Of everything we have seen in this election campaign, and we have seen quite a bit, the graph Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz posted to his Twitter account on Friday was a new low. In addition to posting the graph, which compared voter turnout in Tel Aviv – 63% – to turnout in the haredi city of Bnei Brak – 77%, Gantz wrote, "Those who want a secular unity government must go out and vote."
In other words, Gantz warned the public: "Watch out! The haredim are voting in droves! Go vote!"
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This statement, which is supposedly embedded in the innocent enough graph, is the height of a highly orchestrated and ugly campaign against the haredim that we have witnessed over the last month, first from Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman and now from Gantz and his fellow party members.
The same Gantz who at the outset of his campaign was still trying to conduct negotiations both publicly and behind the scenes with the haredim, and even made a highly publicized visit to Bnei Brak to meet with haredim, has in recent weeks and spoken out on every public stage on the need for a "secular unity government."
Suddenly, we haredim have been taken out of the equation. We are no longer legitimate. I would almost go so far as to say: We have been outlawed. And yet no one says a word.
Do our readers need to be reminded of the uproar over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remark that the "Arabs are voting in droves" during the 2015 election? Yet now that Gantz is saying the same thing about the haredim, his remarks have gone under the radar. No one protests. Nor will they in the future.
True, Gantz tried to reach out to the haredim, and the haredim were not exactly responsive to his efforts. For good reason. Let us not forget who his rotation agreement partner is. But the path from here to the ugly graph we saw on Friday is rather long.
What is Gantz complaining about? High voter turnout in the haredi sector? You'd think we were doing something wrong when all we are doing is exercising our legal right and obligation.
In fact, 77% voter turnout in Bnei Brak seems too low. I really hope it goes up come Tuesday. I realize we are in the middle of an election campaign and that harsh statements will be made. But Gantz's graph was not just another campaign message. It was an offensive, ugly, insulting and infuriating message. I don't know how the election will turn out but I hope the results will not be such that we are outlawed. Anything else would be a bonus.
