It was both surprising and painful to see dozens of Israelis waiting for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his entourage somewhere at the airport in San Jose, California. It was six o'clock in the morning, obviously the demonstrators had arrived long before, so the sacrifice was admirable. The scene was repeated in the evening, when we took off for New York, and when we arrived in Manhattan at four in the morning.
Hundreds of people, who left Israel a short or long time ago, were tempted to buy the lie that its democratic character was in danger. It was impossible not to wonder who, what and why, fed them with a lie, to such an extent that they ruined their nights, or pressured Elon Musk and Tesla employees to avoid meeting with Netanyahu because "democracy is in danger."
Netanyahu has landed in New York - and demonstrators are waiting for him outside the hotel
Musk, himself subject to propaganda attacks by the American Progress, was not impressed by the parallel movement in Israel. Not only did he invite Netanyahu to the stage, but he gave him great honor, which included two very impressive public panels on artificial intelligence, with the participation of the world's leading experts, Greg Bookman and Max Tegmark. It included two one-on-one meetings between Netanyahu and Musk, as well as a tour of the Tesla factory and a joint ride in the luxury company's future truck. The billionaire is expected to announce the opening of a research and development branch in Israel, following Netanyahu's proposal.
However, all these events barely reached the attention of the Israeli news consumer. Those who watched the broadcasts saw only demonstrations and demonstrations, as if everywhere Netanyahu goes, they accompany him.
The truth is far from it. Indeed, there is a protest and it is unusual and vocal, but its influence on Netanyahu's agenda is almost non-existent. The convoy, of which we journalists are a part, passes by the protesters for a few minutes at most. The prime minister must hear the voices, but is quickly swallowed up in the closed rooms undisturbed. Sometimes, he is also passed through side entrances for security reasons, so he doesn't even see the same protesters.
This creates an insurmountable gap between the virtual reality experienced by the Israeli people – "demonstrations accompany Netanyahu everywhere" – and the actual reality – the prime minister continues his daily routine, and even promotes Israel's standing in the world, technologically, politically and economically, without quotation marks and without the protests affecting it.
And there is something else that we Jews living in Israel need to know, which I only realized when I met the demonstrators, face to face. Cries of "shame" by Israelis who left the country towards an Israeli delegation, headed by Prime Minister Bennifer, is a matter that does not sit well with common sense. Because indeed every person and the circumstances of his life and it is forbidden to judge. But, with all due respect, if there is "shame," it is not the province of those who came to promote Israel, but of those who left it and are now speaking out against the decisions of its democratic government. This reversal of creativity is what we should be ashamed of.
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