Shlomo Artzi and the "Wonderful Land" cast perform "We do not need"/ Keshet 12
I've been bothered by Sinwar's ears for a while now.
That is: not the ones in reality, who received a bizarre mention in the media discourse after the disclosure of documentation of him fleeing in the underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip - but those who were glued to Elli Finish in the "Wonderful Land" sketches.
They cause me discomfort, even seepage.
Not because of the leader of Hamas, one of the most evil and disgusting figures of our time, but because of us.
We put his ears together.
From there, he becomes one of the show's regular characters.
In almost every imitation that comes up in "Wonderful Land" there are, along with criticism, also certain elements of affection.
Still, to be funny, even the worst people become a lovable caricature.
"Wonderful Country" hates Sinwar 100 percent, and rightly so.
She makes sure to boo him when he comes on screen, and he makes sure to get offended.
"Why?" he asked last week.
"Maybe because you are a despicable mass murderer?" Kitzis replied.
It is indeed what it is.
But there is another element here.
Eli Finish as Yahya Sinvar, "Wonderful Land", March 13, 2024/screenshot, Keshet 12
Most of the characters that appear in the show are Israeli, and the satirical imitation is intended to reach them as well.
On the other hand, it must be assumed that the Palestinian terrorist - like Putin or Biden, in contrast - does not watch his imitation.
In other words, the target audience of Sinwar's imitation is us, the Israeli public.
And we, who are at war, see our enemy in the form of a mouse.
with ears, in his burrows.
A stinking rat.
not a human being
Rats should be caught and disposed of, every last one of them.
They are associated with dirt and spreading disease.
The Pied Piper of Melin was called to remove them from the city, and to this day they are a symbol of the dirtiest form of life.
Therefore, the worst of the populists presented the object of their hatred, mainly foreigners, as mice.
Yes, the Jews too.
It is easier to hate a way of life that is not associated with anything good.
It's easy to wish her the worst.
Thus, in the most literal way, dehumanization occurs.
When it is internalized, it is easy to put up with any kind of violence.
One of the problems is that Sinwar is lonely in his mouse.
Not only are there no other animal characters among our enemies or at all, which would allow perhaps a little more leniency towards this image (Samo's Nasrallah, for example, is a lovable and amusing character who did not descend to such a low. On the other hand, he also never caused the murder of more than a thousand Israeli citizens) - there are really no Palestinian characters who are not abominable in "Wonderful Land", and in fact, the Palestinians are hardly seen at all on the screen of the main channels.
The little that the Israeli media shows from Gaza mainly includes ruins and soldiers on the road.
When we already see a Palestinian - he is a mouse.
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Dehumanization is a slippery slope.
I don't care about Sinwar's honor.
A brimstone pool in hell awaits this man.
May he burn there happily.
He earned every insult.
But, as mentioned, this imitation is not intended for him, it is intended for us.
And we - we are in a terrible war.
It began following a horrific massacre and a series of atrocities, murder and abuse, made possible by the dehumanization of Israelis.
The reasons for going to war can be understood: the abductees must be returned, and the continuation of Hamas rule in Gaza in its current form must not be completed.
But as it continues - like every war in human history - it also exacts heavier and heavier prices, and not only on our side.
According to every testimony, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the number of civilians killed and the severe hunger crossed the line of catastrophe a long time ago.
To the extent that Israel's goals are justified - this fact must also be recognized, which is somehow on the fringes of the media agenda, silenced and denied.
Yes, there are also ordinary people on the other side of the breached fence.
It may be a hostile entity, but it is inhabited by humans, not mice.
You must not be numb to it.
We must not exempt ourselves from this thought, and let rage blind our eyes, otherwise the cycle of blood will never end.
Dehumanization encourages indifference to suffering, but the damage is always two-way.
When we are indifferent to the death and suffering of human beings, we become less human ourselves, less empathetic, less solidary, less committed to our values.
In the most profound way, the establishment of this tendency is a triumph of terrorism: the crumbling of society and culture.
Back to Sinwar's ears.
Eli Finish's imitation is not to blame for the horrors of war and the diseases of the Middle East.
With all due respect, the blame still falls on the source.
The image is not exclusive either: Knesset members and "Israeli officials" use it, and it is even the opening line of "Harbo Darbo."
But a symbol is a symbol, and culture speaks in symbols that represent moods.
If "Wonderful Land" is the subconscious of the Israeli mainstream, then "Sinvar the Rat" is a terrifying image, a terrible choice by the show's team.
Not because of what he says about this piece of shit.
But because of what he says about Israeli society.
"Sinvar the mouse" looks at us from the screen and mocks us: I succeeded.
I managed to get you talking in terms you never thought of using.
I managed to instill such deep hatred in you.
I managed to make you less good people.
I managed to get you down in the mouse trap.
More on the same topic:
Wonderful Country
Yahya Sinwar
War of Iron Swords
Gaza war