Sport & Culture Minister Yehiel Tropper (Blue & White) participated in Bnei Akiva’s third national conference on education, held in Jerusalem on Sunday, discussing various timely issues with the deputy head of education and pedagogy for Bnei Akiva, Rabbi Dr. Yonah Goodman.
Among other issues, Tropper discussed recent movies and plays that depict the State of Israel in a negative light, saying that, “I have stated my position, which is against such things, and I had an argument on this with the Film Academy just a few weeks ago, when I spoke at an event and said: I’m a Jew, a Zionist, and a patriot – that’s part of my identity and I think that it deserves to find its expression within culture.”
Tropper noted that, “In the last year alone, the government subsidized dozens of films, some of which were quite controversial. My sense of identity is strong enough to deal with attacks, but there were many people who felt otherwise. It pains me to see that for certain actors and performers, what’s important to them is to travel abroad and tell everyone how terrible it is here. It pains me, and that’s why I don’t remain silent on this issue. But the government supports a large number of ventures representing a wide range of opinions and that’s the way it should be – as long as it doesn’t cross red lines.”
Commenting on comparisons made between the current government and the previous one, Tropper said, “Both governments have got things wrong; similar things, too. And both governments have done things well. Not everything the last government did was bad, and not everything the current government is doing is good. The reality is much more complex than that. For a long time, half of the country – let’s call them the center-left – felt that they weren’t being seen, that their needs were being trampled on. Now the other half feels that way, and it hurts. But the way I see it, this polarization is something we have to fix.”
Asked whether he thought it made a difference to have a Sport & Culture Minister who wears a yarmulka, Tropper said, “Everyone brings himself to the role he takes on, and this is part of who I am. I’m religious, and a Religious Zionist, and yes, I think it has an impact.”