Jewfem Blog

What a strange week it has been in Israeli politics. Two new contenders for the Knesset, Yair Lapid and Noam Shalit, drew criticism because they have platforms that make them somehow unfairly likable to the people – one as a newscaster and one as the father of a former captive whose story won the people’s hearts. As if to say, the Israel has its own set of rules about popularity, and if the people like you too much, the Knesset is not the right place for you. That just says so much. And speaking of the absence of likability, MK Rajeb Majadle, an Arab MK from Labor who is not generally known for his gentility, was the victim of a new form of violence in the Knesset – the water-throwing kind, courtesy of Yisrael Beitenu MK Anastasia Michaeli. I have to say, no matter how gruff and obnoxious Majadle is – and it’s easy to see how, after Majadle spent the previous few minutes telling Michaeli to shut up, that the urge to hurt him might come up – nevertheless, pouring water on him is just idiotic. It’s like a slapstick nightmare that is unfortunately real life in Israeli governance. Yes, these are our elected officials. Michaeli is going to be hearing about this little tantrum for the rest of her career, I think. But it gets worse. Because when she was defending herself, she said, “This will teach him to respect women”. Huh? First of all, his attempts to shut her up were not overtly gender related. Second of all, throwing a little glass of water on his fancy silk suit will not get him to respect her or anyone she’s associated with at all but will only get her laughed at, and slapped with a dry cleaning bill. To wit, as she was leaving the hall, he and his colleagues could be heard speaking in Arabic calling her “mejnuna” – crazy. So much for respect for women. Please, MK Michaeli, leave the rest of us out of this. Your poor judgment here is purely your own. And anyway, the last thing feminism needs is to be used as a justification for slapstick politics. As if we don’t have enough of an image problem. I do think, though, that there is an important subtext of Israeli politics here. I don’t know if the general public realizes just how much some Russians and some Israelis hate each other. It runs very deep to the core of identity, and has a lot to do with the Zionist narrative, with each group questioning the narrative of the other, around who has the more authentic and ancient connection to the land of Israel. If only some splash of cold water could make this all go away. Not looking likely. Meanwhile, just as every politician tried to disassociate from Michaeli, in another corner of Israeli society, another subtext is starting to gain some momentum: inequality against Ethiopians. In a protest in the north this week,...

It is impossible to overstate the intensity of emotion felt in Israel at the news of Gilad Shalit’s impending release. Many of us have been glued to the television screen with unrelenting tears in our eyes since we first heard about the imminent deal. It feels like we just let out a collective breath, like a balloon that had been about ready to burst just let out all its air. And I think this entire episode says something profound about Israel as a society and culture.