By Yoni Kempinski(A7)
MK Mossi Raz (Meretz) told Israel National News in an interview on Monday that he paid a condolence visit to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack in Elad, even though he knew he would be criticized for it.
“I heard some difficult things from one of the widows and that’s fine. It is the right of every citizen in the country to speak, and certainly a widow whose husband was murdered so cruelly,” said Raz, explaining why he continues pay condolence calls to families who lost their loved ones in terrorist attacks.
Israel, he said, must change its approach to terrorism. “We have eliminated so many terrorists and our experience with it is bad. It has only increased terrorism. We have tried the path of war so many times and it has not helped. We have to try the diplomatic path, agree to the Arab League’s peace initiative and produce dialogue.”
Raz caused an uproar when he participated in an alternative Memorial Day ceremony which remembers Palestinian Arabs who were killed during IDF operations, in addition to Israeli victims of terrorist attacks and fallen IDF soldiers.
“The ceremony is not an alternative ceremony, but an Israeli-Palestinian ceremony that was attended by thousands before the coronavirus pandemic. It brings our pain and does not forget that there is another pain. Therefore, alongside an Israeli bereaved father, a father from Jenin, whose son was shot and died in an Israeli hospital, also spoke.”
“A 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was killed, we have to remember the pain of his family. The other side will come and ask you why the soldier should be remembered. If you think the pain is only on your side you are opaque, if you understand that the pain is on both sides, you can talk. A high percentage of their deaths are innocent people, probably more so than with us,” Raz added.
When asked about the comparison between terror victims and Palestinian Arabs, he replied, “You can refer to it as something other than terrorism, but a girl who was shot and died, I do not see the difference between her death and that of my friend who was killed in the security zone in Lebanon.”
And what about rock throwers who hit police officers? “There should be one law for all rock throwers. That is to say, those settlers who descended from Givat Ronen to the village of Burin last Saturday and pelted the village with rocks should be prosecuted.”
In his opinion, the current government is much more right-wing than its predecessors – and yet it is superior as far as he is concerned. “There are facts: this government builds in the settlements at least as much as the previous government. Unfortunately, this government surrendered in Evyatar, surrendered in Homesh, passed a very right-wing citizenship law. The fact is that this government is more right-wing than the previous one. However, I am very concerned about what will happen if I topple it.”
