The exclusion of entire publics from Hatufim Square versus the authentic treatment of the Prime Minister, the politicization of the protest versus the legitimacy of democratic protest | The storm of contempt for the Prime Minister in Hatufim Square, for and against: Raanan Shaked and Yair Kraus

Raanan Shaked

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Yair Kraus

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A profound expression of toxic division / Yair Kraus

Over and over again, over the past two years, I have wanted to be part of the tribal bonfire in the square of the kidnapped - my beloved brothers who were kidnapped. And each time, something prevented me. Something in the air, in the painful soundtrack, which often felt as if it belonged to only one camp, as if the pain for the kidnapped was the exclusive domain of those who oppose the government. It is true that sometimes we gave space and agreed to host people from the right-wing camp or from religious Zionism on side stages with singing and prayer ceremonies, but always as guests who must deviate from the rules of the host.

This week, at the height of national joy, with the return of our brothers and sisters home, came the painful answer to"why." The shrill boos that took the names of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Ron Dermer were not just a protest against people - they were a deep and searing expression of the division that poisoned us, of the open wound that refuses to heal.

It is impossible to ignore Netanyahu's heavy responsibility, alongside all the heads of the defense establishment, for the terrible failure of October 7 and the price we paid. The criticism of him is justified, the anger is immense. But the public contempt, towards the representatives of the US president and their supporters, was broader and deeper. It was contempt for anyone who was not in the"right camp", for anyone who dared to think differently about the path in the struggle, even if their hearts were torn with concern for the hostages no less. It was contempt for anyone who saw in this war not only failure, but also heroism and inconceivable achievements in the face of an enemy that threatened to destroy us. And it was contempt for anyone who did not share the demand for the release of the hostages at all costs and for the war to be stopped.

This square, which became a space where large parts of the public felt they did not belong, failed to accommodate complexity. It did not know how to accommodate the fact that war, for all its horrors, is not a symmetrical event. The applause for Kushner's statements about the suffering of"innocents" in Gaza, as if a victim could be compared to an environment that supports terrorism, was no less jarring than the contempt. The shouts of thanks to President Trump, as if he was the one who paid the price and bore some responsibility for preventing the massacre of October 7, were also a detached political demonstration.

It must be said honestly: Even in the right-wing camp, they did not spare any effort in trolling and fueling hatred and fears from the left. But the square, which was supposed to be the beating, unifying heart of us all, sometimes became an arena for a single camp to clash. The contempt was not only for Netanyahu, but for anyone accused of being"messianic," "sacrificing kidnapped people," or any other slogan designed to remove him from the realm of Israeli legitimacy, despite the blood price he paid for the return of the kidnapped and the defeat of the enemy in order to prevent a similar massacre.

Now, with the closure of this bloody chapter, with the return of the kidnapped home, we face a historic, and perhaps last, opportunity for healing. We must have a new discourse here. A discourse of partners in the state, who are not willing to continue the self-destructive journey of hatred and boycotts. A new public space where we do not have to agree on everything, but we must, simply must, treat each other with mutual respect and as equal partners in the national challenge of rebuilding the State of Israel and the people of Israel.

Why it is permissible and necessary to boo Netanyahu / Raanan Shaked

1. Because this is the dominant, strongest, and most immediate emotion that most Israelis (see polls if you haven't had the chance to talk to Israelis recently) feel today when the name"Netanyahu" is mentioned. Contempt.

2. Because it is also the emotion that President Trump himself has felt more than once and even expressed ("He's f***ing me!").

3. Because reciprocity in the relationship: Netanyahu has never shown anything but contempt and rejection for the hundreds of thousands of good Israelis who tried to push, beg, and convince for a deal to release the kidnapped. Because Netanyahu has never bothered to go to the hostage square. Because Netanyahu has not uttered, since October 7, a single word of empathy, understanding, or recognition of what we have all been through, and every moment he was photographed, his face expressed one prominent emotion: contempt. So contempt for you too.

4. Because Netanyahu and his son have attached to these hundreds of thousands of good, serving, and contributing Israelis nicknames like"mobs," "fascist phalanxes," and "hallucinatory phenomena," in other words: they despised them first.

5. Because oh, the statesmanship! How can you boo Netanyahu in front of an American diplomatic representative! Where is the behavior?! And this comes after years of deliberate erasure – on behalf of Netanyahu and his government – of every symbol of statehood in Israel. So if there is no statesmanship anywhere, there is none in Kidnapped Square, not even in front of an American representative. There is contempt.

6. Because funding Hamas as a strategy; because rejecting more and more explicit warnings from the heads of the army and Shin Bet; because the massacre of October 7 and even more so – October 8, the day when Netanyahu recovered enough to do the first thing that was most important to him: meeting with his media advisors to blame the whole world except himself for everything – none of this arouses any emotion beyond contempt.

7. Because throughout the time that has passed, Netanyahu has done everything – and in the light of day – to prioritize the lives of his government over the lives of the hostages, including breaking a deal, including destroying negotiations, including reoccupying Gaza, including the failed attack on Qatar. Talk – and hostage pins on the lapel – mean nothing; actions say everything. And the actions of Netanyahu – the man who always works for only one thing: staying on the job – evoke in every decent person a single instinctive response: contempt.

8. Because Netanyahu really thinks he deserves to continue. That there is and should be no responsibility or price to pay for an event of the magnitude of October 7th that takes place on your watch and under your responsibility. That you can simply forget and oblivion and pretend and lie and plunder and not investigate and not offer a shred of sympathy for the grief, a pinch of responsibility, a sliver of conclusions, a thousandth of regret, a millionth of another thought about your suitability for the position. And such a person, what can you do, mainly inspires contempt.

9. Because if we're talking directly to Trump – and that's what sane Israel has done – we can also share with him our feelings towards someone who has long since ceased to represent the vast majority of us. As mentioned, he knows exactly what we're talking about.

10. Because popular sentiment has the right to be spontaneously expressed in a large popular gathering, as long as it is a democracy. It is a democracy, right?

11. Because on the two-year anniversary of October 7, during the family ceremony, in the face of all the still-open wounds, Netanyahu's channel broadcast the cheers of the"patriots" under the title "And rejoice in your holiday!" – in what was a perfect expression of the government's arrogance and contempt for the terrible pain of the vast majority of the Israeli public. How did you think we would respond? Contempt.

12. Because if we didn't despise him, we would despise ourselves. Look closely at the faces of Irit Linor and Yotam Zimri and the rest of the"Patriots" panelists on that broadcast; they are stuck awkwardly at the table. They despise themselves. But they make a living.

13. Because just like the old childish prank where you ask someone to turn on the tap in your house and say what comes out: What did you think would come out, Coke? After two years in which Netanyahu has brought Israel to the most divided, conflicted and lowest place in its history – by every existing measure – what did you think would come out? Only contempt.

14. Because this item should have been deleted from the list of things we need to do: boo Netanyahu in front of someone who is actually listening. And hearing.

15. Because all they did was boo him, who would listen? They didn't lead a march with a coffin with his name on it. Fight on.

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