Confronting Internal Threats: A Candid Interview on Lieberman's Antisemitism

They are regular citizens, originally from the former Soviet Union, Jews with warm hearts, who have set themselves the goal over the last two elections to battle the antisemitic incitement from the Yisrael Beiteinu party and its leader, Avigdor Lieberman. Against the backdrop of today’s election cycle, which has turned into one of the most toxic in Israel's history, we met with activists who are asking the public in Israel: Do everything you can to eradicate this antisemitism; in the legal system, in the media, and also by voting wisely in the elections.

Max Brodsky is one of the prominent activists from the group of former Soviet Union immigrants fighting Lieberman's incitement. Speaking with us, he wants to clarify what they are fighting for. "I have a collection of 'selected' quotes from Yisrael Beiteinu voters, some of which readers might find hard to believe were actually written, but unfortunately, this is the reality. For example, a passionate Yisrael Beiteinu activist wrote: 'On March 23, vote for Yisrael Beiteinu to shut the mouth of every Jew'. And there are many other quotes, way too many, like the internet user who wrote: 'Let all the Zyds die; the fewer Jews, the cleaner the world'. And another who added: 'Our Lieberman said what we have all been thinking for a long time about the religious: I want a normal Jewish state without yarmulke wearers, a state for the secular citizens who are disgusted and do not want to live here because of the Jewish character. If Lieberman finishes them off, it will be good, Germany managed to become one of the strongest countries in the world after World War II, and expulsion of Jews from its territory'. "His last name, by the way, is Rabinovich," Brodsky adds with a sad, ironic smile. Another activist, Geula Shoshanov, also joins the conversation and quotes another supporter of Yisrael Beiteinu who wrote: 'Close the gate of Bnei Brak, put gasoline in it, and set it on fire'. "There's no response to these contents from Lieberman or Kushner. Not even an attempt to disavow it," she emphasizes with a pained voice.

Max Brodsky

"Scary That He Gathers Power"

Shortly after the outgoing government was formed, it seemed that Avigdor Lieberman had changed his stripes. Against the backdrop of the raging coronavirus crisis and his remaining on the opposition benches, the Member of Knesset, who turned incitement into a truly nauseating art form, claimed he instructed his party members not to incite against the ultra-Orthodox community. These "thoughts of repentance" have long passed, and in the current election cycle, almost daily, horrific statements and hard antisemitic documentation are emerging from the Yisrael Beiteinu party's factory. These documents are frightening, portraying Haredi Jews over and over holding money or stealing public funds, in the best antisemitic tradition. In another case, a proposal is published to run all the Haredim to a landfill. Just like that. The final solution, Lieberman style.

For Yevgenia Zilakov, it was a huge surprise to discover the depth of incitement that exists in the Jewish land - against Jews. "I have been living in Israel for only five years, and I definitely could not have believed before I arrived here that such content could be published against Jews here. In Russia, perhaps, but in the Jewish land?" she wonders painfully.

Natalia Rothenberg, a leader of the previous wave of incitement, is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, who experienced antisemitic events in Russia personally and now feels that the antisemitism she escaped from was imported into the country. In our conversation, she clarifies that she cannot stop being shocked by it. "It is a disgrace that this is allowed here in the Jewish state, if someone abroad attacked Jews like this - they would be immediately denounced and arrested," she says.

Has there been a change between the incitement in these elections compared to previous ones?

Rothenberg: "Lieberman goes further than previous elections. People would talk in the dark, and today he spreads the antisemitic poison openly." However, contrary to popular belief, Rothenberg does not believe that the seasoned party chairman is antisemitic. "He is trying to gain electoral power and knows very well whom he is addressing: many of the citizens whose support is sought by Yisrael Beiteinu are citizens who have no connection to the Jewish people. In recent years, many such individuals have immigrated here, coming under the Law of Return, only because they had a distant Jewish grandfather."

Natalia Rothenberg

Brodsky: "In these elections, the cat is out of the bag. Lieberman began to openly spread his antisemitic incitement, after in the previous election cycle, we, through our site ‘Internal Danger’, tried as hard as we could to expose his antisemitic incitement to Israeli citizens, and after we exposed it, he sees no reason to hide this horrific antisemitism."

Brodsky expresses disappointment that uncovering Lieberman's content to the Israeli public has not hurt him, with political cynicism becoming his second language. According to him, "These are people who many of them just recently arrived in the country, and they are not Jewish at all. Not only that, they are not Zionists either. The reason they immigrated here is because of the good conditions here, which are better than those that exist in the former Soviet bloc countries. As for them, what concerns them is their own interest, not the state."

What causes their hatred of ultra-Orthodox people?

Rothenberg: "For these people, many entirely non-Jewish, the Jewish character of the state bothers them. As far as they are concerned, there is no point in establishing synagogues, for example. They're not interested in being a citizen of a Jewish state; they are looking to improve their living conditions, nothing more. From this perspective, the ultra-Orthodox inconvenience them by highlighting the state's Jewish character."

Brodsky: "Some of these people brought with them the ideology that prevailed in the communist bloc, which fiercely opposed religion, living on the principle of atheism and belief in communist principles only, and thus originates their intense hatred for everything that represents religion and Judaism."

