Today, Tisha B'av, calls for some customary grieving, but also, for some people like yours truly, serves as a powerful reminder of the need for unity. This is why I was unpleasantly surprised to read these posts by Batya, she of many blogs. I may disagree with Batya on some political issues, but the mere fact that a person respected in blogging community comes out with such unbridled attack at the current wave of protests is deeply unsettling.
The gist of Batya's critic is that the protests are a brainchild of the left that "is determined to convince, brainwash the Israeli public that they should be in power, not Likud's Binyamin Netanyahu." There is also evidence she brings up of a protester leveling his ire at the settlers who, according to him, are the main source of our troubles. Both Batya and the youngster tend to forget that it is all our successive governments, left and right, that supported and nurtured the settlement movement. Another bit of evidence offered by Batya is "My Israel, a right wing group tried to join on the condition that the National Anthem, Hativka would be sung, but the organizers refused". Joining on condition is a bit of a charade, I would say, but let it be.
The facts on the ground are a bit different. It doesn't take an especially trained eye to see the right wing kippa wearers mixing and mingling with the throng. It may take a more widely open eye and ears to know that the ex-settlers from the Gush Katif have their own tent among the other tents in Tel Aviv. And that there are West Banks settlers complaining about the high prices of the housing there. It shouldn't take a mathematician to understand that the current left, whatever is left of it, isn't able in the best of circumstances to get 50,000 - let alone 300,000 - protesters on the street (all over the country), as it happened last Saturday evening. And that IDF pensioners (also having their tents between the others) are not divided into parties, ethnic or other groups. And that Rabbi Lau is not one's typical example of the commie...
I have to repeat a quote from my own post here:
...the demonstrations have seen voters from Likud, Meretz and Hadash standing shoulder to shoulder; protesters with skullcaps and secular people, Jews and Arabs.There is some truth, though, in the complaint voiced by Batya that the left parties have taken a great interest and are trying to "adopt" the protests. But the point is not that the left wingers caused the protest - they are busily hitching their wagons to it. While the right wing parties are missing the train.
And so do some settlers who, instead of looking for questions that unite us are busy inventing or rehashing some political divides. This is bad - bad both for our phantom of unity that we seem unable to reach, bad for the protests that are pointing out real economic problems experienced by the middle class. And we better resolve this conundrum quickly - for our kids' sake.
P.S. I have seen this just after posting that one:
Settler leader visits Rothschild tent city in solidarity
Yesha Council chairman Danny Dayan: "Hardships of public don’t stop at Green Line”; expresses hope movement won't become politicized.Me too, me too, Danny...
P.P.S and a good Tisha B'av reminder here.
