Negative Reaction to Netanyahu's Comment on Israel as a Country for Jews: From the President to Wonder Woman

Four weeks before the Israeli parliamentary elections, the continuous emphasis by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior ministers of the ruling Likud party that Israel is "a country solely for the Jewish people" has faced opposition from the President and several prominent figures in Israel. Colonel Miri Regev, the Minister of Culture and Arts from the Likud party, strongly condemned the possibility that the Blue and White coalition, the main rival of Likud in this election cycle, could form the next government through an alliance with Israeli Arab parties. The Blue and White coalition, led by former general Benny Gantz and politician Yair Lapid, was formed last month and is leading in all polls, although due to the renewed strength of religious and right-wing parties, Netanyahu and Likud still have a better chance of forming the next government. If the Blue and White coalition wins significantly more seats than Likud, there is a possibility of forming a government with Arab support, although this remains a weak prospect. However, according to Regev, who has previously served as a spokesperson and censorship officer for the Israeli army, Gantz's coalition with Israeli Arabs would be a threat. Arabs residing in the 1948 borders, the year David Ben-Gurion declared Israel's independence, now make up 20% of Israeli citizens and have consistently complained about inequality in many areas. The Jewish Nation-State Law, defining the state of Israel, was passed last year at Netanyahu's behest, and according to Arabs living in the country, it has turned them into second-class citizens. Arabs have the right to vote in elections, but some Arab figures were disqualified by Israeli authorities from running in the elections on April 8. On Sunday, March 10, Netanyahu supported his minister's remarks, stating that Israel is not a country for all its citizens, but according to the Jewish Nation-State Law that we passed, it is a country for the Jewish people; solely and exclusively belonging to the Jewish people. Netanyahu added that the Likud government under his leadership sees no problem with Arabs and that Regev's comments were not against them, but that Likud merely wants to clarify that this election is a choice between a strong right-wing government led by him or a left-wing government led by Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz that relies on the support of Arab parties; they have no way to form a government (other than with Arab support) and such a government would undermine the security of the country and its citizens. At Netanyahu's direction, the Likud party in its campaign states "either Bibi or Tibi"; Bibi is Netanyahu's nickname that Israelis and his friends around the world, like the President of the United States, call him; Tibi refers to Dr. Ahmad Tibi, the most famous Arab politician in Israel. Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, on Monday, March 11, in a speech, without mentioning any names, called recent remarks against Arab citizens of Israel "unacceptable" and stated that there are no second-class citizens. Despite being a senior member of the Likud party for decades before becoming president, Rivlin has always disagreed with Netanyahu. Ayman Odeh, a lawyer who is the leader of the Joint List of Arab parties in the dissolved Knesset and the leader of the Arab-Israeli party "Balad" in the upcoming elections, said that in what is called democracy, even in 2019, saying that all people here are equal in rights takes a lot of courage, and we are not familiar with such a situation. Before Netanyahu's support for his minister, Rotem Sela, an Israeli model and television presenter, wrote on her Instagram page in response to Colonel Regev's remarks, "What is wrong with the Arabs of this country? When will someone in this government show people that this country is for all its citizens, and all humans are created equal? For God's sake, Arabs are human too." In her next post on Instagram, in response to the severe backlash from parts of the Jewish public directed at her, she wrote, "Your negative comments will not stop me from expressing my opinion; a whole generation in this country has grown up without hope, and this is sad and has caused frustration; I love you too." Esi Azar, another television presenter, also supported Rotem Sela, stating that for many years politicians from all political spectrums here have dictated their violent tone and have taken over the public discourse; and if someone makes a mistake and wants to respond and talk about peace, hope, and equal rights, they are hit seventy times more by the supporters of the same people; and the more passive we became, the more violence increased; the voice of reason has gone silent... They have launched complete campaigns of "fear" and "hate"; ... we are tired of you... Gal Gadot, the Israeli actress from Wonder Woman, also entered this debate in a post from Hollywood supporting Israeli model Rotem Sela, writing: "Love your fellow as yourself." Gadot directly responded to Netanyahu, who said the election is a choice between a right-wing government or a left-wing government, adding that the issue is not right or left, Jewish or Arab; it is not secular or religious; the issue is dialogue; dialogue for peace, equality, and patience.