"I would prefer a thousand videos of Elor Azaria rather than one disgraceful and dangerous video like this," MK Bezalel Smotrich tweeted after Israel Defense Forces troops were filmed disengaging from a rock-throwing Palestinian (Azaria is the Israeli who, while serving in Hebron, famously shot a Palestinian terrorist who had been subdued).
Meretz MK Yair Golan shot back, saying that only someone without combat experience such as Smotrich can make such a statement, and then matter-of-factly referred to him as a "fascist."
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It has become very common for the Left to adopt political militarism, with many former Israel Defense Forces officers convinced that their signatures on various petitions should dictate government policy, preaching slogans to the public with undertones taken right out of the biblical prophets.
Golan is part of the social stratum that is convinced it has obtained a special status in our democratic culture and it has adjusted accordingly, under the premise that "our opinion is more equal." This explains why Golan, who entered the Knesset only thanks to his military ranks and connections, feels confident attacking an elected official who actually worked hard to get to where he is. If that is how Golan attacked Smotrich, you can figure out on your own what such a feminist progressive politician who champions coexistence thinks on women and Arabs.
The problem is that Golan has managed to go even lower when he uploaded a video clip attacking Smotrich for an unproven case from his days as a right-wing activist fighting the 2005 Gaza pullout, focusing on his arrest and even showing footage of him handcuffed in court from those days (no indictment was filed).
Smotrich was arrested and detained over political activism. He engaged in civil disobedience, which is a basic democratic principle. He was willing to pay the price without declaring himself a martyred saint and without trying to reap a media dividend.
So why has Golan been using this against him? How is that the same as the kids gloves approach police have been using against protesters gathering weekly near the Prime Minister's Residence? It appears that the Left wants privileges even when it comes to protests.
Smotrich is far from being my cup of tea on a whole host of issues, but when a former general shows such hubris in trying to teach me democracy while at the same time tries to cast aspersions on someone who has been detained for civil disobedience, I know which side I am on. Between the aristocratic, authoritarian militarism of Golan to the authentic political activism and trailblazing of Smotrich, I am with the latter. That is, I am on the side of real democracy, not the pretend democracy of the top-brass noble class.
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