KESHEV to MA'ARIV editor:

Arel Segal's article on the COMBATANTS FOR PEACE event is a vicious inflammatory screed.

5 May 2011

KESHEV demands an apology from MA'ARIV'S editor-in-chief for the article "LES MISERABLES".

Mr. Avi Meshulam, editor-in-chief, Ma'ariv

Mr. Dedi Markovich, editor of weekend supplement, Ma'ariv

Re: Complaint regarding "Les Miserables," an article in the weekend supplement of Ma'ariv on 13 May 2011

Greetings,

We would like to request your response to our complaint regarding the article "Les Miserables," by Arel Segal, which was published in the weekend supplement of Ma'ariv on 13 May, 2011.

The article's headline – "Les Miserables" – already suggests what's to come: The Israelis who attended the "Combatants for Peace" alternative memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv are the lowliest of creatures. The reporter who penned the article described the participants in the ceremony as ridiculous creatures with repulsive physical traits, descriptions that are reminiscent of the most despised anti-Semitic caricatures. For example, this is how Segal began his article: "I'm standing near the line at the entrance to Reading 3 for the "Combatants for Peace" alternative Memorial Day ceremony, when a woman who is whiter than the bride of Dracula starts barking at me. I give her 60 with botox [...] her hair is dyed a shade of red that's actually painful. Red like spicy paprika smeared on a bleeding blister".

As if that weren't enough, Segal goes on to describe those present – many of them Israelis who lost their loved ones in Israel's wars and in terrorist attacks – not only as wretched-looking but also as emitting a foul odor. Segal writes, "A short man approaches me, he identifies himself as Dan Yahav, a leftist activist [...] he speaks too close, stands too close and envelopes me in his breath. I am overwhelmed by the putrid smell of a dying tropical forest".

In addition, Segal suggests that even if those attending the ceremony are not traitors in the full sense of the word, they clearly aren't legitimate Jews who belong to their people ("some of them ate leavened food during Passover. I supposed most did").

It seems that there is only the slightest difference between "Les Miserables", the grotesque title given to this piece, and headlines from the anti-Semitic press that operated in Europe in the early part of the last century.

We strongly support free speech and believe that a multiplicity of opinions provides a foundation for a vibrant democratic society. But there is a vast difference between this and the vicious inflammatory screed with anti-Semitic characteristics that appeared in your newspaper. We can only imagine the responses that would have been provoked in Israel and among Jewish organizations around the world if such language was used elsewhere to describe Jews living in Israel.

In light of the above, we call on you to use your authority as editor of the paper to publicly denounce what was published, as well as its style, and to demand a public apology from the reporter. Likewise, we ask that you see to it that such an incident will not be repeated.

Sincerely Yours,

Yizhar Be'er Danny Rubinstein

Executive Director Chairman

cc: Israel Press Council

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