Why you are celebrating her fall in particular
Israeli politics is full of men who said stupid things, did stupid things, flip-flopped, were embarrassed, and became caricatures - but something about Idit Silman evokes not just mockery, but also a desire to see her fall. There are, of course, many excellent reasons for this, but also one less comfortable one: she is a woman.
Why do we love to hate Idit Silman so much? Because it's fun. But besides being fun, it's also easy. Silman's ousting in the primaries became a small national holiday this week. The web was filled with memes, tweets, and cheers of joy as if it were not about an unrealistic spot on the Likud list, but about the fall of the Berlin Wall. And don't get me wrong, Silman worked very hard for this moment.
Still, after the schadenfreude that erupted and Raanan Shaked's column, I tried to understand why Silman in particular, why not Vaturi? If we were so happy about this small victory over Silman – why didn't it manifest with other politicians? Or even other female politicians, like May Golan or Keti Shitrit? Because unlike politicians who are simply reliable suppliers of nonsense, Silman intentionally pushed buttons. She didn't just say ridiculous things that could be turned into a meme. She provoked, defied, flip-flopped, and her campaign was sometimes mean, cynical, and insensitive. She knew where it hurt and stuck a finger in there. And then some more. And then twisted it. She worked to get where she got.
And yet, something about the intensity of the schadenfreude made me think. Because Nissim Vaturi, for example, has provided the web over the years with material that could have lasted five generations of social media managers. Dichter absorbed criticism and mockery. Smotrich became a 'granmeizer'. Amir Peretz will forever remain the man with the closed binoculars. Israeli politics is full of men who said stupid things, did stupid things, flip-flopped, were embarrassed, and became caricatures. We laughed at them, of course. But something about Silman evokes not just mockery. It evokes a desire to see her fall. And there are, of course, many excellent reasons for this. But it seems to me that there is also one less comfortable one hidden there: she is a woman.
Yes, I am going into gender, but not in the way you think. Not in the simple sense of 'misogyny'. I wish it were that simple. We have become completely accustomed to the possibility that a not very talented man will reach a position of power. In fact, this is one of the most stable traditions of Israeli politics. When he makes a fool of himself, we laugh and go on with our lives. When a woman reaches high and is then perceived as not smart, not worthy, or not talented enough, there is almost something outrageous about it. As if she broke an unwritten contract: if you've already made it there, at least be excellent.
And the best example is Shmulik. When Vaturi says something stupid, no one says: 'Wait, who is the smart woman managing him behind the scenes?'. He is just Vaturi. With Silman, on the other hand, for years the story was also built about her husband Shmulik: he is the one pulling the strings, he is the pusher, he is the man behind the moves. Even when we think a woman did something terrible, somehow we are still looking for the smart man who probably planned it. So yes, Idit Silman did a lot for us to be happy about her fall. She cultivated this antagonism with almost admirable dedication. But within all these justified reasons for this joy, there is probably also a small gender scent. Why don't they give her full credit for her failure? Why is it necessary to mention that Shmulik is also responsible? For once, let a woman take full responsibility for her actions. She deserves that too.
