Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Tel Aviv Mayor Could Use a Lesson in Subtlety

Has Ron Huldai forgotten that he is the mayor of Tel Aviv and not Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? In condemning the defacement yesterday of the memorial to assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the square outside Tel Aviv’s city hall, Huldai proclaimed, “We should cut off the hands that allow themselves [sic] to harm what is sacred and important to the people of Israel.”

The Shmooze is hoping that the mayor was speaking figuratively. But Israeli journalist Dimi Reider points out that this was not a one-off reference to this strict form of sharia law punishment. Just a week ago, Huldai said, “I expect the hands of those who do such things to be cut off.” That time he was deploring the vandalizing of a Muslim and Christian cemetery in Jaffa.

We’re going to give Huldai the benefit of the doubt. Nonetheless, it would be a good idea for him to drop the references to medieval brutality — even if they are merely metaphorical. With all the objections Western government and human rights organizations have made to recent stoning and limb severing sentences, Huldai should recognize that his exaggerated and graphic language — as figurative as it may be — is not helping the cause.

Reider simply asks the mayor to stop before he gets too carried away. He wonders if next time social justice protesters try to occupy city hall (as they did recently), he’ll take it to the next level and cry, “Off with their heads!”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.