If there was always one thing I admired about the Israeli left it was their deep commitment to free speech. What could be nobler, I thought, than that phrase of Renaissance philosopher Voltaire "I may despise what you have to say but I will defend to the death your right to say it." "So beautiful!", I thought, "So just!" This, I agreed, must be behind the left's support of all those fanatical Arab members of the Knesset who called for Syria to invade Israel and for "Palestinians" to throw firebombs at Jewish mothers. I may not agree with you but I'll defend till the death your right to say it. Beautiful!
I admit I got a bit confused when the left started to call for the closure of "illegal" Haredi radio stations. But then I realized - there just aren't enough radio licenses to go around and too bad if they just ran out when Shas came by to ask for them. Free speech, free speech, but what about law and order?
All was fine and well right up until the left started clamoring for the closure of Arutz Sheva radio station. Arutz Sheva broadcast from international waters just as the left-wing activist Abie Nathan had done. Surely, they could not be as illegal as the Haredi stations. But then I realized I was wrong again. Those sneaky Arutz Sheva people were really broadcasting their insidious Israeli folk songs and dangerous newscasts from INSIDE Israel (a despicable crime). That huge boat that they maintained at the cost of a million dollars a year, just for upkeep, was, of course, only some flimsy front. So, I realized my noble left-wing comrades were right again. However, I admit that sometimes, in my weaker moments, I began to think, "For free-speechers they sure seemed intent on shutting people up."
I guess I went through a kind of disillusionment when the Meretz activists trashed the offices of Hatsofe newspaper (affiliated with the National Religious Party). And when left-wing students shouted down author Barry Chamish at Hebrew University (that bastion of academic freedom). And when left-wing Knesset members tried to ban Chamish?s book. And when Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman was brought in for "questioning" by the police for criticizing the legal establishment in a closed forum. Etc., etc.
It took me a while to realize what the left was really saying. It wasn't "We support free speech." It was "We support free speech for ourselves," especially if that speech involves inciting to violence against innocent Jewish civilians. Once I got that straight, everything became clear. Zev Sternhal's article in Ha?aretz newspaper calling for kamikaze Arab attacks against Jewish villages in Judea and Samaria was legal. Irena Soskind's depiction of Mohammed as a pig was illegal (and earned her up to a year in jail). The university student union's call for non-violent civil disobedience to protest tuition fees was meanwhile legal. Right-wing activist Moshe Feiglin's call for non-violent civil disobedience to protest the surrender of parts of the Land of Israel was illegal.
I reported for my most recent reserve duty with my Makor Rishon newspaper bumper sticker slapped proudly onto the back of my car. I realized some of my fellow soldiers were stridently leftist but then, hey, we are all entitled to our own opinions right? Imagine my surprise when, upon approaching my car one day in the middle of my reserve duty, I found that someone had sneaked up to it when I wasn't around, ripped the sticker off and disposed of it. "Ahh Israel," I thought to myself, "land of the free and the home of the brave."
I admit I got a bit confused when the left started to call for the closure of "illegal" Haredi radio stations. But then I realized - there just aren't enough radio licenses to go around and too bad if they just ran out when Shas came by to ask for them. Free speech, free speech, but what about law and order?
All was fine and well right up until the left started clamoring for the closure of Arutz Sheva radio station. Arutz Sheva broadcast from international waters just as the left-wing activist Abie Nathan had done. Surely, they could not be as illegal as the Haredi stations. But then I realized I was wrong again. Those sneaky Arutz Sheva people were really broadcasting their insidious Israeli folk songs and dangerous newscasts from INSIDE Israel (a despicable crime). That huge boat that they maintained at the cost of a million dollars a year, just for upkeep, was, of course, only some flimsy front. So, I realized my noble left-wing comrades were right again. However, I admit that sometimes, in my weaker moments, I began to think, "For free-speechers they sure seemed intent on shutting people up."
I guess I went through a kind of disillusionment when the Meretz activists trashed the offices of Hatsofe newspaper (affiliated with the National Religious Party). And when left-wing students shouted down author Barry Chamish at Hebrew University (that bastion of academic freedom). And when left-wing Knesset members tried to ban Chamish?s book. And when Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman was brought in for "questioning" by the police for criticizing the legal establishment in a closed forum. Etc., etc.
It took me a while to realize what the left was really saying. It wasn't "We support free speech." It was "We support free speech for ourselves," especially if that speech involves inciting to violence against innocent Jewish civilians. Once I got that straight, everything became clear. Zev Sternhal's article in Ha?aretz newspaper calling for kamikaze Arab attacks against Jewish villages in Judea and Samaria was legal. Irena Soskind's depiction of Mohammed as a pig was illegal (and earned her up to a year in jail). The university student union's call for non-violent civil disobedience to protest tuition fees was meanwhile legal. Right-wing activist Moshe Feiglin's call for non-violent civil disobedience to protest the surrender of parts of the Land of Israel was illegal.
I reported for my most recent reserve duty with my Makor Rishon newspaper bumper sticker slapped proudly onto the back of my car. I realized some of my fellow soldiers were stridently leftist but then, hey, we are all entitled to our own opinions right? Imagine my surprise when, upon approaching my car one day in the middle of my reserve duty, I found that someone had sneaked up to it when I wasn't around, ripped the sticker off and disposed of it. "Ahh Israel," I thought to myself, "land of the free and the home of the brave."