Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses the the 2021 Haifa Law Conference. Photo: GPO / Amos Ben-Gershom

i24 News – Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the violent language that has dominated the political world in recent months, saying in particular that the word “traitor” should no longer be used by politicians.

“I am shocked by the thought that today, November 4 — a date on which we learned where words can lead — I must come here and repeat: the word ‘traitor’ must be stricken from political discourse, and everywhere,” Isaac Herzog said at a lecture Thursday at University of Haifa.

“Coalition and opposition, left and right. Accusations of treason endanger our democracy,” he said. November 4 marks the anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

In the run-up to his assassination, Rabin was often called a traitor by opposition politicians and right-wing forces for his support of the Oslo Accords.

This atmosphere of incitement to violence is considered to be one of the main reasons why his assassin, Yigal Amir, carried out the act. During many demonstrations against Rabin in the 1990s, chants such as “Rabin the traitor” were heard.

There were also images of the former prime minister wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh and a makeshift coffin bearing his name.

Earlier this week, Moshe Gafni, the head of the United Judaism of the Torah party, said that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had betrayed the State of Israel.

The ultra-Orthodox MK called Bennett “an opportunist who wants to be known as a prime minister,” adding that he had “betrayed his constituents and betrayed the State of Israel.”