Igniting incitement

Source:Times of Israel

Following an unfortunate and irresponsible tweet by Minister Naftali Bennett — “the only ones capable of setting the land on fire are people to whom it doesn’t belong” — fearful Israelis cranked up their hatred to a level that will soon extinguish every remaining shred of sanity here.

Indeed, the words of the distinguished reporter and arson expert extraordinaire encouraged even more second- and third-rate politicians to do what they are best at: incite and whip up the atmosphere in the public arena, rather than unify and reassure the citizens, if only to a small degree.

Ben Yishai quotes official sources in saying that the fire at my own village, Wahat al-Salam – Neve Shalom, was almost certainly an unfortunate accident, but in the next breath he declares that it served as an inspiration to others to start a wave of terror by fire!

In truth, Ben Yishai was right, there was inspiration. Having passed a freezing night in the fields together, I feel that our community could teach this country’s leadership a thing or two about humane behavior in times of crisis.

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Categories: Asia, Middle East

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