Former Shin Bet head: Fear of terror threatens Israel with ‘1984’ scenario

Israel risks turning into a “1984” society if it remains in fear of Palestinian attacks, warned a former head of the Shin Bet security service. “The major threat to democracy is fear,” Adm. (res.) Ami Ayalon told The Jerusalem Post.Be the first to know – Join our Facebook page. “Terrorists want to instill fear, and naturally what the government should do is try to decrease the level of terror. In a normal world this is what should be expected. But what we see is the opposite,” Ayalon stated. “Leaders encourage the fear of citizens in order to get elected. The immediate result is a frightened society that always prefers security over civil rights and this way brings us certainly to 1984,” he said, referencing the 1949 dystopian novel by George Orwell.Ayalon, a former director of the Shin Bet and commander of the Israel Navy, made the comments following a special geostrategy conference at the University of Haifa.“What are we willing to pay to win against the enemy we are fighting?” he asked, while recounting his time as the head of the Shin Bet during the Second Intifada, when parents wouldn’t allow their children to ride on buses or go to shopping malls out of fear of suicide bombings. “If the war on terror is never-ending, what will we give up?”

 

Source: Former Shin Bet head: Fear of terror threatens Israel with ‘1984’ scenario – Israel News – Jerusalem Post