The Acceptable Face of the Unacceptable - Naftali Bennett & Extremism

Beware clean-cut military heroes, come high-tech millionaires, wearing kippot, espousing Jewish values!

Naphtali Bennett is surely the embodiment of the modern Israeli hero and an inspiration to us all.  He served in  elite Sayeret Matkal unit, and continues to serve as a Major in the reserves. He is s self-made high-tech millionaire, having sold Cyota in 2006 for a reputed $145m, the software company he co-founded in 1999.  He is married with four young children.  He is an observant Jew and as the poster boy for the settlers and the national religious movement he is the “bright young thing” in Israeli politics and the success story thus far in the 2013 elections.

As the new leader of the Bayit Hayehudi party he is enjoying unprecedented popularity and is predicted to grow the party from five seats in the Knesset to as many as fifteen seats.   And let me tell you, that is a scary prospect indeed.

If we lived in the UK we would never consider voting for Nick Griffin and the British National Party.  If we lived in France we would boke at the idea of voting for Marine le Pen and the National Front party.  We would reject these ultra nationalists for their racist, jingoistic and thoroughly anti democratic ideologies.

In the UK, Nick Griffin changed the image of British extremism, switching from Doc Martens  and “skin heads” to Church’s shoes and tailored suits.  But we were not fooled.  In France, Marine le Pen, taking the mantle of French ultra nationalism from her father attempted to improve the image of the extreme right in France with softer tones and more inclusive language, but again we are not blinded to the ugly truth.

If either of these parties were to enjoy large support and a high level of success in their own countries we would be horrified and outraged.  We would have no problem recognising the poison they peddle dressed up as patriotism with little patience for those with such a narrow and destructive view of the world.  We of all people know only too well how destructive such ideology can be and where it can lead.

So why would we even contemplate supporting such extremism in our own country?

Yes the beard has gone, as has the aggressive approach and for sure there is a far more sophisticated and palatable image, however for all his achievements to date, Naphtali Bennet and his clean-cut “all American” or perhaps that should be “all Israeli” image; is nothing more than a façade. 

It is a cynical and wholly disingenuous attempt to fool the Israeli electorate. It is an attempt to provide an acceptable face to the unacceptable.

Slogans such as “we live together, we serve together” or “this is your Jewish home”, endeavour to hide the fact that the Bayit Hayehudi is tantamount to the Israeli equivalent of the UK’s BNP or France’s National Front.  This is ultra nationalism with a contempt for true democracy, the rights of women, the rights of homosexuals or the rights of minorities.

When Bennet talks of returning Jewish values to all aspects of Israeli life, what he really means is introducing halakhic law by stealth.  Bennett and his party cannot be trusted.

When Bennet says, “we live together, we serve together”, apparently this only applies if you happen to agree with his ideology and political views.  Bennett has said openly that he would refuse to serve if he disagreed with the orders, such as orders to remove illegal Jewish settlements.  When accused of promoting mutiny in the IDF, Bennet qualified his statement as a personal one only.

When he says “this is your Jewish home”, if you happen to be gay then, sorry but this statement does not apply to you.

Candidates on the Bayit Hayehudi list hold a host of controversial, extremist and anti democratic views, particularly those from the Tekuma element in the party who make up 4o% of the list and will follow the dictates of three Rabbis, not of Bennett.

One of these Rabbis is Dov Lior, the Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba who in the past has stated that Baruch Goldstein should be considered “holier than all the martyrs of the Holocaust”.  For those of you who do not know, Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Palestinians at prayer in the Cave of the Patriarchs and wounded another 125 in 1994.

As much as he makes the idea of Jewish Nationalism look and sound reasonable,  Bennet and the Bayit Hayehudi are in fact a bunch of extremists who put real estate and religious zealotry ahead of peace and democracy. They are determined to stop a peace deal with the Palestinians at any cost,  While accusing the left wing of delusion in regard to the possibility of peace, they indulge in their own delusional fantasy and messianic mission to establish a “greater Israel” and build the third temple.

Their rabid ideology and contempt for those who do not share their insane zealotry must be rejected outright.

The fact is that Extremism is not Zionism and Zionism is not Extremism!