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The right must immediately stop playing irresponsibly with fire Israel today

2022-11-20T21:12:31.506Z


Instead of starting a calm discussion on the question of what the right policy should be, on the Likud side, they accused Smotrich of following Bennett's path. From political to ideological and then it deteriorated to personal and sectoral


The beginning was a well-known debate in our districts about filling positions.

Smotrich, and his arguments with him, wanted one of the top portfolios in the future government.

Netanyahu, and his reasons with him, refused.

So far there was no reason to get excited.

But to the political attempt of the parties to maximize achievements, an additional layer has been added.

"The dispute is about essence," noted Smotrich, emphasizing that Netanyahu has not proven himself to be sufficiently right-wing.

"We were elected to change," they repeated.

Instead of opening a calm discussion on the question of what the right policy should be, the Likud side took offense.

The criticism from the right was perceived by his people - or at least that's how they presented it - as insulting arrogance.

"Let them not preach to us. Smotrich is behaving like Bennett. Again, these are the knitted hats," Netanyahu's spokesmen instructed.

Now it was the turn of religious Zionism to put itself as the offended party.

"Netanyahu treats us as an excess. He delegitimizes us," MK Orit Struck responded yesterday to accusations from the Likud.

MK Struck: "Netanyahu treats us like an extra person" (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon

Thus the conflict turned from political to ideological and from there to emotional and then to personal and sectoral.

The octaves have gone up.

The formulations were sharpened.

The mutual precipitation that had been accumulated for years, suddenly burst out.

These are slamming Netanyahu for the left-wing moves he has taken.

These respond with past accounts of arrogance and discrimination.

These call "leftists", and these reply "knitted-Ashkenazim", and God forbid.

It didn't help that the arguments were at least partly absurd.

After all, from Shlomo Karai to Idit Silman, the Likud is full of knitted caps - Netanyahu, as I recall, was proud of them in the campaign.

Equally, after so many years in power, it is ridiculous to present Netanyahu as a leftist.

If he had, his policy would have been reversed a long time ago.

And yet, with complete irresponsibility, a toothpick and another toothpick is thrown into the fire and the flames of hatred keep spreading. 

The flare-up between Netanyahu's entourage and those they call "knitters" is not the first.

In the previous round, the fire of the controversy was directed at Naftali Bennett, and gained alarming proportions.

It takes two to fight, and if in Likud they feel condescension on the part of Smotrich, then it is his duty to clean it up.

But, at least as much, the briefers on behalf of Netanyahu must also immediately stop playing with fire.

Because once the demon of hatred is out of the bottle, it cannot be put back.

A fire that does not stop does not choose its victims.

Not the first flare-up between Netanyahu's entourage and "knitters" (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon

There is a 45-year historical alliance between Likud supporters and the religious-nationalist current.

It is so deep and wide, it is not possible to mark a dividing line between the two.

Still, like everything in life, alliances are easy to break and hard to build.

And as soon as the strings of the bridge between the movements catch fire, it will collapse on all its occupants into the abyss.

It might not happen tomorrow, but it could definitely happen the day after tomorrow.

Therefore, before a disaster, Netanyahu and Bardogo, Smotrich and Strock, must turn on the fire extinguishers now, return the political debate to its original dimensions.

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Source: israelhayom

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