Chareidi elected officials appear unwilling to permit the remarks made by former Mossad Director Ephraim Halevy to pass, determined to compel the state attorney general to launch a criminal investigation against the former senior intelligence community official.
Shas party leader and a vice premier Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai had harsh words for Halevy, adding the timing was impeccable, as the nation prepares to mark the 16 years since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Yishai stated that it is evident from his public statements that Halevy has learned nothing from the murder of a prime minister. Yishai reminded Halevy that he was the Mossad director when the prime minister was murdered, and he then told the media just how careful we must be with our words, since words can lead to such events.
MK Moshe Gafne appears the most determined to hold Halevy accountable for his disparaging remarks, lashing out at Israel’s chareidi community, warning of the threat from the chareidim who are ‘darkening’ life in Israel and pose a great threat from within than Iranian leader Ahmadinejad.
Dudi Zilbershlag, an outspoken representative of the chareidi community released statements questioning his colleagues, asking why he does not hear the same outrage from them regarding the growing violence in the chareidi community as they level against Halevy for his remarks. “Sadly, the community appears unwilling to condemn these acts and to expel those responsible from the community” he added, denouncing the recent escalation of violence within the chareidi tzibur.
Zilbershlag feels the chareidi leaders first have a responsibility to condemn the violence within the camp before concerning themselves with remarks from Halevy.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
Mark my words- nothing will be done! I was in EY when Natan Zahavi a popular radio host offered 10000 shekels for any police officer who breaks open the head of someone who calls him a Nazi! Was anything done? No way! The court and police systems hate the frum and therefore would never do anything!
Its a strange thing when someone could literally be “prosecuted” when saying something totally moronic like this yuld said. In the USA, if it was a Conservative, the socialist liberal leftists would have the guy railroaded out of his job.
In the United States there is freedom of speech. It is a core value of American culture. Americans are proud of their tolerance for people with ludicrous ideas. This is part of what makes America exceptional.
In Israel there isn’t. Saying things that outrage the powers that be can get you arrested. Much of what Israelis call “incitement” would have been called “Seditious libel” except we don’t do that anymore.
However most of the “powers that be” share the view that the Hareidim are an existential threat to the zionist movement (probably because its true, though truth as a defense isn’t legally sufficient in such cases). Saying seditious things is only illegal if the prosecutor disagrees with you.