Over thirty years ago, when David Levy served as Foreign Minister, every person in the country knew at least one David Levy joke.
For example, David Levy visited the White House and was surprised to find out that we are not white;
He told the President of the United States about it, who replied, "yes, I do." Then he returned to Israel and told his wife that the White House was not white at all, but it would be okay because they promised that it would be whitewashed.
In retrospect, it is difficult to decide whether the genre of David Levy jokes sabotaged the chances of the politician from Beit Shan to reach the prime ministership or rather helped him to be known and talked about in every household, in the days of one channel and before the Internet.
"David the Second King of Israel", photo: Sa'ar Ya'akov LLC
Looking back, Levy was indeed seen as the first high-ranking representative of the second Israel, but at the same time, an image of a serial insulter and a perpetual underdog stuck to him.
The documentary "David the Second King of Israel", created by Robi Elmaleh and Amir Ben David and aired last night on HOT8, creates for him an updated image of a deprived and innocent public messenger, a leader who was ejected from the system because he did not fit into the new and dirty politics.
It is no secret that Levi, the prince who emerged from below, suffered racism and humiliation throughout his political life.
Jokes were told about him, he was compared to a monkey, he was claimed to be surrounded by criminals, and satire shows laughed at him.
So why is Levy now receiving a public embrace, especially from leftists, who seemingly embrace him and other right-wing leaders from the past and create a nostalgic consciousness of a different kind of Likud?
Probably because the man who signed Levy's removal from the Likud, the same man who stepped on him, is the same man who is recognized today as the undisputed king of the Second Israel.
"David the Second King of Israel", photo: L.A.M. Zvika Israeli
Therefore, the fake nostalgia sins against the truth.
In real time Levy was not a streaky leader, and when he received offices and budgets he did not make social moves that improved the future of the country.
Also in the film, his achievements and public actions are pushed aside in favor of a deep preoccupation with sectarian deprivation, Mizrahim versus Ashkenazim, struggles for control and prejudice.
This is the trouble with the aforementioned endless discussion - instead of highlighting the good, we prefer to bury theories of which "race" dominates whom, and in fact preserve cognitive gaps even among future generations. It is convenient to ride on racism to promote yourself, to invent style theories Avishai Ben Haim, to complain about satirical snickering in "Wonderful Country", to attack another "race" and to run for the Knesset based on promises to fight deprivation. Racial discrimination arouses emotions, anger and identification.
She also attracts voters, and a lot of them.
That's why Osnat Mark cries on TV that she is humiliated because of her Mizrahi, Dodi Amsalem insists that he was not appointed minister because of his origin, and Deri says that the court once again screwed him because he is Mizrahi.
Mixed marriages, integration, globalization, modernization and other words that end in zation are some of the reasons why we are not in the same place we were forty years ago.
Culture has changed, social consciousness has matured, the ruling establishment is not the same establishment, and only the argument about deprivation of Mizrahim remains an eternal argument - especially in politics.
Because the politicians and their mouthpieces have a clear interest in keeping the discourse on deprivation lively and simmering on a small fire.
"David the Second King of Israel", photo: HOT8
For 15 years David Levy was silent in the media, and in the end he did not say anything surprising or meaningful.
It would have been stronger if the documentary done on him had succeeded in enhancing his character and his work, without being totally drawn into the vortex of sectarian deprivation.
Continuing to look in 2023 where the deprivation meets us will not eliminate the problem, but this is exactly what preserves these gaps generation after generation.
"David the Second King of Israel", HOT8, 21:15
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