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Nothing to laugh about By Neri Livneh Tags: Israel News I recently caught a repeat of an interview that American comedienne Ellen DeGeneres conducted with Hillary Clinton before the latter dropped out of the presidential race. When Hillary commented that she really enjoys life, DeGeneres pulled out a picture in which Clinton's smiling face was attached to the muscular and perfectly sculpted body of Madonna, in a skimpy bodysuit and pointy brassiere. Without missing a beat, Hillary remarked that she always dresses like that around the house. DeGeneres replied that she keeps this picture in her bedroom, and added, "You have such a wonderful sense of humor." That very day, I also heard Tzipi Livni answering Nissim Mishal's question, "What moves you?" by saying "Hatikva" and all the national symbols. For God's sake. The common denominator between Israel's past leaders and those currently vying for the country's leadership is the absence of a sense of humor. This is okay when it comes to Ehud Barak, since, according to the logic of his clever election campaign, every negative quality of his is supposed to somehow strengthen his leadership ability. Thus, the slogan, "Humorless. A Leader," should join the rest soon. But his predecessors in Labor and its precursors were, apparently, also filled with excessive self-importance and solemnity. (They say that Levi Eshkol used to tell jokes, but in Yiddish.) Can anyone remember a joke that David Ben-Gurion told? How about Golda Meir or Moshe Sharett? Yitzhak Rabin? No, on all counts. Shimon Peres tries and is successful on occasion. In Likud, the situation isn't much better. Humor doesn't seem to go with the whole glory-of-Betar thing at all, or with Menachem Begin in particular. Yitzhak Shamir may have looked funny, but a sense of humor was as alien to him as compassion. And if "Bibi" Netanyahu has a sense of humor, as he dearly wishes to believe, he's hiding it well. And Livni, from whom I expect more just because she's a woman, seems to be the most humorless of all. Advertisement In other countries, the situation seems to be different: A sense of humor is crucial if one wishes to attain leadership, and for good reason. Although it doesn't necessarily attest to high intelligence, and people with a sharp sense of humor can also be dumb, there's no doubt that a little laughter is indicative of creativity and flexible thinking. In the United States, for instance, all the recent candidates for the presidency had a sense of humor. Democrats and Republicans. Denigrated as he may be, George W. Bush has an excellent sense of humor and, as he demonstrated in the recent shoe-throwing incident in Iraq, very impressive reflexes. American politicians have no problem appearing on talk shows and joking around, as anyone who followed the latest season of "Saturday Night Live" - where Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Palin, John McCain and others made appearances - knows. British politicians have long had a reputation for humor (despite Margaret Thatcher's best efforts). In Britain, a dry wit, like a fine education, is a sign of a cultured person. Churchill's sense of humor was legendary. And Tony Blair, decades later, was perceived as easygoing and humorous. But a lack of humor isn't our politicians' only problem. Just as unfortunate are the extremely superficial images they choose to present. Nicolas Sarkozy, for example, got divorced, fell in love and began wearing high platform shoes right off the bat as French president. Blair had another child, Hillary Clinton was one of Bill's most prominent advantages and now he's one of hers, and one can't think of John F. Kennedy without Jackie, or of Barack Obama without Michelle, or of Palin without her pregnant daughter. But here, not only does our very popular president host and get hosted by world leaders without any one of them ever meeting his wife - the candidates for prime minister also take care to keep their spouses and families hidden from public view. Sometimes, as in Netanyahu's case, this is a consequence of bitter experience. Everyone usually knows who the spouses are, but they have no open role to play in an election campaign. This is too bad. Recently, in a joint interview with Oshrat Kotler, we finally got to meet Tzipi Livni's supportive husband, Naftali Spitzer. Livni, meanwhile, is always being photographed either