The natural increase of "Nazis" in Israel is surging at a startling rate. Just a few days ago, actor Itay Tiran, the star of an Israeli adaptation of "Cabaret," which depicts Germany on the eve of the Nazis' rise to power, explained that the musical is intended as a cautionary tale. Nazi Germany and Israel, as far as Tiran seems to be concerned, are obviously the same thing. It would seem that demonstrators from the Eda Haredit [an extremist, anti-Zionist, ultra-Orthodox sect] who recently protested in Jerusalem were preaching to the choir. The news item about "Cabaret" was broadcast two and a half days after hilltop youth called IDF soldiers Nazis during a protest, and three days before the shouts of "Nazis" took center stage in Beit Shemesh. The latest stars were the loons in Jerusalem's Kikar HaShabbat ["Sabbath Square"], who brought their children to the demonstration with yellow Star of David badges pinned to their clothes, and had them raise their hands like the little boy in that other, older photograph. By the look of things, Nazism is more popular in Israel than anywhere else. For years, an evil thesis has existed, which posits that children and grandchildren of Auschwitz survivors came to Israel and established a state that treats Palestinians the same way as their ancestors in Europe. This thesis is especially popular in the theater, partly because these shows can be exported to Europe as a collective conscience-cleansing tool. Get the Israel Hayom newsletter sent to your mailbox! Just a few months ago, there were those who declared "We will shelter the children of migrant workers just as people once hid Jewish children during the Holocaust." We kept quiet about that. We did the same when people shouted "Nazis" during a demonstration in the Palestinian village Bil'in. Ironically, in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah these cries were heard from those seeking to expel Jews. In Safed, it was done with a bit more finesse, saying "calls not to rent apartments to Arabs remind us of darker days," while those who demanded Israel aid rebels in Syria said it should be done "so they will not say the world just stood by." This overexposure to Nazism renders it ineffective. In other words, if cries of "Nazis" were intended to shock people, they stopped doing that long ago. At best, they evoke a feeling that whoever utters that word is, how shall we put it delicately, a fool. At worst, it arouses a sense of revulsion the strongest kind possible. It is precisely for this reason, so that Nazism does not turn into something banal, that several European countries, including Germany, have outlawed the use of Nazi symbols. There is even a proposal for such a law to apply to the entire EU. Only in Israel can any fool, right-wing or Left, Haredi or secular, declare that the country is like Nazi Germany and/or wear a yellow badge. If the Europeans can do this without anyone complaining of censorship, we can too. Yes, even by law.
Ban 'Nazi'
מערכת היום
מערכת "היום“ מפיקה ומעדכנת תכנים חדשותיים, מבזקים ופרשנויות לאורך כל שעות היממה. התוכן נערך בקפדנות, נבדק עובדתית ומוגש לציבור מתוך האמונה שהקוראים ראויים לעיתונות טובה יותר - אמינה, אובייקטיבית ועניינית.
