Israel, Politics

Robert Reich and Stav Shaffir: Republicans and Netanyahu don't speak for us

Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor, posted a Facebook message last Friday objecting to Netanyahu’s upcoming speech — and received a firm hand of support from Israel’s youngest Knesset member. Reich couldn’t have predicted that he post would exceed 7,000 shares and 22,000 likes, including from Israelis. Mimicking what Prime Minister Netanyahu has sought — to bypass the official conduits of state-to-state relations and speak straight to the people, Reich’s post went viral. Reich’s award-winning film Inequality for All has put the former Ford, Carter and Clinton administration official back on the speaking circuit. He appealed to Israelis to understand that the Republicans, especially those like Sheldon Adelson, do not speak for American Jews.
Yesterday Stav Shaffir replied that he was not alone. The 29-year-old Minister of Knesset and a leader of Israel’s 450,000-person social protests in 2011 cited the inspiration that many of Israelis drew from Reich’s work in America:

Like many Israelis, I read your post that was shared by thousands…Though Netanyahu may be deaf to the needs and hopes of most of our citizenry, we have faith that we can build a different Israel. We have not the privilege to despair. We are neither impressed nor intimidated by Netanyahu’s scare tactics or Sheldon Adelson’s billions. We are encouraged and moved to know that we have partners across the ocean that share our vision for a more egalitarian society – one that is more just and more united. And if the circumstances we find ourselves in today succeed in generating a stronger bond between us and generate an emerging alliance, then at least we know that something good has come out of Netanyahu’s cynical move.

Emphasis mine, “we have partners across the ocean that share our vision.” That’s you, readers. Is there a potential alliance as powerful between progressives in America and Israel? As recent research shows, the alliance between the American Christian Right and the Israeli Right has skewed American policy towards deepening the occupation and Israeli policy towards deepening social inequality.
There is little that one can do to prevent someone like Netanyahu from speaking to Americans directly. And, really, I wouldn’t dream of denying anyone the right to speak to the world. We all have that right — though we speak only for ourselves. Countering the detrimental effort of such a stunt like today’s cannot be answered solely by walkouts or objections. We, progressives in America and Israel, must build upon each other to achieve an alliance equally as strong as Netanyahu and the American Right. Even more so.


 
Stav’s full message:

Dear Robert Reich
Like many Israelis, I read your post that was shared by thousands. Because you decided to address Israelis directly, you’ll forgive me if I take the same liberty and speak directly to US Jewry:
Brothers and sisters, you are not alone. Many of us in Israel feel the same extreme discomfort, even embarrassment, that you feel at Netanyahu’s interference in US internal politics. We understand that he is primarily interested in electioneering and is cynically exploiting you as a part of his election strategy, not to impact an agreement between Iran and world powers.
To our utter mortification, Netanyahu is willing to take this grave misstep despite its costs. In refusing to back down, he has already done serious damage to the strategic alliance between the US and Israel and put you -our brothers, sisters, allies and partners – in an impossible position in which you are asked to choose between your love for Israel and loyalty to the US. Make no mistake: we, like you, understand that support for Israel cannot become a partisan issue, limited to Republicans or Democrats. Support for Israel has long been bipartisan, and that cannot and should not change now. From what we know about the agreement being formulated, we have serious reasons for concern. But Netanyahu is doing the exact opposite of what someone who is interested in effecting the reality in the Middle East should be doing.
Robert, your work over the years on inequality has been an inspiration for many of us in the Israeli social protest movement. I know that you probably tend to hear about Israel in tragic contexts, but you should know that only a couple of years ago hundreds of thousands of us, citizens of Israel, took to the streets to begin a challenging common journey whose aim was a profound repair of our society. But just as our government, with Netanyahu at its helm, chose a destructive path when it came to our international relations, it took a destructive path on our economic front as well: housing prices continue to skyrocket, median income is stuck, and our most basic social services are falling apart.
Though Netanyahu may be deaf to the needs and hopes of most of our citizenry, we have faith that we can build a different Israel. We have not the privilege to despair. We are neither impressed nor intimidated by Netanyahu’s scare tactics or Sheldon Adelson’s billions. We are encouraged and moved to know that we have partners across the ocean that share our vision for a more egalitarian society – one that is more just and more united. And if the circumstances we find ourselves in today succeed in generating a stronger bond between us and generate an emerging alliance, then at least we know that something good has come out of Netanyahu’s cynical move.
MK Stav Shaffir

One thought on “Robert Reich and Stav Shaffir: Republicans and Netanyahu don't speak for us

  1. You have to fear how intolerant the radical leftist like Robert Reich have become. G_d protect Israel.

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