In Jerusalem, a person can grow up, reach adulthood, vote in elections and speak with complete confidence about right and left, Jews and Arabs, loyalty and betrayal – without truly knowing the people and events that shaped the country. This is not merely the accidental ignorance of someone caught in an embarrassing moment on camera. It may also be the result of a system that too often values loyalty to a camp, obedience and slogans while neglecting history, civics, literature and critical thinking. In large parts of the city’s ultra-Orthodox education system, core subjects are limited or absent. Yet it would be convenient and dishonest to place all responsibility on the ultra-Orthodox. In other Jerusalem schools as well, students can complete years of education with a certificate but with shockingly poor general knowledge and only a superficial familiarity with Israeli history.
A painful example appeared in a clip from the television show “Power Couple” on Reshet 13. During a challenge, participants were shown an official photograph of Yitzhak Rabin but struggled to identify the late prime minister. One of the guesses offered in the room was David Ben-Gurion, and the gap between the confidence of the answer and the lack of knowledge turned the scene from amusing into deeply sad. The contestants were not presented as Jerusalem residents, and the segment is not a study of the city’s education system. It merely provides a mirror – and Jerusalem cannot afford to look away.
Why Is Failing to Recognize Yitzhak Rabin So Serious?
Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922, served in the Palmach, commanded the Harel Brigade during Israel’s War of Independence and later became chief of staff during the Six-Day War. He also served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States and as prime minister. During his second term, the Oslo process advanced and Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan. On November 4, 1995, he was assassinated after a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
No one is required to admire Rabin or agree with his political path. But knowing who he was is a basic civic expectation. Someone unable to recognize him is not simply missing a piece of trivia – but a central chapter of the Israeli story.
How Did Netanyahu-Loyal Jerusalem Make Knowledge Secondary?
Netanyahu-loyal Jerusalem is a right-wing, religious and conservative city where support for Benjamin Netanyahu has, among parts of the public, become an emotional and almost tribal identity. Religious symbols are increasingly visible in the public sphere, while in certain areas a fundamentalist tendency seeks to reduce secularism, openness and criticism.
When loyalty to the camp matters more than facts, there is no need to know – only to believe. There is no need to read, compare or question – only to identify who is “one of us” and who is against us.
What Price Does Jerusalem Pay for Ignorance?
The cost is not limited to embarrassment on a reality show. A public unfamiliar with history is easier to frighten, incite and govern through slogans. A city that fails to provide all its children with a broad foundation of knowledge raises adults who judge before learning, hate before checking and repeat slogans before understanding.
The “Power Couple” clip is not an indictment of its participants. It is a surprise test for Israeli society as a whole – and for Netanyahu-loyal Jerusalem as well. The unanswered question is how many of the city’s children and adults would stand before the same photograph, look at Yitzhak Rabin – and be unable to say who he was.
