Grapevine March 29, 2024: Expanding the Israel Prize

• Published date: 29 March 2024
• Author: GREER FAY CASHMAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Her story is also a form of vindication for the NYT in its claims that its reporting is unbiased. For a long time now, the NYT, despite the Jewish lineage of its owners, and the many Jewish writers on its staff, has been accused by prominent Jewish figures of being anti-Jewish and anti-Israel. It's a sad situation when the media tries to be objective by publishing the good and the bad about any country or movement, and is accused of bias whenever it brings the negative aspects to light. The accusers seldom measure the positive reports against the negative. If they did, they might find that in several cases the positive reports outnumber the negative

Legislators fail to meet the bare minimum of behavior

■ "HOW IS it that a guy like this is elected to the Knesset?" asked Reshet Bet broadcaster Ran Benyamini. He was referring to United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Pindros who is known for his disrespectful manner and lack of sensitivity. On Tuesday Pindrus got into a brouhaha at the Knesset with some of the families of hostages who queried the urgency of the Knesset going out on recess when no agreement on the return of the hostages had yet been reached. The question was legitimate given that legislators earn far in excess of the basic wage and get far more vacation time. Moreover, they are not penalized by a cut in salary for nonattendance.

The least they could do is to provide ongoing moral support for families whose loved ones were abducted by Hamas, murdered by Hamas, abused by Hamas, and provided with bare starvation rations by Hamas. Living with uncertainty, not knowing what has happened to their relatives in captivity, and whether or not they are still alive is a painful daily experience. It is part of Jewish tradition not to judge people in their grief. If members of the families of the hostages happen to say something that legislators find offensive, they should just let it pass instead of harming the dignity of the Knesset with their outbursts and their coarse remarks. There are legislators who behave decently, who care and who do meet frequently with the families – but unfortunately, the majority do not.

In Hebrew, MKs are often referred to as the elected members of the public, which brings to mind something that Shimon Peres often sought to have members of Knesset understand."They are not the masters of the public, but the servants of the public," he used to say. MKs should remember that the public can vote them out of office in the next elections.

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