It’s almost worn out to open a column in a newspaper like that, but once in a few years a movie comes along and without meaning to, it contains an important and accurate sentence, even though the movie itself may not be that “important”. In the movie “Spider-Man” from 2002, Peter Parker’s uncle says, just before saying goodbye to him for good, the sentence that will accompany him throughout his life: “With great power comes great responsibility.” It’s a shame that we didn’t show this film to the members of the government on the eve of formation, maybe we would have been spared the series of international scandals that the State of Israel had to absorb from our elected representatives.
Unfortunately, several ministers in the current government have forgotten how to be a minister. For some it is the first time; Others arrived at the office so hungry that instead of munching on the main course, which is their office work, they starve themselves to death and fill up on appetizers.
Let’s start at the end – with the Dubai farce of Minister Miri Regev, who said at the conference this week: “I was in Dubai. I won’t go back there, I don’t like this place.” You might say: oh well, a person is allowed to dislike a certain place on the face of the globe. But a senior position in the government is expected to think a step and a half ahead. Relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates these days are not among the best to say the least – both for reasons related to us, such as Ben Gabir’s ascension to the Temple Mount with the establishment of the government and the words of the Minister of Finance, which we will get to shortly, and also because of regional matters such as the rapprochement of Saudi Arabia with Iran. This is evidenced by the fact that even though Netanyahu wanted to and his office signaled to Abu Dhabi that he was interested in coming to visit, they still do not invite him. Such a thing would not have happened a year or two ago. Then Minister Regev arrives and insults the Emirates. Why? Like that, just like that. Then she tried to correct it in a video that is not clear whether it was intended for residents of the Emirates or citizens of Israel, in which she allegedly talks with the ambassador of the Emirates in Israel. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also had to make amends.
The star of the last few weeks, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, uttered a statement that will accompany him for a long time: “Havara must be erased.” He clarified his words several times and even called himself to do some soul-searching, but the Americans were less impressed, and they boycotted him during his visit to the USA. During his visit to France, Smotrich went above and beyond and delivered the speech “There is no such thing as a Palestinian people”. Israel is complete” as the revisionists saw it. Even if you agree with Smotrich’s statement regarding the lack of historical evidence for the existence of a Palestinian people, the question arises as to whether this is what the Minister of Finance of the State of Israel should do, and how useful this speech was.
What is certain is that the event greatly upset the Jordanians: they expressed a strong protest against the erasure of Jordan from the map, summoned our ambassador to a reprimand and called on the world to condemn Israel. The head of the National Assembly Tzachi Hanegbi was sent to clean up after Smotrich and called Jordan’s foreign minister to tell him that there is nothing to worry about, Israel recognizes Jordan’s borders and the peace agreement signed in 1994. Even those who believe that sometimes it is better to tell the truth, even if it comes at a price, should To ask: How did this contribute to Israel?
Regev and Smotrich are not alone. Minister Galit Distel-Atbarian claimed that the protesters against the legal reform are financed by Iran and Germany, a statement that drew condemnation from the Germans. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced that he was formulating an outline that would harm the independence of the governor of the Bank of Israel, raising concerns from senior economists around the world that the Bank of Israel’s decisions might be tainted by political interests. And there are other examples.
The government ministers must understand that they are no longer in an election campaign. They sing, and have the power to change the reality of life for the 9 million people who live here. Granted, it doesn’t garner as many likes as a good tweet, but that’s the job. It is difficult and often Sisyphean, and public recognition comes after a long time and sometimes does not come at all. But that’s what they were chosen for.
In the book of Amos it is said: “The educated at that time will die”. Sometimes, when there is nothing good, waiting or useful to say, it is better to just stay silent.
Yanir Kozin is a political reporter and presenter on the IDF radio