Palestinian teens filmed slapping IDF soldiers (Credit: Facebook/The Israel Project)
Palestinian teens filmed slapping IDF soldiers (Credit: Facebook/The Israel Project)
Famed Israeli poet and songwriter Yehonatan Geffen made waves Monday night when he compared imprisoned Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi to Joan of Arc, Hanna Senesh and Anne Frank.
In response, an irate Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman called for Geffen's songs to be banned from Army Radio and for him not to be interviewed by the station. But the attorney-general quickly noted that Liberman had no legal authority to intervene with the station's choices.
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"I told Army Radio this morning to stop playing or interviewing Yehonatan Geffen on all its stations and I call on all media outlets in Israel to do the same," Liberman said Tuesday morning. "The State of Israel will not give a platform to a drunk who compares a child who perished in the Holocaust and a brave fighter who fought the Nazis to Ahed Tamimi, a brat who attacked a soldier."
Geffen published a short poem on his Instagram Monday night about Tamimi, 16, saying she was born into this life, "and in that slap was 50 years of occupation and humiliation." He then said she would "be in the same line as Joan of Arc, Hanna Senesh and Anne Frank."
Tamimi was arrested last month for throwing rocks at and shoving and slapping IDF soldiers. Her detainment – and video of one of the incidents – has turned her into a much-publicized and polarizing figure in the region.
After Liberman's pronouncement Monday morning, Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit released a statement saying that the defense minister lacks the authority to interfere in Army Radio's decisions.
"The legal authority to determine the content that the station will broadcast is reserved for the professional employees of the station," the statement read. "Of course, these statements do not legitimize the content of [Geffen's] outrageous remarks."
Culture Minister Miri Regev also weighed in, saying Tuesday morning that Geffen's comments crossed a red line.
"Yehonatan, Tamimi is not pure and is not 'the prettiest girl in kindergarten,'" Regev said. "Rather she's a terror-supporting criminal who is now sitting in detention. I recommend you return to your songs and don't act like a poet who has been recruited to free Palestine."
Geffen, a 70-year-old writer and performer - and the father of singer Aviv Geffen - has long been known for his controversial statements. After the 2015 election, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reelected, Geffen called him a racist who promises death not life. The next day, a man showed up at Geffen's home and assaulted him when he answered the door.