Election propaganda is taking on a vulgar character. Respectable people of public standing are talking and behaving in a way that ordinary folks would be embarrassed to conduct themselves. This might be acceptable from figures like MK Oren Hazan, who has made a career out of behavior that none of us could even imagine. Asking for a selfie with the president of the U.S. during an official event? We'd be embarrassed – Hazan has made it his calling card.
When we're talking about people who usually behave honorably, it's just sad.
Former IDF chief and head of the Israeli Resilience party Benny Gantz, on the other hand, is counting bodies. His campaign ads turn the IDF from a defensive army into an entity that takes pride in the many people it has killed and the many buildings it has destroyed – pornography of death and ruin. They aren't the only ones. Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel compares left-wingers to "allergens," while Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan flaunts his wife.
All this pales in comparison to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Instagram campaign, in which he argues that bribery must consist of an exchange of money. Really? And then there were this week's news reports about transcripts that supposedly show that Netanyahu was trying to harm New Right leader Naftali Bennett by spreading information about Bennett's wife working for a non-kosher restaurant.
True, there is always a gap between a person and his or her public image, between what happens behind the scenes and what goes on center stage. But the current instance is simply inconceivable: How low can an Israeli prime minister go? How much time and energy can he waste on stories about shrimp and calamari?
Associates of Netanyahu frequently complain that the Prime Minister's Residence is not sufficiently attractive. It might be in need of refurbishment. We all want the residence to befit the role of prime minister and what the position means. But when the person serving in the role does not respect it and uses embarrassing tactics, it's hard to tolerate. True, politics is a dirty game, but the essence of the premiership still means something.
People want to respect the prime minister, if only a little. The ministers, too, and the former IDF chief. The public wants to see leaders that are slightly above them. In the meantime, all we are getting is proof that they have no boundaries, that they can always go one step lower, and that their jobs and titles have no meaning. Certainly not for them.
