness of all inhabitants of the land. It appeals only to Jews worldwide to partake of the yearning for freedom in our country, the land of Zion and Jerusalem. It does not echo the call of the Declaration of Independence for Israel to be a country of all of its citizens. Nowhere does it even relate to the existence of any nationality but the Jews on Israeli soil.
The counter-arguments raised by the anchor, and later by right-wing parliamentarian Zvi Hendel, don't even merit their mention here. The patronizing air of their all too amicable conversation reeked of a Jewish conspiracy against the poor Arab boy who, for a minute, was led to believe he got accepted into the Club.
I apologize for the radical leftist subversive air of my commentary today. But I didn't touch this comment by MK Hendel: "If an Arab chooses to join a Zionist party we must encourage him."
We are not doing any Arab a favor by making him or her Knesset member, a public servant, or our car mechanic. The scepter of infinite wisdom is not held in our hand, for wise we are not nor are we superior in any way to the non-Jew or the generally Other.
Let us not disgrace The Hope by allowing it to expose our ugliness. Let us not turn it into The Hoax.
posted by Orr at 11:48 am
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