Journalist: Arab Is Not My Brother, Haredi Is
Translated & summarized from Srugim by baba
Former Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Assaf Zamir and journalist Amichai Atali clashed on a podcast over political partnerships. Zamir criticized Haredi MK Yaakov Asher for not singing the national anthem while praising Arab MK Mansour Abbas. Atali countered that Arabs are not his brothers, but Haredim are, despite their issues, calling Asher's anthem refusal a catastrophe.
The story in 4 lines · by baba
- Assaf Zamir and Amichai Atali debated coalition partnerships on a podcast.
- Zamir criticized Haredi MK Yaakov Asher for not singing the national anthem.
- Atali stated Arabs are not his brothers, but Haredim are.
- Atali called the Haredi refusal to sing "Hatikvah" a catastrophe.
A heated debate erupted on Nadav Peri's podcast between former Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Assaf Zamir and journalist Amichai Atali regarding the composition of the next Israeli coalition and comparisons between partnering with Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas and the Haredi parties.
Zamir initiated the discussion, praising Abbas's decision to remain in the Knesset plenum as a significant step forward. However, he sharply criticized MK Yaakov Asher of United Torah Judaism for standing by and not singing the national anthem. Zamir argued there's a vast disparity in how Arab public representatives are treated compared to Haredi factions.
"How can there be a gap between someone you call a 'terrorist' and the other, who receives nothing, and he gets all of this, he's in the government his whole life?" Zamir questioned, highlighting contentious issues with the Haredi public, such as their private education system, exemption from military service, and refusal to integrate core curriculum studies. He also pointed out their refusal to sing "Hatikvah" and questioned why there was no expressed difficulty with these partnerships.
Atali responded by stating there is a fundamental, value-based difference between partnering with the Haredi public and forming political alliances with Arab parties. He acknowledged the serious problems with Haredi leadership's conduct, calling their parties "non-Zionist." "The Arab, I recognize his existence here and I would like to maximize shared life as much as possible for the good, but the Arab is not my brother, and the Haredi is my brother," Atali declared. "Is it because of this that I want to exempt him, make me beg, pay him money he doesn't need? Of course not. I am very, very angry at this brother of mine. That he didn't sing 'Hatikvah', that's a catastrophe, it's terrible and awful."