The leader of the opposition, MK Itzhak Herzog (Zionist Camp), met on Tuesday with a group of docents from the Menachem Begin Heritage Center. He said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) enhances the public’s feelings of fear: “There is despair without the sense that there’s a chance to overcome the conflict. Netanyahu understood that he had to go to the lowest possible place, which is racism. The tension is so deep; this is why his words have affected some groups in Israeli society.”
Herzog added that “the more we integrate the Arab population in our society – the more we can live together based on mutual interests. Arabs are caring for Jews in hospitals and nursing homes. Netanyahu caused their humiliation and exclusion, which aroused deep frustration that could lead us to places we do not want to go.”
One docent asked Herzog if he believes that the Likud party was following in the footsteps of the deceased prime minister Menachem Begin. “Begin recognized the ability of every person to say what’s in his heart,” Herzog responded. “He was revolted by the tyranny of the majority in the Knesset, and accepted the Supreme Court’s authority without question. Today there is a high ranking minister in the Likud party who says distorted things about Supreme Court justices. Begin had respect for the basic governmental structure. President Reuven Rivlin is Begin’s and [Revisionist movement founder] Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s most obvious disciple.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Herzog told the docents that they have the ability to educate children and teenagers and, in doing so, create change. “They say that MKs are not proper role models for the younger generation. It is true that there are some bad apples who are ruining it for everyone, but we mustn’t generalize. The media trample on us and allow us to become icons at the expense of human weaknesses. The public’s role is to demand integrity and leadership from its elected officials,” Herzog said.