Precisely in an era when the establishment media is losing its power, and social networks are becoming the determinants of public opinion in a kind of mixing of the old and the new - Israeli celebrities (who are willing to be photographed in a swimsuit near a farm to get a free vacation) are becoming mute.
Even though this is the fifth election in such a short time, in today's Israel most celebrities are not ready to reveal their political leanings for free, or for a campaign payment.
For them, this is a step that in the current atmosphere could endanger their careers.
"They have no reason to do it," explains sociologist Dr. Moti Gigi from Sapir Academic College. "They only have something to lose from it in the age we live in.
And I will add to that: Do such and such celebs have any influence at all on what people choose?
In an era where people don't have the patience to watch election broadcasts and want everything on Tiktok - politics is something that bores the young, and famous people currently have no ability to change that."
Remember to broadcast.
Sefi Rivlin,
caused a stir.
Dodo Topaz, photo: Moshe Shay
"Every campaigner's dream"
But it wasn't always like that.
In younger Israel, first-class artists such as Dodo Topaz, the pale tracker, and Sefi Rivlin, who were the stars in an era of modest media and one television channel, did not hesitate to take an active part in the election campaigns, even though even then, apparently, they could risk losing their careers (and as I recall, His uncle Topaz was "exiled" following his chachachim speech).
"The dream of every campaigner and of every party is to have a local celebrity express their support, because the influence of celebrities is enormous," says Gal Baisberg, who heads the Baisberg Communications Group.
"The point is that in today's Israeli society, where the toxic discourse has taken over the political discourse, one can understand why everyone runs away from this issue like fire. Even if you express an ideological opinion about something, you will immediately be categorized as 'for Bibi' or 'against Bibi,' and then half The people will automatically hate you. It's not like a famous person can express his opinions about the economy or the division of Jerusalem - it goes straight to the place of 'for Bibi' or 'against Bibi', and here, in the end, there is a situation where the wrong opinion will end your career." .
In 2019, the model and actress Rotem Sela expressed an opinion about equal rights for Israeli Arabs.
It wasn't a more extreme opinion than the one she voiced about the ninja Yuval Shemla, but Sela, probably the most famous woman in Israeli entertainment, raised hopes that she would be able to drag more celebrities after her into the political discourse.
But the venomous attack she went through and managed to survive sharpened the message for the other celebs: it's better to keep quiet.
One of the interesting examples is related to the sports world, where political tension has always been felt in the air, due to the massive presence of athletes from the Arab sector.
In the past, when the partisan identification with the sports clubs in Israel was clear, soccer stars such as Uri Malmilian and Eli Ohana, then players of Beitar Jerusalem, affiliated with the right, and Moshe Sinai, the great star of Hapoel Tel Aviv, the flagship of the Histadrut in the 1980s, were asked to express Support for the mother party. Sinai was even placed in the 82nd place of the Labor Party ("I was an ornament because Shimon Peres asked me to be") in the 1988 elections, and because of this the Hapoel Tel Aviv games were banned from being broadcast before the elections, on the grounds that it was election propaganda.
In the 1996 elections, these were Avi Namani, Haim Rabivo and Alon Hazan, who, although they played regularly on Shabbat, called to vote for Shas.
called for equality.
Rotem Sela, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
right man
Uri Malmilian, photo: Moshe Shay
Afraid to contribute
And what about today?
While few of the athletes express their opinion in moments of crisis in the country and receive support or quick scorn (the Moans Davor incident, which led to him eventually withdrawing from the national team), politically they will not dare to speak out, certainly not in the days before an election.
One of the examples of this is former basketball player Omri Caspi.
In his last season at Maccabi Tel Aviv, he used to take advantage of the long flights to Europe to convince his teammates to vote for Itamar Ben Gabir, but he came out of the political closet only after retiring from active play.
In the US, for example, as the election campaigns became more stormy and the discourse on the networks more extreme, as is the way of the local culture, many celebrities saw fit to harness themselves to the political struggle, from political rallies to actual donations of hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates on both sides of the political map. And in Israel A look at the list of major donors will reveal Moshe Edri, the man who dominates Israeli cinema without competition, but this has more to do with business and less with cinema.
Convince the flights.
Omri Caspi, photo: Efrat Eshel
"In a world where we often go to elections so often, the question arises as to whether this issue is still of interest to the young public," concludes Gigi.
"It is not certain that on the young people's social networks, and probably in the public in general, the main issue is elections."
Beisberg adds: "I avoid entering into conversations with my mother about politics. It always leads to a fight and an extremism in the conversation. So why would a famous person do that?".
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