On the way to Moshav Ness Harim I am thankful that Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel has made me fulfil the commandment of visiting the crowded capital during the recent Sukkot holiday, and think about a friend who asked me – "what party is he from?"
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In early 2019 Hendel joined Moshe Ya'alon's Telem Party and then Blue and White. A year later, Hendel and Zvi Hauser split off and established their own Derech Eretz party, which Hendel currently heads, under the umbrella of Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope list.
"I've only been in politics for three years and it turns out I'm good at it," Hendel says later as we sit in his sukkah on the moshav.
Actually, he has only been an MK for two years, but says, "You don't amass political power for the power, you need to know how to let go. The Likud won 30 seats and became the Opposition. We knew how to use power."
Hendel is currently serving as communications minister, but does not deliberate about wanting to take on the public security portfolio.
"The number one goal is there. Public security is the biggest danger of all the ones around us. We need to handle Iran and it doesn't matter who the prime minister is – the policy will be similar, but what is happening here at home bothers me," he says.
Hendel calls weapons, growing crime, and illegal construction in the Arab sector "a strategic danger to Israel" and says he "doesn't remember a single cabinet meeting in previous governments that dealt with that danger."
"We need more resources for public security. We need to set up tactical units in northern and southern Israel – the Negev and Galilee. Do a 'Defensive Shield' in the Arab sector, for the sake of the Arab citizens. Since 2010, 4,000 illegal structures have been built in the Negev every year. The restoration of governability is a national task. Arab citizens deserve to feel a sense of security in their homes."
To every one of my questions, Hendel is ready with answers that show how much better the current government is performing compared to its predecessors. He says that the Communications Ministry was non-functional during the last government.
"Being a minister is having the ability to influence processes. When you understand the weight it carries, it creates motivation and responsibility. I can see it clearly – how a lack of decision about optic fibers held up progress."
Q: How far along are we now?
"Fifty percent of the population has accessibility, more than 100,000 households are connecting each month, it's one of the highest rates in the world. And that's after we were behind for 10 years because of regulation. In the previous government, I promoted the issue … by 2024 we'll lead the world in optic fiber connectivity, both in central Israel and the periphery."
Q: When it comes to social media like Facebook, it seems as if Israel's policy is somewhat lax, while the US is battling their control.
"Let's start with saying there is a real problem that includes three parts – transparency, revenue, and control. The inherent tension between recognizing our freedom of expression, with the government not needing to control the truth, and the malicious use of that power. We are in feverish discussions with social media platforms. I've already met with the heads of TikTok and we're in talks with Facebook and Twitter, and we're on our way to an understanding. These dilemmas exist everywhere in the world. The debate in the US crosses party lines. They are grappling with the monopoly that has been created. We're learning from them and trying to develop models."
Q: These are platforms that control our thoughts. They might have more influence on election results than any other media actor. They are not being summoned to hearings.
"I am definitely not happy with the current situation. I'm convinced we need to intervene, and ultimately, Israel will. I'm in favor of doing that through dialogue. If Facebook decides, for example, to block certain citizens – the question is what data they base that decision on. They are effectively acting as editors, just like a newspaper is edited. We'll create order in all this."
Q: But when it comes to anti-vaxxers, you're in favor of censorship by Facebook.
"Yes, certainly. When it comes to fake news from anti-vaxxers, who present studies that were never conducted and false science, it's like incitement. It's a matter of life and death. On issues like these, certainly there is a need to intervene. Facebook is in constant contact with us about antisemitic content, for example. When someone posts a video of an Arab youth beating a Haredi man in Jerusalem, of course it demands intervention. The question is when it comes to the gray area."
Q: Debating about vaccines isn't legitimate?
"It is, but without fake science."
Q: What about taxing these enormous corporations? Do you agree with the finance minister that they should be taxed?
"Yes, it's a matter of values. Anyone who makes money here needs to pay tax. It's happening in the world and it will happen here, too."
Q: You aren't afraid that will lead to a rise in the prices of Netflix and the rest of the foreign service providers?
"Soon we'll have additional providers here, like Disney, and a market with competition. Prices will rise if there are only a few player and no real market. If we tax the companies and open the market, the opposite will happen. You need to remember that they also provide infrastructure – Facebook and Google lay underwater cable, set up server farms at a cost of billions. Israel is resuming its central position as a strategic location, from India to Europe."
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Hendel espouses the idea of an "Israeli ideal for everyone."
Q: Does that ideal include your prime minister, who is breaking promises to his voters?
"I remind you that for 12 years we had a prime minister who broke his promises. He broke a promise to annex the Jordan Valley, the promise to restore governability, and lots of personal promises, including one about the rotation agreement with [Blue and White leader] Benny Gantz."
Q: And that makes it all right for Prime Minister Bennett to break his promises?
"You'll have to ask Bennett that. Gideon Sa'ar and I said we would do everything to avoid a government with Netanyahu … I thought Netanyahu needed to go home because everything he did the last two years affected the status of the government.
"I was the one who led to the previous unity government because I thought a narrow government wasn't good for the people of Israel. I didn't agree to a narrow Netanyahu government of 60-61 MKs. What concerned me wasn't how much the prime minister lied to the voters, but what was good for Israel. We can address issues like kashruth supervision, civil marriage, and conversion, separating the roles of the attorney general, stricter punishments for illegal weapons. We can work on it."
Q: Can you work with Meretz, Labor, and Ra'am?
"I have no problem with Omer Bar-Lev and Nachman Shai, or with anyone who served in the army like I did. [Ra'am leader] Mansour Abbas is a different story. He did something amazing. When there's a pogrom in Lod and he is photographed in front of a synagogue and condemns the attack – it says that something is happening here. The partnership with him is an important experiment in integrating Arab Israelis. If it fails – we all lose, and I think the Arab sector will lose out more."
Q: And what do we do now?
"We'll do a 'Defensive Shield.' We'll go out and collect illegal weapons. We've given up on Bedouin enlistment, which used to be high but has dropped to marginal. We'll restore the Zionist spirit – settlement, aliyah, and integration."
