The mainstream has its own poison machine, operating on autopilot against anyone who swims against the current, like Yair Golan
Golan’s statement that Israel is not sane, and kills babies as a hobby, united the whole country against him. ■ There are many in Israel who support the killing of babies in Gaza and even rejoice in it. Moral objection is not heard on any TV channel. Those who wish to be part of the consensus must demonstrate conformity, actively or passively: support the killing of Gazans or remain silent.
By Rogel Alpher • Translated by Sol Salbe
There was a wall-to-wall attack on Yair Golan during the news program. This was one time when [the quasi-fascist] Channel 14 was in full agreement with the other channels. Between all the studios and all the programs, there wasn’t a single journalist, commentator, or host who supported him. Everyone freaked out. The same went for the political establishment — unanimous condemnations from the government, the “Opposition”, and the President. This means that in this matter, there really is no Opposition to speak of. None exists. There’s no alternative to Netanyahu’s government.
Golan’s statement that Israel is not sane, and kills babies as a hobby, united the whole country against him. A Grand National Unity Government — against him. The [verbal] lynching wasn’t just carried out by the Likud’s poison machine. The mainstream too has its poison machine as well, and, as if on autopilot, it swung into action against anyone who challenges the narrative and pushes the boundaries. And all this, why? Supposedly because of his blunt phrasing. That was the casus belli for the attack against him. He has a big mouth. But that’s just an excuse and a distraction.
A direct thread connects Golan’s “processes speech” as Deputy Chief-of-Staff, to his statement regarding the killing of babies in Gaza. In both cases, he violated a serious taboo in the Israeli mainstream by daring to question the morality of the community. In the first instance, through a comparison to German society in the early years of Nazism. Yesterday — by asserting that killing babies in Gaza is unacceptable. First and foremost because it’s immoral, and only then for pragmatic reasons. This is a precedent-setting contention for a leader a leader of a Jewish Zionist party.
On Israeli TV, this kind of argument has never been made by a leader of a Jewish party. Only by foreign leaders, and then it was labelled as antisemitic. What unites Israeli society is the hatred of Arabs. The only politically correct reason to oppose the killing of babies in Gaza is damage it causes to Israel’s image and public relations problems abroad. When Golan claims that we must not kill babies in Gaza because it is insane, he changes the rules of the game.
But here are many in Israel who support the killing of babies in Gaza and even rejoice in it. In the television studios, however, they only encounter arguments regarding efficacy. Moral objection is not heard on any channel. It has no venue in any news program. Those who wish to be part of the consensus must demonstrate conformity, actively or passively: support the killing of Gazans or remain silent.
Golan is the first to present a third option: denouncing Israel as an immoral state that has gone off the rails, committing crimes against humanity. This essentially makes him the only opposition leader in Israel. Surrounded by nobodies like Lapid, Liberman, Gantz, and even Eisenkot, whose moral voice regarding the killing of Gazans is not heard. Golan told Israelis: “You are immoral,”’ and most Israelis cannot tolerate this. It drives them crazy. They must be the most victimised, the most righteous, the most moral. Always. And they curse his big mouth. But it is not the mouth. It is the conscience.
