In the upcoming elections, the central battle will focus on the persecution of Torah scholars. The competition will be very close and harsh, between Benet and the issue of "the draft evasion is decimating our soldiers" and Lieberman, architect of the wheelbarrows, and Yair Golan who calls for "boosting the trend of leaving the chareidi ranks because of questions [on religion]". We haven't yet mentioned the start-up movements which will yet emerge, like the 'army reservists' of former minister Yoaz Hendel whose first call to the public was that "whoever does not serve [in the army] cannot vote or be chosen to sit in the Knesset. " Democracy supreme.
In this public atmosphere, when Torah scholars are the punching bag of the Israeli society, it is only natural for a news commentator from the leading media channel to 'celebrate' on the backs of two young chareidi youths who merely and innocently sought a donation for a needy family.
Dr. Nissim Katz, a media lecturer who is not mitzvah-observant, published an article against said lowly commentator. He wrote:
"The incident of the news critic who publicized a documented event of two young yeshiva students who knocked on her door on the eve of Independence Day to ask for charity, is not a 'news error' or a 'momentary anger.' It is a distillation of a full blown cultural stereotype which transform the camera into a shaming tool, a denigration of a targeted population.
The scene depicted in the clip could have ended in a polite refusal or alternately, a small donation, as occurs in thousands of Israeli homes every day. But the critic and her spouse chose to turn their private threshold into a arena of a hostile interrogation. `Are you aware that at the age of eighteen you are supposed to be drafted? Are you familiar with this law?'
"They fired these questions at two flabbergasted youths which was documented and aired on a channel as part of the exposure to a suggested social crime.
"At that moment, the two chareidi youths ceased to be individuals seeking help for hachnosas kallah, and were transformed into sector caricatures — symbols of everything that riles up the secular public on the draft issue. The deep problem of this approach is the dehumanization. When a noted newswoman utilizes her power and position to 'educate' isolated youths upon her very doorstep, she is guilty of a media strong-arm act under the veil of idealism.
"Would she have dared to interrogate a youth from a different second-degree minority sector and educate him on his civil obligations? But the chareidi in the Israeli media is free-for-all. He is considered as part of a faceless group, devoid of feelings or the right to privacy.
"Her reaction after the clip was removed exposed the depth of the rupture. Instead of apologizing for insulting the patriotism of the two boys who did her no harm whatsoever, she chose to double down on her stand, `Not to enlist in this period - is definitely something to be ashamed of. '
"She mobilized the army service of her spouse and the pain of losing a son in order to justify her ill treatment of those who had no part or parcel of this contention. The justification of such pain to the general public grants her the license to belittle every single chareidi, regardless of his identity or actions.
"The chareidi public is often as not presented as a subject of demographic, economic or ethical threat to society. When such examples filter forth from the media studios to the daily street, they create a social climate which is suspicious and prejudicial, forcing individuals to erect protective and separated stands. The damage of such clips are long term and cause the chareidi public to feel persecuted and estranged. They reinforce the feeling that the media in general is an enemy to beware of. Alternately, they feed the Jewish public at large with a sense of false ethical superiority which is based upon the deprecation of the weak.
