Gideon Levy
Gideon LevyFlash 90

Extreme leftist Gideon Levy, a journalist for Haaretz, was a guest on the program of Erel Segal and Chaim Levinson on 103FM radio.

"I'm not joking when I say if I have to choose between Ganz, Lapid, or Netanyahu today, I choose Netanyahu without hesitation," Levy said. "I never thought to cross the lines and never thought to leave but the reality changed. I believed in the reality of two states for two peoples. You (the right) have removed this possibility from the chapter and this train has already left the station.

"Once the option was removed, the question remained which regime would arise here. The occupation is no longer a temporary phenomenon and if it's not temporary we have two alternatives - democracy or apartheid. There is no third possibility."

Right scores knockout

"You won big on the central issue," he stressed, "the settlement enterprise achieved what it wanted to achieve, to thwart any chance for a two-state solution and it won't be tabled any more.

"I've seen too many things in the past thirty years when I went to the territories every week. I started my position somewhere else and the more I saw, the more I realized the enormity of the crime. The more I saw, the more I understood how the subject of the occupation colors all our problems and changed my position over the years. Because I think you are a decent person, I'm sure you would have reached the same conclusions as me if you had gone through the journey that I went through."

The Palestinians don't interest me

When Erel asked what the Palestinians had done to solve the issue of the occupation, Levy said, "I'm surprised at you; they don't really interest me, I'm busy with what we're doing and not with their tragedy. I'm dealing with our responsibility for the crimes we commit. I have no special feelings for the Palestinians. I have a sense of guilt towards my people.

"I know that the only Jewish leftist party that exists today is only one Knesset member whose struggle against the occupation was the subject of the Meretz party, His flag was the only one of 120 Knesset members who put the subject of the occupation as the main thing of his activity, and to that man Meretz said yesterday, 'No,' and now is left with a bunch of gray activists who will take care of secondary laws and nothing else while the occupation will be left to Erel Segal."

Are the Jews a virtuous people?

"This case shows the face of Israeli politics, and the right is ready to fight for territory and real estate with another border and outpost that will cost in our blood while the Left deals with marginal issues. Why is not all Meretz engaged in the occupation? Above all the very important issues in Israel there's one heavy cloud that cannot be avoided. Those who run away from it simply do not dare look directly at it."

Erel believed the Jews were a privileged people and that Levi spoke in slogans. "Statements like 'we're all equal' will lead to bloodshed." Levy responded: "You're busy with Jews and I'm busy with humans, there's nothing more racist than to say the Arabs are a demographic problem.

"The constant preoccupation with ourselves deters us," he concluded. "We're not alone in this part of the world and the Right does not recognize it. But those here with us are equal in their rights to the last millimeter of our rights, and this too in the case of a great compromise on their part because they were here before us. The only solution is democracy for everyone, and I wonder why human rights equal for everyone so frightens the Right."