The ad would probably be run for a few minutes to get the attention of the police, so they could file charges against the advertiser, the ad would be removed quickly, the right wing would be lambasted with claims of incitement to violence and murder, Yitzchak Rabin's name would be invoked, and experts would bemoan the depths of education in the country.
And yet, in today's YNET on-line Hebrew edition, the following flash animation appears, with Ehud Olmert, Education Minister Yuli Tamir and Finance Minister Roni Bar-On sleeping in bed together -- and a hammer is available for you to whack them on their heads (complete with causing cartoon stylized black eyes) to "wake them up"...
The ad is part of the campaign to end the Staff strike at Israeli Universities with a warning, "the semester is in danger" (of not happening, because of the strike).
I see nothing wrong with the ad and I find it funny.
Unfortunately, if you modify it just a tiny bit to suit an alternative (right wing) cause, it's automatically a criminal offense with dire repercussions.
So, if you find the ad on YNET -- enjoy it. At least we can whack Olmert legally under the guise of "Education."
(Thanks to JoeSettler for the assist).
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
2 comments:
You are correct. It would be in bad taste if a right wing advocacy group suggested hitting their political opponents on the head with a hammer. Especially after Rabin was killed.
Just like it was considered in bad taste to come out with The Manchurian Candidate just after the Kennedy assassination (its release was deferred for over a year).
Just like it's in bad taste for a white political candidate to attack Barack Obama for some racial issue when it would be fine if an African American said the same thing. Just as when a man can't criticize Hillary Clinton on a sexist issue when it's fine for a woman to poke her in the eye with a withering remark on just such a topic.
It's called context. Get used to it. It's how political dialogue works. At least, that is, outside Israel.
Context? Wha? Sorry, I think in settler la la land, that went the way of a sense of humor and decent looking shoes.
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