Zilakov: "There are many who hate anyone different from them, and among Lieberman's voters, there are quite a few who belong to this type of people." Zilakov further points out that she sees Lieberman as a politician of the lowest kind who can rally around him those people. "I am a new immigrant, and when I arrived in the country I noticed that Lieberman is of the antisemitic politician type I saw in Russia as a Jew, a man who, other than himself - is not interested in anything. He is one who looks out for his and his friends' interests while talking against others to rouse the masses behind him, who are mostly less educated. That is what he is, a manipulator who sells to his supporters as if he is going to solve all their problems. And it is frightening here that such a person gathers power."

Yevgenia Zilakov

A Protest Vote for Haredi Parties

About a year ago, Brodsky and other activists organized a conference against antisemitism. The intention was obvious, but the demonstration organizers did not explicitly link it to Lieberman, "Then Lieberman came out of his sleep and applied to the court to cancel the demonstration.

"How did Lieberman reach a state where he has to fight a demonstration against antisemitism – aimed at him?" another activist named Roman Tzanz chimes in, sharpening his amazement: "After all, Lieberman himself gave a speech at a Chabad conference, all the while speaking Yiddish and noting that his father spoke to him in Yiddish to distinguish him from the Gentiles around. How does that fit with what we currently see?", he says, continuing, "Lieberman comes from a traditional family. He has a Haredi son who made a U-turn and became fully Haredi. Even his daughter did not serve in the army for religious reasons. So his surroundings are entirely Jewish. But what is true is that he is anti-Semitic in every sense of the word. There is a tendency to think that Lieberman is a zig-zag type for political reasons. I am not sure that is true; he is simply a small anti-Semite."

Are there those who decided to vote for Haredi parties as a protest vote against Lieberman's incitement?

"There is definitely a phenomenon of people planning to vote Gimmel (United Torah Judaism) or Shas as a protest against Lieberman's statements," clarifies Brodsky. "In this election cycle, I hear a lot of people planning to vote for religious parties, to also balance the extreme left."

Rothenberg is also familiar with the protest voting phenomenon for Haredi parties, and she is sure that part of the vote against Lieberman is aimed at fighting the left along with the harsh incitement against the Haredi sector. "Aside from the harsh incitement against the Haredi sector, Lieberman is adopting the ideology of extreme left-wing parties. Last year he did not say a word about the Nation-State Law, now he demands to change it, and he also expresses opposition to the Kaminitz Law limiting Arab construction. That too must be fought against," she clarifies.

Shoshanov adds that while she plans to vote for the Likud party in these elections, her daughter and son decided to vote for Haredi parties for the first time. "They will split their support between Gimmel and Shas," she proudly shares.

Geula Shoshanov

Do you encounter harsh reactions to your struggle?

Rothenberg recalls a time she dared to write about the fact that the ultra-Orthodox community has feelings in response to a Russian incitement article. In response, one internet user wished her 'death along with all of the Haredim'. But that is a small example, she says. "Since I started 'Internal Danger', there are people on the street who recognize me as an enemy. Many write about me that I am anti-Zionist," she shares. The peak was when a lawsuit was recently filed against Rothenberg for... incitement, and others, equally cynical, accused Rothenberg of encouraging civil war...

Apparently, Rothenberg is not alone. Shoshanov talks about harsh admonitions hurled at her after she stands up for the Haredi public. "I fear this will end in more than just derogations. The incidents that occurred in the past year, one in Haifa, where a religious Jew, a Russian at that, was beaten on his way out of a synagogue, and also now in Tel Aviv, when a person beat a Haredi and claimed that the Haredim imported the coronavirus to the country - prove that sadly we are on the way there."

A message to the readers?

Shoshanov: "I fled from antisemitism abroad. I encountered antisemitism, more than once, especially after my marriage when I moved to a different place." One such time remains particularly in her mind. "It was on a train," she remembers. "One of the passengers stood up and began to rail against me and all Jews. 'Go to your own countries,' he said, and then I arrived here and realized that here the antisemitic incitement is even worse. Statements like: 'We should burn all the religious,' and 'I would burn all the religious and scatter the dust all over Europe,'" she quotes some statements she has come across recently.

Shoshanov clarifies that she does not expect anything from Lieberman, Kushner, and their supporters. But she wonders: "If you want to do all these things to the Haredim as you wrote, why did you come to the country at all? Didn't you know this is the land of the Jews? I came to the country because I am Jewish; I do not know if they are even Jewish…" she says, and wonders: "How has the government still not banned this party from running in the elections?!"

Rothenberg similarly resonates with Shoshanov's feelings: "When I see these contents, my feeling is that I came to the wrong address when I arrived in this state. How come no politician raises their voice on what is happening here? I didn't expect I would have to defend Jews in a Jewish state."

Despite all this, Brodsky remains optimistic. "Even though this incitement is probably going to continue and maybe even worsen down the road, the harsher and nastier it gets, the public will begin to wake up, and eventually, someone will deal with it and also the Law of Return that allows all these antisemitic non-Jews to come here."