A reckless pyromaniac

The Diplomatic-Security Cabinet's decision to outlaw the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel on Tuesday was the right one. But was it wise? Can the government actually take any effective steps against movement leader Raed Salah or his people-

Salah is a pyromaniac. He pours fuel on Israeli-Palestinian fires that are already burning way too hot. The fire that he lit surrounding Israel's alleged intention to take over Al-Aqsa mosque -- a threat that exists only in his mouth -- is a crime against humanity, not just against Israel.

Though no comparison should ever be made between the Palestinians' nationalist fight against Israel and Nazism, there is one similarity: Salah's satanic propaganda is reminiscent of the propaganda produced by Joseph Goebbels. Intentionally spreading a lie is a universal crime.

The Islamic Movement's Northern Branch has a relative edge: It has a knack for influencing youngsters with a gleam in their eye. Salah, the leader, has some kind of threatening hold on the parents of these youngsters, who do not dare defy him despite being terrified of where he is taking their children. Among all the different dangers that Salah represents, the worst is the silence of the lambs that he appears to impose on the Arab public. They hate him, but they are terrified of him.

In the past, there have been other Arab movements that tried to undermine the existence of the State of Israel, but they never succeeded in recruiting the kind of money and the kind of religious support that the Islamic Movement has gotten. Times have changed, and with them the danger and the friction have intensified.

And still, the Shin Bet security agency and several other bodies have questioned the wisdom of Tuesday's decision. Some believe that it would have been better to put the Northern Branch on trial for the crimes it has committed. They argue that outlawing the movement altogether will force the moderates to get behind Salah and demonstrate against the move, thereby bringing about the opposite of the intended result.

There is no doubt that most of the Israeli Arab MKs that make up the Joint Arab List despise Salah and the Northern Branch because it makes it harder for them to represent the entire Israeli Arab public and work to integrate the Arabs with equality into Israeli society. But they have no choice but to grit their teeth and praise the Northern Branch, perhaps even feeling jealous of the enormous popularity that Salah enjoys among Israel's Arab population.

There is always the possibility that forcing Salah to go underground will serve to aggrandize his image and romanticize his secret persona. It is possible that, with its decision, the Israeli government -- at least at first -- has forced the general Arab public to demonstrate in support of this man, who is hated by the vast majority of Arabs and Jews alike.

Amid this chaos of uncertain relations between Israel's majority and minority, the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet has essentially poured a fluid into the Israeli-Arab flame. Only time will tell whether that fluid was oil or water.

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