Bereaved army families group moves planned appearance by Arab MK
Yad Lebanim cites potential ‘provocations’ in letter to Ramat Hasharon mayor, informing him that event featuring Joint List lawmaker no longer welcome
Tamar Pileggi is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The national association for bereaved families in Israel has refused to host an upcoming event at one of its facilities due to the participation of an Arab lawmaker.
Yad Labanim told the mayor of Ramat Hasharon this week that Knesset member Ahmad Tibi taking part in the “Shabbat-culture” lecture series would be too “provocative” a move given what it said was Tibi’s criticism of Israeli troops in the past.
“Ahmad Tibi’s statements have hurt the feelings of some of the bereaved families. The political discourse has been awakened and the current circumstances have stirred the emotions of the public and the bereaved families in particular,” Yad Lebanim director Eli Ben-Shem said in a letter to the municipality.
Yad Lebanim is the umbrella body that oversees commemoration of Israeli fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks. The organization owns dozens of spaces across the country that serve as guesthouses and venues for various cultural events.
On Saturday, its venue in Ramat Hasharon was scheduled to host a panel that included Tibi, the number 2 on the Joint List Knesset faction. The event was relocated to a nearby venue.
“Tibi is not unacceptable in my eyes or in the eyes of the bereaved families,” Ben-Shem wrote. “However… we must strive to not hurt the feelings of the bereaved families who are sensitive to the things that Tibi has said about IDF soldiers over the years.”
Ben-Shem did not say what statements Tibi had made that the families would object to, but in 2012 the Knesset member accused IDF soldiers of being “child-murderers.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters have, without offering proof, portrayed Tibi and other Arab lawmakers in recent weeks as supporters of terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Tibi’s office confirmed that he was still planning to attend the event on Saturday.
“Obviously, there are differences of opinion between us, but this is the whole point of this panel: to hear the other, bridge gaps and reduce prejudices,” it wrote.
The Ramat Hasharon municipality on Tuesday confirmed the event had been moved to a nearby venue at the request of Yad Labanim.
Israel’s Arab citizens are descendants of Palestinians who remained in the state after its creation in 1948. Despite having citizenship, Israel’s 1.8 million or so Arabs report discrimination in areas such as housing, public services and employment.
As the political deadlock that has paralyzed much of the country for over a year has continued, Netanyahu has used racist language to lash out at Arab lawmakers, whom he has accused of thwarting his chances of reaching reaching a coalition agreement with rival party Blue and White.
Recent weeks have seen Netanyahu step up his rhetoric against the possibility of Blue and White chief Benny Gantz forming a minority government backed by the Joint List from the outside.
Last week, the prime minister held a rally where he likened a minority government backed by the Joint List to a “terror attack.”
He accused members of the Joint List of seeking to “destroy the country,” and claimed, without proof, that the “dangerous” Arab MKs supported the Gaza terror organizations that Israel fought against in recent weeks.
While some Joint List MKs spoke out against the targeted killing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group’s senior commander Baha Abu al-Ata as well as the IDF’s airstrikes in Gaza, none of them expressed support for Islamic Jihad or its targeting of Israeli civilians.
Netanyahu’s remarks drew criticism from his political opponents as well as President Reuven Rivlin, who in an extraordinary rebuke of the prime minister condemned his “ugly remarks” against an Israeli minority.
