From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Gantz says Trump shooting is a wake-up call for Israel: ‘We must not be indifferent’
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
In the wake of yesterday’s attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump, National Unity party leader Benny Gantz quotes the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s statement that “violence erodes the foundation of democracy,” issuing a strong appeal for civility in Israel’s political discourse.
Rabin was assassinated by a far-right gunman in 1995, an act many link to the vitriolic rhetoric against him at the time.
“These days, when we have returned to the discourse of October 6 on steroids, we must say in a clear voice: there is no place for hatred and violence in a democratic country, in any shape or form, on any side of the political map,” he tweets.
“Violence is a danger to any democratic society, and we must not be indifferent to it, no matter which direction it comes from, no matter how great our differences. It is forbidden to act with physical or verbal violence against demonstrators and politicians and against the prime minister,” he states.
Pushing back against anticipated criticism from those who would accuse him of serving the prime minister’s interests, Gantz says that “the time has come to wake up about ourselves” and engage in introspection.
“This is also true for the prime minister, who must act to stop the incitement that is being spread online on his behalf. We must unite in calling all party leaders against any kind of incitement or violence,” he continues, calling yesterday’s shooting in Pennsylvania a wake-up call for Israelis.
