Upset by the escalation of abusive language by Israeli politicians, especially in the Knesset, a group calling itself the “Movement for a Good Israel” is monitoring the invectives in the hope that political rivals will exercise restraint, if only to preserve the dignity of the democratic process.
Most recently, Labor MK Shlomo HiIlel complained to the Knesset Speaker that Likud Transport Minister Haim Corfu had accused him of “hypocrisy” from the Knesset rostrum. According to Hillel, a member of the British Parliament was recently ousted from a session for using the same word.
The Movement took the matter up with Corfu. But the likud minister was unrepentant. He claimed that Hillel had made two diametrically opposed statements on the same issue and “If that is not hypocrisy, please ladies and gentlemen of the Movement, tell me what is?”
According to the Movement’s record, “hypocrisy” is indeed a mild pejorative compared to others hurled by politicos at each other. Among them are “clown”, “comedian”, “degenerate”, “racist”, “fascist” and “fool”/ also “You are the biggest liar of all”; “you are the theater of the absurd”; “traitor” and “disseminator of treacherous lies.”
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