Politicians join the Big Hug

EMILY SINGER

As of mid-October, 80 members of the Knesset had agreed to participate in a group hug that was scheduled for Monday, Oct. 31, at 3:30 p.m. In fact, a half hour before the Israeli parliament was to convene for their winter session, a full two-thirds of the Knesset seemed prepared to share an enormous embrace.

Beni Bashan, host of the Israeli radio show Beni Baradio and the brainchild of this unlikely event, had spent a year recruiting politicians on his show to agree to participate in what he called Hachibuk Hagadol, the Big Hug. Bashan reported that, when he began to recruit politicians, he had no idea that his idea might come to fruition. It was only after recruiting MKs Daniel Ben Simone (Labor) and Zeev Bielsky (Kadima) that things really got off the ground. These two agreed to serve as ambassadors of the Big Hug, recruiting politicians in the hallways of the Knesset.

When the list of participants reached 80, I sent a news article to some Israeli newspapers, and was met with responses by two major papers, stating, simply, that the story was “not news.” One paper offered to run it in their magazine, and the other said they could cut it down to 300 words and post it on their blog. Someone asked if I could send something to confirm the story, as she couldn’t find any information about it anywhere. Another asked me why their Knesset reporter didn’t seem to know about it. I am happy to be published on a blog or in a magazine, but I continue to be surprised and disappointed that a group hug among our elected political leaders is not considered news.

A number of people, both media and MKs, said they didn’t like the project because they thought it would make the politicians look foolish. They criticized Bashan’s project as “naïve.” The radio host responded, “For me, naïve is a compliment.” He challenged his listeners, asking, “Can you accomplish the most naïve thing in the most cynical place?”

All 13 parties of the Knesset were represented on the list of those who agreed to participate. Fifteen out of 27 members of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party agreed to join, and 24 out of 27 of Tzipi Livni’s opposition Kadima party signed on. Ten out of 11 members of the religious Shas party planned to join the hug, including party leader Eli Yishai. Nine out of 15 members of controversial minister Avigdor Lieberman’s right-wing party Yisrael Beiteinu said they would be there. Seven out of 14 Arab members agreed to attend. Fifteen of 24 women had committed as well. All in all, 80 politicians representing the full spectrum of Israel’s population agreed to embrace each other before meeting on the parliament floor. Is this naïve? Is this foolish?

Sadly, at 3:30 p.m., when it was time for the hug, only 29 members of Knesset were in attendance. Those who were there hugged and, slowly, the circle began to break up. Journalists took pictures and dispersed. The next day, most of the Israeli press reported about the poor turnout of the hug, some cynically renaming it “the Little Hug.”

In the meantime, in the minutes after the scheduled hug, Knesset members who had agreed to participate continued to trickle in. It turns out that many had been tied up in party events, including 34 members of Likud, Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu who had planned to participate in the hug but were involved in a reportedly heated meeting with Netanyahu until 3:55 p.m. A number of people who had agreed to the hug expressed their disappointment at having missed the big event, including Shas’ Yishai.

We will never know if the attendance was poor because of logistics or due to ambivalent feelings among those who had agreed to attend. I can’t help but wonder if greater media interest would have encouraged the participants to take their commitment to the event more seriously. If those in Netanyahu’s party were clear that they had to be there, perhaps the prime minister himself would have joined.

Many of those in attendance, including several journalists, expressed gratitude to Bashan for the good vibes and festive atmosphere he created that day. And the highlight of Bashan’s show was when he received a blessing from Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish. As Bashan often does with guests on his show, he asked Darwish if there was a special hug he remembers in his life. Darwish responded that recently he had been in the intensive care unit of the hospital, and he awoke to the face of Rabbi Michael Melchior, who wished him a speedy recovery and gave him a “true hug of love and unity.” Bashan said that for him to hear that story alone meant that the Big Hug was worth it.

Emily Singer is a teacher, social worker and freelance writer living in Israel. She is currently working on two books. Singer and her husband, Ross, were rebbetzin and rabbi of Vancouver’s Shaarey Tefilah congregation from 1996 to 2004.

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