The political right swiftly turned singer Ariel Zilber into an innocent victim of left-wing persecution, arguing that they deprived him at the very last moment of a lifetime achievement award. However, they ignored the problem of bestowing such a prize on someone who claims that homosexuality is a perversion, or that Israel Defense Forces soldiers during the Disengagement Plan from the Gaza Strip seemed to him like Nazis. This swift turn of the right is actually just demagogy, intended to achieve political gain.

The facts are simple: Zilber, 70, is a much-esteemed and prolific Israeli singer-songwriter and composer. Several weeks ago, ACUM (Union of Composers, Writers and Publishers in Israeli Music) decided to grant Zilber the lifetime achievement award. The prize committee — of which left-wing singer Aviv Geffen is also a member — explained that “Zilber has clearly redefined the mainstream by bringing the fringes closer to the center. His stage presence is charismatic and his songs are still relevant and influential today, as they radiate artistic truth, authenticity, honesty and tremendous talent.”

But Zilber is not just the total of these superlatives; he is also the person responsible for some of the most offensive, ugly expressions against Arabs, gays and left-wingers that have been heard in Israel in recent years. Initially, the prize committee did not address Zilber’s radical comments. It was only when Israeli singer Noa (Achinoam Nini) — who was supposed to receive the prize together with Zilber — announced that she would waive the honor unless Zilber would apologize to all those he offended with his remarks, that ACUM realized its mistake. The decision to change the definition of the prize bestowed on Zilber from lifetime achievement award to creativity and cultural contribution award was made at the eleventh hour by the organization’s board of directors. Ultimately, it was a reasonable and practical decision.

However, ACUM’s conduct was negligent and sloppy and its decision barely came through. This was interpreted by the right as surrender to pressure from the left-wing bloc, which holds sway over cultural institutions and distances an artist whose only sin is that he is repentant to Orthodox Judaism and belongs to the extreme political right. It was not difficult to arouse a sense of persecution and exclusion in the right-wing public. Their reactions might have been justified if Zilber had never uttered fanatic comments or had only made just one slip of the tongue. But his offensive utterances over time have a common theme: hateful comments about minorities and different groups in the population.