Liri, we love you

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This week, the Times of Israel reported that former hostage Liri Albag suffered a “wave of hate” following the airing of a teaser from an interview with her that will air on television. In the clip, she supposedly laid blame for Oct. 7 and everything she suffered in her months of captivity at Bibi’s door.

Liri and her family decided to pull the ad, but allow the interview to be aired. Can I say, Liri, that I applaud your decision? An editor chose a sensationalist few seconds of your interview to advertise the program. Their job is to boost ratings, and if a clip makes the rounds of social media, that is a win for them.

To be fair, they could not have predicted the reaction it garnered. But the interview: By not pulling or editing the interview, you are standing for your own truth. Or should I say “the truth,” because what you said in the teaser is certainly as true as what that famous little boy said about the emperor. And you are insisting that people see it in context, in the light of your entire interview.

Liri, I have met those haters, online and in taxis. At first, it feels personal, but I assure you, it is not. It feels toxic – and it is – but we can be stronger than their poison.

For myself, I have come to look for those haters in the comments on this blog, and I read their emails, even when they describe to me what will happen to me and my friends when “Ben Gvir is elected prime minister.” (I promise you it is not pretty.)

I look at them as a window. They are a window onto an ugly side of our society, but one that controls real power, both in the Knesset and over our lives. And if they overreact with bile and venom, I ask myself where that hatred comes from. Who told them so many lies about us? Whose mothers told them this was an appropriate way to react? What do they fear?

I look at the responses as a sort of conversation. It is a dysfunctional conversation, at best, and not one I would choose. And yet, I believe that the more we avoid such conversations, and the more that people are exposed only to lies and stories told them within their echo chambers and only speak with their own gang members, the less common ground we have to hold a real conversation.

I look at them as a barometer. When a good-sized chunk of the smelly brown stuff hits the fan, I know I have touched a sore point – but one that needs real discussion. That is, the more people try to shut you up, the more important it is to bring these issues into the open. And to do so again and again.

I do not know your politics, Liri, nor do I suggest you are a – gasp – leftist, but these days, anyone who speaks up, even parents of hostages still held in Gaza, opens themselves to these kinds of disgusting reactions. When those reactions come from the government (or are backed by a political party), they verge dangerously on infringing on our right to free speech.

You’ve seen so much ugliness and hate, Liri, you deserve to be surrounded by roses for the rest of your life. You served your country with a level of honor your leaders have even stopped dreaming of. And yes, that gives you the right to point out the obvious. Hamas may have been your torturers, but Bibi was the one who enabled them to thrive, who allowed them to keep you imprisoned for months on end.

To Liri, I say, for every hate message you received, there are hundreds who support you and even more who support your right to speak your mind.

But honestly, I would like to open up a new conversation on the topic of toxic responses on social media and in the comments and inboxes. To Likudniks on social media, I would say: Your mothers raised you better! (I’m not so sure about Ben-Gvir supporters and their ilk.) We can disagree, and we do. But when you tell someone to go back to Gaza, you are dragging us down to “their” level. Please look this courageous young woman in the eye, be ashamed (apologies would be nice) and learn to argue your point as a human being.

May we all have a true holiday of freedom.