On the walls of Alcatraz prison in San Francisco this week was a picture of Israel's prime minister dressed in an orange prisoner uniform, accompanied by the inscription "Netanyahu, dictator on the run."
On the wall of the UN building in New York was a huge protest display with the inscription: "Don't believe him, Cryme Minister Netanyahu." A truck drove through the streets of Manhattan displaying videos of Netanyahu ridiculing his past speeches at the UN, ridiculing the famous "Iran speech" and sticking Pinocchio's nose on it.
All of this coincided with demonstrations in Times Square in New York, at San Francisco airport and in front of Netanyahu's hotel. By the way, in New York and San Francisco - surprise, none of the demonstrators dared to think about blocking roads or lighting flares. Interesting. "There won't be a quiet moment here!" they promised, with justice and democracy down their throats, "Bibi, we understand your lies in English."
Some 80 former members of the defense establishment sent a harsh warning letter to members of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, shouting: "Netanyahu is carrying out actions that dismantle the IDF." The anti-democrats, who are leading with their own hands the dismantling of the army and society, have decided that someone from the outside should save us from an elected prime minister. How pathetic. How much damage they do.
The leaders of Brothers in Arms, an organization undergoing a rapid and frightening transformation into a Breaking the Silence clone, also wanted to be interviewed on the popular program "60 Minutes," and in front of the camera, Shira Etting, a helicopter pilot, bragged that she needed confidence in leaders when she had to bomb homes with children inside.
Say, singing, are you crazy? With frightening frivolity, she gives arms to all enemies of Israel, only to justify her organization's controversial protests. What will get you to the ICC in The Hague faster, Shira? Reducing the grounds for reasonableness – or your frivolity in statements about bombing children?
In normal times, the heart fills with pride when Israeli flags wave in the heart of New York and San Francisco. As someone accustomed to anti-Israel demonstrations, in which Israeli flags are stepped on and PLO flags are waved, the latest photos from New York should have added comfort. But they're not.
To understand the depth of the damage and devastation of those who fell in love with their own protest, it is worth reading the words of Shira Ruderman. Shira is the Executive Director of the Ruderman Foundation, an Israeli-American philanthropist and social activist who invests days and nights in building mutual bridges between Diaspora Jewry and Israel.
"I go through the first days of the year with difficult feelings. The holiday has not yet passed, and we have already received a report about the distribution of anti-Semitic flyers in Ohio, and at the end of the holiday we were informed of the demonstrations against the prime minister throughout the United States. The climax, in my view, is the planned demonstration in front of the UN General Assembly. Not against the president of Iran, who is about to give a speech there, who aspires to destroy Israel, but rather against the prime minister of Israel.
The anti-democrats, who are leading with their own hands the dismantling of the army and society, have decided that someone from the outside should save us from an elected prime minister. How pathetic. How much damage they do
"Waving Israeli flags is usually meant to strengthen us, but this time the result is the opposite. The demonstrations in the United States are terrible damage, especially at this time, when the world is becoming more extreme in its hateful attitude towards the Jewish people. They are weakening our resilience against our enemies and those who love us. Against the world, against those who seek our evil and who want our destruction, a united and strong front is all we need. This is no longer a war of justice, but of life and death."
Shira Ruderman is not a right-winger, and she has also spoken out against some of the measures taken by the current government. But Shira Ruderman is a lover of Israel. She loves the State of Israel and the people of Israel, and understands the dangers and bad trends that are sweeping the world.
These steps do not harm Netanyahu. They are dismantling the State of Israel, they are slandering it in the world, they are a worrying radicalization of mass protest that although I disagreed with, it was legitimate and powerful. And all with the aim of harming and toppling the government. A year and its curses will be exhausted.
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