WATCH: Ultra-right Israeli MKs mock Arabs in Arabic campaign video

Ami Kaufman By Ami Kaufman January 7, 2013 | Edit

This has got to be one of the more disgusting videos I’ve seen. The Otzma LeYisrael party, headed by ultra-right wing MKs Aryeh Eldad and Kahanist Michael Ben-Ari have posted their first campaign video to be shown on Israeli TV on YouTube (according to Ben-Ari’s Facebook page). The televised election campaigns kick off Tuesday night, when Israelis can watch the official pitches from the political parties running for Knesset, every evening until the elections.

The first part of the video is text in Hebrew, blaming Arabs for not paying taxes such as income tax and Arnona (a municipal property tax).

The next segment (00:32) opens with Ben-Ari pouring coffee for Eldad from a finjan into a small glass, saying “Tfadal” (please) with a grin on his face. This particular moment reeks from so much racism, it sends a chill down the spine. From then on, it’s all in Arabic. Both the racists read off their messages, intended for Jewish ears, of course, that “without obligations, there are no rights.”

The video and message is very reminiscent of Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s (No. 2 in Likud Beiteinu joint list) election campaign from 2009, whose slogan was “without loyalty, there is no citizenship.” The video below, from 2009, ends with the message “Only Lieberman understands Arabic.” Both these campaigns draw on the old right-wing notion that “we know how to deal with the Arabs.”

Ami Kaufman

Ami Kaufman was chief night editor for Haaretz, for the prominent Israeli financial daily Calcalist, and correspondent on Israeli affairs for 93.6 RAM FM, a joint Palestinian-Israel radio station. His interest in food and cooking led to culinary studies at the "Israeli CIA" (Tadmor, Herzliya) and a brief stint in the restaurant business. Born in Tel Aviv, Ami lives in Bat Yam with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time he blogs at Half & Half.

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