The caustic comments dripping with revulsion that Yossi Beilin, a former government minister, made about former Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer just two hours after his death Aug. 28 were sure to make waves. It wasn’t just that people tend not to speak that way about the dead on TV before they've been buried. Nor was it simply because Beilin intentionally took aim at the dignity of the deceased, popularly known as “Fuad,” whose many official positions included defense minister for the State of Israel. It was also because there was a much deeper issue, undetectable but primal, lurking between the lines. It was more than just the condescending spirit of Beilin’s remarks; it was the racist subtext that oozed from them.
Beilin explained that he considered Ben-Eliezer an “aggressive, predatory politician.” “He was the kind of politician who should not lead a party like Labor, and certainly not as defense minister, even though in fact, he never actually filled the position. Sharon fulfilled that post as prime minister, while he [Ben-Eliezer] bore the title,” Beilin stated.
