More on the Gay Parade in Jerusalem.......
The following comments were delivered by Arcadi Gaydamak, the Israeli - Russian tycoon. It was first published in Israel's biggest business daily Globes.
Holding the Gay Day Pride Parade in Jerusalem, which preparations for have created a pre-war atmosphere in the midst of Jerusalem, was authorized by Menny Mazuz, Israel's Attorney General.
All this, in spite of the police's stand on this issue; in spite of the demands of the heads of the religious communities and in opposition to one's healthy common sense; in spite of the complaints of the city's residents and their unprecedented protests; and even in spite of tragic consequences of yet another rift in the Israeli society.
This is how civil wars begin
Mazuz assumes, that by authorizing the Gay Day Pride Parade he is serving the interests of democracy. The police might not manage? The encounters might bare a heavy toll in bloodshed? These are all problems for the police to deal with. The protest has united, actually, for the first time in history, religious Christian, Muslim and Jewish members. Many amongst the seculars, who have respect towards tradition, view the Gay Day Pride Parade as an event, that is held in Jerusalem, no less, that is inappropriate. These are their problems.
The image of Israel is tainted, yet another time? The world laughs at the Jewish State, which once again copies with precision a political, Western fad, while throwing away its own values? This is not a problem at all.
And thus, thanks to the actions of clerks, who sincerely believe they know what's best for the good of the country, riots begin, revolutions and civil wars. Relying on democracy is not in place here. Exhibiting disrespect towards religious tradition and community values, no ability and no desire to separate between the two conflicted parties, inflaming desires for the sake of vague principals are not the signs of a democracy, but rather that of a dictatorship.
Proud ignorance or conscious provocation?
Of course, individual lifestyles with all their multiplicity in a civilized world, including Israel, should not be a cause for discrimination. But this has no relation what so ever to demonstrations of support for unisexual love that takes place in regions where the local residents view such events negatively.
Such demonstrations do not substantiate the victory of democracy, but rather that of atheism that combats in the guise of "politically correct". In Jerusalem, holy city to the three religions, the existence of the Gay Day Pride Parade, will not lead to anything but the creation of mass riots. It is probable that the organizers understand this just as well and their opposers do.
The question is: are all these happenings the creation of ignorant pride or is it a conscious provocation? And if the later assumption is correct, who stands behind this provocation and what is the true role of the Attorney General in this combination?
The Gay Day Pride Parade in Jerusalem, which offends the religious sector and also a significant number of other people who respect traditional family values, was planned to be held in a place where the responsibility for the security of the participants falls on Israel's police force. This same police, whose opinion is of no interest to Mazuz. Would the organizers of the Gay Day Pride Parade dare to begin the parade near El-Aqsa Mosque and continue it along eastern Jerusalem? And would then the Attorney General dare to authorize the existence of such a parade?
They rock the boat while holding on to the steering wheel
Those who are entrusted with decision making on behalf of the State, do not have the right to endanger the stability of its society. They must act in the best interests of the entire society and not just cater a group towards which they harbor a special empathy. Israel is composed of a wide mosaic of communities and social groups, which sometimes hold utterly contradictory views. From the beginning, no one can fulfill and satisfy all of them.
The one achievement that has been successfully attained through great effort, along dozens of years, for the benefit of the country, is diminishing the level of differences in society. A fragile social peace prevails today in Israel, which even without special challenges exists on the edge. And what is the worth of those, who rock the boat while holding on to the steering wheel?
It is because of this, that the support of the Attorney General in such social experiments is dangerous to a large extent like in the case of Jerusalem. We are dealing with more than just a mere mistake. We are dealing with an unauthorized and unpardonable step – especially when these issues are related to a man who calls himself a lawyer, since he is forming a precedent.
Let's forget for a moment the escalation of the tension formed in society, created truly out of nowhere. Let's stop asking questions regarding the emotional involvement of the Attorney General in the affairs of this or that social group. Let's not dwell on the fact that no other country in the world, including the State of Israel, owes its establishment thanks to the bohemia and does not exist for its sake either.
Let's assume for a moment that family values, which since thousands of years ago serve as a basis for civilization, and which many of their standards stem from the Jewish tradition, have become immeasurably obsolete. Let's also assume that Mazuz ignores with conscious arrogance a significant portion of the capital's public in favor of these people.
And let's ask ourselves a simple question: where does one draw the line of what can be considered politically reasonable in the future? Since this decision taken by Mazuz is a decision that concerns not only holding the Gay Day Pride Parade in Jerusalem, and doesn't specifically concern him ….
Mazuz's decision lifts the taboo. Now everything has fallen and everything is allowed. There is a permission to act here and it bares the significance of a "red line" for a substantial part of Israel's population, whose protest has succeeded in being ignored and its expressions will be suppressed in the future, also by the use of force.
The fact that this points to another round in the confrontation between the State of Israel, represented by the Atorney General Menny Mazuz, and the people of Israel, which to serve its interests, this country, as assumed by its people until now, was founded - this is not so important. It is much more important what conclusions have been drawn, and what chain reaction, that is unwanted, Mazuz has triggered.
An action creates a counter-action. This is true not only in physics but in politics as well. In 2005, the evacuation of the settlements in the Gaza Strip, which was authorized by the government and supported by Mazuz, gave legitimacy to the idea of transfer of Israeli Arabs. In 2006, the authorization to hold the Gay Day Pride Parade in Jerusalem has denounced the question of legitimacy of holding Jewish prayers at the Temple Mount. What is next? The erection of the third temple? Questions such as necessity, civil peace and security are no longer on the agenda. As long as they do not interest Mazuz, why should they interest his heirs?
A senior official, that generates dangerous decisions, must bare the responsibility of the consequences of their implementation. Today, we can only hope that the violence in Jerusalem can still be avoided. If violence breaks up, the responsibility will lie not with the policemen, who will do whatever they possibly can, but with Menny Mazuz. Personally.