in the kitchen, on the beach or chatting with a girlfriend, etc., as if PR guru Eyal Arad put a gun to her head to make sure she shows a gentle and relaxed side. At the very least, we now got to see that she has good taste in men. Has anyone ever read an interview with Dalia Itzik's husband or Haim Oron's wife? Even Aliza Olmert, who could be a clear electoral asset given her talents, views and appearance, has avoided taking part in her husband's political activity. The root of the problem may lie in the source from which we've traditionally drawn our political candidates: the army. Army folks have to be humorless so they can allow themselves to send people to their deaths; they need to nurture a feeling of self-importance, and to genuinely believe in the rightness of their mission and in their hierarchical superiority as being a reflection of moral authority. And Livni? Well, she's from the Mossad. The big catch to this theory, of course, is Arik Sharon, who, despite his famous military past, had a tremendous sense of humor, and was never reluctant to include his wife Lily and, later, his sons in his political career. But Arik is out of our lives now, and Olmert, whom we'll end up missing and who actually has quite a decent sense of humor, is finished with his political career, too. Olmert did not come from the army, nor did his friend, the late Yosef "Tommy" Lapid, who was certainly one of the warmest and most human figures in Israeli politics, noted for a fine sense of humor. The party he founded, Shinui, had several people with a good sense of humor, like Yossi Paritzky. Other parties have also included some well-known jokesters, like Ruby Rivlin or Ahmed Tibi. This is the only reason I'm pleased to see journalists going into politics, something which I otherwise find problematic. The chance that I'd vote for the Pensioners' Party, which Gideon Reicher joined, is even lower than the chance that I'd vote for Habayit Hayehudi, where Uri Orbach now has a spot. But at least I'm sure that these two will bring a little humor and civilized discourse into politics. I was very pleased, however, to see Ilan Gilon elected to such a high spot on the Meretz list. Gilon is the nicest politician around. Intelligent and down to earth, a family man, a man of principles, someone who happens to make excellent jams and is also the most diligent MK you'll ever meet. And he also has a fantastic sense of humor. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Israelis targeted abroad Gunman opens fire on Israelis working at shopping mall in Denmark. Iran silences dissent Newspaper forcibly shut down after article blaming Hamas for Gaza violence.

Read & React IDF recommends major, but brief Gaza ground offensive Responses: 52 Ari Shavit: Israelis who blame Israel are not helping Palestinians Responses: 49 Roi Ben-Yehuda: Pro-Israel camp would be wise to heed Muslim cries for peace Responses: 24 Israel Harel: Like it did in Lebanon, Israel blinked first in Gaza Responses: 21 Poll: Majority of Israelis support continuing military operations in Gaza Responses: 20 Haniyeh: Palestinian victory in Gaza is near Responses: 60 More Headlines 16:18 IAF strike in Gaza kills top Hamas political-military link 17:03 Gaza rocket barrage hits Negev; direct strike on 8-floor Ashdod residence 13:57 Olmert: Israel has no interest in a prolonged war in Gaza 14:48 IDF recommends major, but brief Gaza ground offensive 13:27 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 15:03 Poll: Most Israelis support continuing Gaza military op 15:02 Israelis who blame Israel are not helping the Palestinians 15:01 Like in Lebanon, in Gaza Israel blinked first 11:04 IN PICTURES / Israel battles Hamas in Gaza: Day six 13:57 AMIRA HASS / Thousands of Gazans near Rafah displaced by IAF bombing of tunnels 16:29 Twelve Palestinians hurt in Gaza fighting being treated in Israeli hopsitals 11:32 Top aide to Barak: IDF aiming to stop Gaza rocket fire, not crush Hamas 13:57 U.S. balks at Arab push for UN resolution to impose Gaza truce 02:13 Haniyeh: Palestinian victory in Gaza is near 06:48 ANALYSIS / What are Israel's options in the Gaza Strip? 21:05 WATCH: YouTube pulls some IDF videos showing Gaza assault 06:45 Israeli bloggers try to counter anti-Israel Russian media bias Previous Editions Select Day 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec 18 dec

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