Truth be told, I am not very comfortable with Dr. Avishay Ben Haim's division of Israeli politics into Ashkenazi versus Mizrahi elite. It seems anachronistic to divide our politics into ethnic categories. Moreover, bringing in a discourse on identities into the Right's worldview might even be harmful. I guess I am one of those old-fashioned people who think that ideological debates should be treated as such.
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However, Ben Haim did not invent identity politics. Netanyahu's criminal trial was not the first time the Right came across this idea either. Identity politics is a well-developed ideology that has dominated Western thinking for almost three decades. There is scientific research, journals, books, and documentaries about every distinct group in Israel, be it Palestinians, illegal migrants, women, members of the LGBT community, Bedouins, ex-pats. There is a non-profit organization for every single one of these.
This is the flagship project of the new Left, and the media has devoted itself to it entirely. They talk of representation for each group, highlight the violation of their rights, and sympathetically cover their struggles, demonstrations, and protests of all kinds. If there is one term that defines every radio station and television channel, that term is "identity politics." They divide the nation into subgroups, narratives, and whatnot. "Reporters Without Borders."
Wait, did I just write "without borders?" That must have been a mistake because this week, we learned that this ideology of race, community, and class has a very clear and well-defined boundary. Everyone has the right to express their anger against the "regime" and speak out as loudly as possible, except for one group. The Right. Your identity does not matter, because as long as you are a rightist, the only thing you are allowed to do is keep quiet and stay on the sidelines.
Although I cannot entirely agree with Ben Haim, there is no denying that the ethnic element is still a driving force of many. The right-wing Mizrahis are not allowed to speak up. Their anger is not justified. Identity politics is acceptable as long as it is used to battle Zionism, capitalism and nationalism, but the moment it is used to speak out against that which is essential to the Left, it suddenly becomes a "danger to democracy."
Mickey Gitzin, the Director of the New Israel Fund, once said, "I am against identity politics, which is not based on values." Did you get it? What Gitzin is saying is that not every identity is worthy of its own politics, but only those identities that lead to "values" that Gitzin shares.
Just like democracy, identity politics has become "essentialist." After so many years, we have finally learned the truth: identity politics is just another term for the good old, regular politics.
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