Israeli society is not known as one that is
particularly considerate of the feelings of others,
especially when it comes to religious Jews. The public could
have been spared many confrontations and struggles had an
attitude of respect and appreciation of one's fellow
prevailed. But as is known, this is not the case.
Every morning noon and night, arguments and disputes
flare up, only due to the uncompromising refusal to consider
the feelings of one's fellow. In most instances, though, this
lack of consideration stems from hatred and the penchant for
strife, rather than from the difficulty of
compromise.
But wonder of wonders, with the approach of the pope's
visit to Israel, it was decided to take into account his
feelings and remove the Mogen Dovid symbol from the
ambulance assigned to accompany him on his trips.
With nary a word, and without a scathing public
debate, nor even a peep from all those chronic trouble makers
who derive their sustenance from hurting the feelings of
others, a decision to erase the Mogen Dovid from the
ambulance was made, in order not to offend the feelings of
the guest.
The Mogen Dovid is not a random logo decorating
the ambulances of Israel's ambulances. It is a central motif
in the Jewish flag. Nonetheless, in order not to offend the
feelings of the pope, it was decided to erase it.
MK Shaul Yahalom (NRP) went to war on the issue, and
raised the demand not to give in to the Vatican on this
point.
"The erasing of the national symbol from the ambulance
which will accompany the pope on his visit to Israel insults
the State, and would not have occurred anywhere else. Does
anyone think that any other country would agree to erase one
of its main symbols in honor of the pope's visit? "Israel
should have said; The Mogen Dovid is a Jewish symbol,
the symbol of Judaism, the symbol of the State of Israel, and
with all due respect to the Pope, when he comes to Israel he
must accept the symbols of the State. We will not erase the
Mogen Dovid from the ambulance, just as we won't erase
it from the Israeli flag. "I call on the authorities, to the
Prime Minster, the Foreign Minster and to those who are
arranging the visit, to cancel their mistaken decision, and
to return the Mogen Dovid to the ambulance which will
accompany the Pope."
Actually, if we try to delve into the Vatican's demand
to remove the Mogen Dovid from the ambulance, so that
the Pope won't be forced to see it in front of him, or to
travel in a vehicle which bears the Mogen Dovid
symbol, we see that it contains more than an affront to the
national honor. Even though the Mogen Dovid in and of
itself has no actual religious meaning, it symbolizes Judaism
in the eyes of the nations. For that reason it appeared on
the yellow badges Jews were forced to wear during the
Holocaust. Erasing it, then, means to erase the "Jewish
symbol."
Despite the anti-Jewish protest implied in the
Vatican's demand, and despite the clearly national-Zionist
argument raised by MK Yahalom, Yahalom's call went
unanswered.
All those who are concerned for the honor of the
State, all those who respect its flag, all those who cherish
its national symbols, agree that national considerations
should be overlooked in favor of the feelings of the pope. If
the Mogen Dovid symbol offends him, we'll erase it. It
doesn't matter. We won't force him to see a sight which hurts
his feelings. "The Jewish State", (as it is defined in
history books) will not be harmed by erasing its national
symbol out of regard for the feelings of a religious figure,
even if he is the representative of another religion. It is
easier to forego a national symbol or even national honor,
than to offend someone.
Interestingly, the feeling that it is important to
honor the feelings of the pope, despite the implied insult to
the Jewish state, is shared by a broad consensus of pubic
representatives from all political and social strata, even
those who focus on offending their fellows all-year-
round.
It is difficult to understand this phenomenon. After
all, we aren't speaking about Israeli society's first attempt
at grappling with the problem of sensitivities. Tens of
thousands of Jews, who plead not to have their feelings
offended live in the country. They don't try to impose their
feelings on others. All they ask is: please don't offend our
feelings. But not only is their request totally rejected, it
is also defined as anti-religious coercion.
The chareidi community incessantly pleads: do not
flood the public domain with sights which offend our
sensitivities. But this request is considered illegitimate,
even though we ask nothing from them on a private basis. "We
don't look into their plates," as they like to describe it.
The contrary is true: all that we ask is to preserve the
purity of our plates. But no one bothers to listen to
us.
The chareidi community asks to implement its basic
democratic right to organize itself for the forthcoming
shemita year, and to import, at its own expense, in a
private manner, fruits and vegetables from abroad. However,
the Agriculture Ministry finds it hard to reconcile with a
request whose rejection will cause many problems to tens of
thousands of families.
The chareidi community wants a special bus line from
one chareidi region to another, with separate seating, but
the trouble makers from a totally different city have raised
an outcry over this "illegitimate" request to consider the
feelings of the chareidi sector.
In every aspect of public life, it is impossible not
to encounter increasing attmepts to offend the feelings of
the chareidi sector. The ambulance which will accompany the
pope on his visit will not have any symbol on its sides.
However, it will serve as the symbol of the shame of Israeli
society.
