Israel’s Two Minutes Hate: Netanyahu Reneges on Refugee Deal
by Ido Dembin, a blog writer for RightsViews and a M.A. student in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University
During the climax of 1984’s “Two Minutes Hate,” the image of the despised enemy of the state, the cowardly traitor (and probably the entirely made-up) Emmanuel Goldstein, is replaced with that of the supreme leader— the beloved, worshipped, unparalleled Big Brother.
This infamous scene from George Orwell’s dystopian society is grotesque, violent and extremely emotionally charged. Yet it is this same scene currently flashing across the Israeli social network in reality. The role of Goldstein is being played by an NGO called the "New Israel Fund" (NIF), and the part of Big Brother is, appropriately, occupied by another "BB"— Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister.
The book 1984 has experienced quite a rejuvenation of late. Perhaps it is in preparation for the 70th anniversary of its publication, or maybe it is the never-ending war, the terribly partisan political sphere or just a few certain...