The Illusion of Neutrality: Unmasking the “No Politics” Rule in Digital Spaces |
NO POLITICS is a familiar rule in many WhatsApp groups but frequently broken. While some members are obviously stirring the pot, the more interesting issue is the posts that are perceived as “just reflecting reality.” These tend to entail stories of Israelis doing loving-kindness, or clips mocking the ignorance of “woke” anti-Israel protesters or anti-Zionist Jews. Finally, we have the grand showpiece: non-Jewish non-Israelis who praise Israel and the Jews generally. Most recently it was an Australian influencer explaining to her government how much it needs to learn from Israel about how to do – of all things – multiculturalism.
Are these posts truly non-political? The test is simple: imagine the reaction if you countered each one with an equal and opposite post. For example, regarding the anti-Zionist Jews, one could argue that our own government is the biggest supporter of the largest and potentially most dangerous anti-Zionist Jewish group – the Haredim. Vis-à-vis acts of loving-kindness amongst Israelis, one could show-case police brutality at anti-government protests. And re the apparent multicultural harmony in Israel, one might point to the deep rifts in contemporary Israeli society, or post reports of Jewish youths attacking Arab bus-drivers or of kippa-clad young men carrying out rampaging attacks on Arab villagers in the Territories.
If such counter-narrative posts would be banned – which they probably would be — then it is clear that the group isn’t neutral. It is simply curated to pander to one side of the political spectrum – in this case, the Right one. More specifically, these examples reflect what might constitute the essence of the current Right-Left divide. The Right insists on focusing on the good and the positive. On the Left, the opposite is true.
It is clear then why the Right views the Left as “ungrateful” and “defeatist.” To be sure, focusing exclusively on the negative is not only a horrible way to live, it impedes survival. Moreover, if seeing only “the good” requires actively blinding oneself to “the bad,” the opposite route appears to require a high dose of hypocrisy. Frequently one encounters the Left extending empathy and understanding to those hostile to Israel, yet rarely do they afford the same to badly behaving Jews and Israelis, including those historically victimized by the Ashkenazi secular elite.
In addition, being positive and especially being grateful are deeply embedded in Jewish tradition. Nonetheless, when the self-imposed blindness applies to deeds that one’s own people are responsible for, it is clear that it contravenes a whole gamut of Torah commandments. Judaism puts great emphasis on self-reflection and moral accountability, on the prevention of hilul Hashem (the desecration of God’s name), and on the striving to do tikkun olam (repair the world).
Consider the prophet Jeremiah. His brave and consistent confronting of Israel’s idolatry and social decay was not an act of “defeatism,” but rather an attempt to demand tshuvah (repentance) on the part of the nation. Viewed through this lens, the Left’s criticism ought to be seen not as mere negativity, but instead as the call of the navi zaam (prophet of wrath), that is, a necessary, albeit painful, call to look our wrongdoings squarely in the face, to purge our extremists, to demand moral integrity, and to be better — NOW!