1. Earlier this week, I warned against turning Joint Arab List MK Basel Ghattas into a hero and a media darling. It is his right -- especially as a member of Knesset -- to take part in a flotilla that defies us. It is for that reason that the institution of parliamentary immunity exists. You just have to grit your teeth and respect freedom of expression; and most importantly, you must not allow your emotions to take over. Any "angry," "enraged" or "biting" reaction will only serve his purpose in boarding the They Hate Us Fishing Boat Version 2.5. He learned from Joint Arab List MK Hanin Zoabi that it is worth it; especially with all of our hysterical reactions. Where is the line drawn? In speech. As long as there is no physical harm caused to others and no calls for violence against them, people can say terrible things. Often, the best cure for silly provocations is indifference. The storm of the hour only serves those who hate us in this world and indicates a lack of confidence on our part (which also makes them happy). We are strong enough to contain Ghattas and Zoabi and a thousand others like them. The difference in our reactions reflects the difference between sprinters and long-distance runners. The Jewish people have returned home, and that is maddening to this group. It would be a shame to get in the way of their happiness. Israeli democracy is strong enough to handle these kinds of fringe opinions. It requires tolerance. And faith. And a bit of humor. Instead of getting angry, we can wish MK Ghattas a nice trip; tell him to beware of tall waves and sea sickness. 2. It's a shame that Deputy Interior Minister Yaron Mazuz fell into the trap of provocation and stumbled in his words. "Wise Scholars, measure your words carefully" (Ethics of the Fathers 1:11) is especially true among Israeli society, which gets worked up over every fiery statement as though it will determine our fate. I don't think that he was referring to all of Israel's Arab citizens, but elected officials from the Arab sector who automatically support every initiative designed to weaken Israel certainly deserve to express their opinions. Mazuz's response, "You should say thank you ..." is a simplistic argument. "Turn in your ID cards" is a strong statement that deserves condemnation. And yet, I still do not take part in the Pavlovian shouting of the Left. Mazuz said what he did in a heated debate in response to statements designed to provoke him, a tactic that appears to have worked. There is no political doctrine or ideological thread at work here. So he said something. Move on. And then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got up said that all citizens of Israel, Jewish and non-Jewish, have the same right to vote and to be elected. "It is a universal right that is indisputable. You have the vested right to say your piece, and we will defend it." Until this point, everything seemed fine. But then Netanyahu added that he does not need to agree with the hypocrisy. On the one hand, the Arab MKs are accusing our soldiers of "war crimes," while on the other hand we have not heard them condemn the real war crimes in Syria and Yemen. "We defend your right; we attack the hypocrisy." Why did Meretz MKs jump on these words (Army Radio's evening broadcast adopted only Meretz chairwoman Zehava Galon's interpretation)? This is the paraphrased version of a saying attributed to Voltaire: "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." We must defend the freedom of expression of Arab MKs, but in the same vein, we must protect our soldiers from false accusations. That's a bit of a difficult concept for those who seek to impose their views on us. We already mentioned that there are those on the Israeli Left who would be prepared to defend to the death our right -- to think just like them ... 3. The sanctimonious queries were immediately voiced. Is the Likud following the path of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who famously called to safeguard the rights of Arabs and to respectfully integrate them into the future Jewish state? The Likud is not only Herut; it is a grass-roots movement that includes more than just Jabotinsky's disciples. Nevertheless, Jabotinsky was a brilliant polemicist who expressed himself much more strongly than the feeble statements made in the recent storms. In the introduction to his well-known article "The Iron Wall," Jabotinsky vowed not to violate the principle of equal rights for Arabs, but immediately following, he wrote that peace "depends, not on our relationship with the Arabs, but exclusively on the Arabs' relationship to Zionism." Here it is again: Defense of the right to vote and to free expression along with a realistic assessment of the heart of the debate. Enough with the artificial storms. It would be worthwhile to calm down. In his novel "Samson the Nazirite," Jabotinsky wrote: "Even truth should not be served in a full dish." Indeed.