The mayor of Raj decided to name the street after the 80-year-old actor, who has previously been accused of sexual harassment - and in his network of anger • Shama HaCohen: "Do not run a city according to orchestrated scheming"
Shama HaCohen. "Do not judge a person but in the courts"
Photo:
Moshe Shai - Archive
Celebrations for the attack: Last Saturday, actor Zeev Revach celebrated his 80th birthday. In honor of the significant milestone in the actor's life, the mayor of Ramat Gan Carmel, whose mother Cohen decided to give him a special gift: a street that will be named after him. But the gesture encountered much outrage online and off.
Many surfers were outraged at the award given to those previously questioned on suspicion of sexual harassment, and the network was filled with hundreds of tweets and posts against Shama and Profit.
"You will soon reach Ze'ev Revach Street in Ramat Gan," wrote Shama HaCohen in a post that ignited the storm on Saturday evening. "Congratulations to Ze'ev Revach, a resident of the city and a first-year graduate of the Beit Zvi Acting School in the city, winner of three Ophir Awards, and one of the most important figures in Israeli cinema and theater, who is celebrating 80 and wishes him good health."
Alongside the votes that congratulated Profit, there were quite a few surfers who expressed astonishment mixed with resentment at the controversial decision they claimed, and did not hesitate to use harsh words when they came out against it. "You commemorate a man who harassed women (allegedly) and many speakers and wrote about it," a surfer wrote. Shama HaCohen replied that he did not know of such a conviction.
"Serial assault of women. Not worthy of commemoration in a city that tries to be progressive and inclusive for women and minorities," another respondent added. "It is very disappointing and embarrassing to choose a person against whom there is some evidence of sexual harassment. I expected more from our mayor. Disappointment, Carmel," another surfer joined the attack.
Other surfers used the political argument card and claimed that Shama's decision was motivated by non-objects, since Revach is a longtime Likud member, and his nephew Moshe Revach serves as deputy mayor of Ramat Gan and chairman of the Likud faction in the city.
"Smells like a political choice. Zeev Profit is a Likud member," an angry surfer said. To this Shama HaCohen replied: "Not everything is politics."
"Case closed for lack of evidence"
The criticism against Shama HaCohen's decision comes from an affair in which Profit was involved in 2006, and which was widely covered in the media. Against Profit, two complaints were filed with the police for indecent acts and harassment of two alleged actresses. Profit denied the allegations, and the prosecution eventually decided to close the case for lack of evidence.
In 2017, the actor gave an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth, in which he said, among other things: "I like to woo. What do they want from us? To hug, to kiss, it does not mean that I am already doing something bad." Following the interview, actress Ricky Bleach posted a Facebook post in which she came out against profit, calling him "a miserable man, who was not a woman who passed by and did not feel disgust and harassment," and called on other actresses to reveal their stories.
The respondent to the call was singer and actress Kamila Targolov, who revealed in the post that she is one of the complainants who filed a complaint against Profit. "When I graduated from Nissan Lane, a space wolf took me to play in his production," she wrote. "I was harassed for two and a half years by the man, and when I finally turned to the police, I went through investigations and confrontations with the police, the Shaham and the law firms for another whole year." Profit denied the allegations.
• Congratulations: Great honor to Profit Wolf
• Their stage: Zeev Revach and Lia Koenig will light a beacon
A year later, in 2018, Profit's name came up again when it was announced that he had been chosen to carry a beacon on Independence Day. Even then, widespread public criticism arose around the decision, but in the end the choice remained the same and Profit was honored.
Survey for the campfire
After the attack on the original post, Emma Cohen decided to post a poll on his Facebook account, in which he asked surfers to decide whether the decision to name a street profit was appropriate or invalid. "The decision to commemorate Profit Wolf has raised a question. I would love to share with you the considerations that stood before my eyes and some facts that some are trying to distort," the mayor wrote, detailing a series of facts and questions about Profit and the storm that arose following his decision.
Shama HaCohen may have hoped to calm the angry spirits a little, but in the post area he only added fuel to the fire and the angry reactions only intensified.
Carmel Shama-Hacohen, who has been perceived since being elected as the national mother who replaced Ninet, first announces that he will name more streets after women, continues to declare a street named after Ze'ev Revach (!), Receives criticism and snatches a glorious chauvinistic Meltdown. And takes it off the conciliator.
Ramat Gan is not that sleepy huh?
- yael sherer (@YaelSherer) August 18, 2020
Several hours later, the poll mysteriously disappeared from the page, and only after resentment arose that it had been removed due to a negative result for Profit and Shama Hacohen, did the poll reappear with the explanation given: "Facebook glitch".
"Carmel Shama-Hacohen, who has since been elected national mummy to replace Ninet, first announces that he will name more streets after women, continues to declare a street named after Ze'ev Revach, receives criticism and snatches from a glorious chauvinistic Meltdown where he ends up polling the subject, losing it in disgrace. "It's not that sleepy, is it?", Tweeted journalist and social activist Yael Scherer.
Dead-end street
Another tweet named Pipe posted a screenshot of a long WhatsApp correspondence her friend had with her mother Cohen after addressing him in person in protest of the decision, and the political page reader posted a post by Tamar Kaplansky showing a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation in which Emma Cohen denied removing the survey and removed Apologize when asked.
The Twitter page of the Lobby for the War on Sexual Violence also commented on the decision and tweeted: "This morning we asked the mayor of Ramat Gan, Carmel Shama Hacohen, to reconsider the abusive decision and the comments of the official Facebook page. He was convicted of his actions - although he himself admitted to sexual assault. "
Tamar Kaplansky: @CarmelShama posted a poll on his Facebook page, whether it is appropriate to name a street named after Zeev Revach, against whom complaints of sexual harassment have been filed in the past.
This happened later in protest, because Emma Hacohen said residents should express their important opinion. Rape culture.
The poll was decided against but its results disappeared. pic.twitter.com/TQyhTMZ4Rr
- Political Calls (@politicallyIL) August 18, 2020
It was also noted that "the alarming data on the closure of sexual offense cases are well known: 84% of sexual offense cases and 92% of sexual harassment cases in Israel are closed. Over 60% of cases are closed due to lack of evidence."
We call on the Ramat Gan municipality to reverse its abusive decision and to prefer to perpetuate the lives and actions of influential women in history - and to call the streets oil. "
The young voices in the city, in the group "Youth of Ramat Gan - Givatayim" showed involvement and invited the public to join a quiet protest near the municipality of Ramat Gan. "It is important to remember that this is a quiet, non-violent protest that opposes the culture of rape," it said.
In addition, many surfers have attached a screenshot of a photo quoting things that said a profit on the "Two" show on Hot Entertainment about a decade ago. On the same show, Revach spoke with Jonah Elian and told her about his encounter with an actress at the Cannes Film Festival whose butt he held as part of the intervention.
"Do not judge a person but in courts and by judges"
Ze'ev Revach's response could not be obtained at the time of publication.
The response of Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama HaCohen: "The city of Ramat Gan is not run according to angry posts, nor according to supportive posts - but according to what is good and true for the city and its residents. The survey was never removed and therefore never returned. Overall, coincidence with Facebook Fault.The street will be named after Zeev Revach because in our world of values it is not people who judge but in courts and by judges.
"Ramat Gan is the most feminist city in Israel, which in the last two years has appointed, for the first time in its 100 years, a general manager, treasurer, city council chairwoman, mayoral staff, and the three largest departments in the municipality led by women. Ramat Gan is the only city that has increased the support women's budgets and budgets of the women. We do not run a city according to a scheduled orchestrated sheaming. "