Saara-Zota erupted yesterday on social networks following the appearance of the satirist and stand-up artist Tam Aharon on the “Ulan Shishi” panel – the show that everyone seems to like to watch to suffer and complain.
For those who happened to miss the previous episodes, here is the summary: Aharon, who built a name for himself as a stand-up comedian with a strong political awareness who expresses distinct leftist positions with an emphasis on the Mizrahi struggle, has stated several times in the past year that he has changed his positions and he no longer sees himself as a leftist. The last time was about two weeks ago, in an extensive interview with time.
The short time that passed between the publication of the interview and his invitation to the prestigious panel of the central current affairs slot on Friday evening, where the right sided Rina succeeds in the debate about whether or not there is a partner on the Palestinian side, made many in the left camp suspicious of Aharon’s motives. Without mentioning names, in recent years we have seen several cases of the “VIP disillusionment” route: media persons who announce a transition from the left to the right, and are quickly rewarded with a broadcast slot on channel 14, a “right-wing” appearance on the panels of the various channels, and more.
Aharon has accumulated enough credit for us to believe that this is a real change and not an attempt to cut a coupon, but his quick casting for the “Friday Studio” revealed a fundamental problem. It is likely that whoever came up with the idea and invited him there, did so with the thought that we have a celebrity here, who caused a stir and crossed the lines between the camps, so his appearance on the panel will generate interest and buzz. Is Aharon necessarily the right person to argue with Rina Mosel on the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Not sure.
Tam Aharon is of course not the first, and likely not the last, to receive a summons to “Olan Shishi” as part of the celebrityization process of the flagship edition. If once upon a time the contributions of various celebs to the edition were limited to the magazine articles that are broadcast towards the end, then in recent months we have seen in the “Shishi Studio” Lior Shalein (remember, Sarah’s partner in the government) sitting on the panel, Aviv Gefen singing in the studio, and Mia Dagan (somehow this Always Mia Dagan) submits opinion columns on just about every topic in the world.
It’s hard to blame Aharon, Shalein, Gefen and Dagan for accepting the invitation: they must see their inclusion in the “Olan Shishi” panel as a certificate of honor, one that elevates them to a level from a public point of view, entertaining people who have a real influence on the political discourse in Israel. The problem lies in the disdain of the show’s captains for the viewers, who are probably incapable in their opinion of dealing with current affairs if they are not mediated by celebrities. The faltering ratings of the edition indicate that viewers deserve a little more credit than that.