Legitimizing vile talk

Comments filled with contempt for Palestinians in the territories and Arab citizens of Israel have recently been echoing widely through public forums. Right-wing politicians have started to speak openly about a need to remove Palestinians from the territories. Sometimes they are careful not to use the word "transfer" which still carries a public stigma - but transfer is nonetheless exactly what their suggestions mean. In an atmosphere of frustration and despair stirred by the lethal conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, such proposals win an unprecedented measure of public support. In a poll Ma'ariv published this weekend, 35 percent of respondents supported transfer.

The government, the Knesset and the main political parties are failing to clamp down on the degenerating norms of public discourse. Racist, fascist formulations attain quasi-legitimacy when they come from the mouths of ministers, Knesset members and rabbis. Minister Binyamin Elon's comments supporting transfer and a public campaign staged by Moledet on this subject have not been met by a single denunciation. Blunt statements made by Minister Uzi Landau suggesting that we do to the Palestinians "what the Iraqis did to the Kurds," and vituperative comments made by Minister Avigdor Lieberman, have been condoned as natural expressions. It appears that media outlets eyeing improved ratings prefer such spokespeople to more temperate speakers, and so they give them ample air time.

In such circumstances, it is little wonder that people who want to grab the spotlight and hope to join the national leadership, ratchet up the tone of their statements and end up making truly reprehensible comments. Efi Eitam for instance was not ashamed to call the Arab citizens of Israel "a cancerous growth." In a public appearance last week, Eitam also developed some kind of theory about the "feminine" character of Islam. If there were not now a fear that his views might catch on, they could easily be dismissed as mere drivel spouted by an ignoramus.

After a prolonged debate about principles, the Kahane-led Kach movement was deemed illegal. Movements such as Moledet, and various public figures, who express positions regarding the Palestinian population which resemble Kach's views ought to face legal review as well. The government attorney general recently ordered the police to launch an investigation into who was responsible for the slogan "No Arabs - No terrorist attacks." After issuing such an order, how can the attorney general close his ears and ignore similar explicit statements made by public figures?

Israeli society is not alone in being exposed to such extremist viewpoints during a time of national crisis. However, the tensions now gripping the society are not some warrant that justifies a gross slippage of national moral standards or the corruption of public discourse by extremist right-wing leaders who managed to carve a place for themselves in the consensus. Israel's society is not just locked in a struggle to achieve security - it retains a strong obligation to preserve its values, and to protect them, even in circumstances of crisis. This is a crucial task which should not be under-estimated.