The scandal that erupted Feb. 29 between journalist Erel Segal and Knesset member Stav Shaffir might have offered a much-needed opportunity to clear the public air and purge it of any efforts by men to ridicule and objectify women. Instead, it turned into a debate between right and left and pitted men against women because of the way Shaffir decided to deal with her public humiliation, caused by a joke with sexual overtones made by Segal about her.
Shaffir claimed that she was sexually harassed by Segal on TV. Sexual harassment, including verbal harassment, is a crime in Israel. On the other hand, it is dubious at best if what happened during the broadcast meets the criteria of sexual harassment by law.
The incident began with an article that Shaffir wrote for the Haaretz newspaper Feb. 28. In it, she described how riding her bicycle made her happy. Segal, host of "The Patriots" — a news magazine on Channel 20 (the “Heritage Channel”) identified with the right wing — attempted to ridicule the young Knesset member from the left by putting on a red-haired wig to match Shaffir’s hair and imitating her. The members of the panel, four men and one woman (former Likud Knesset member Inbal Gavrieli), all laughed. Shaffir’s claim of sexual harassment is based on one line in Segal’s text: “I want to be free to ride a bike without a seat.” It is a disgusting old joke, with clear sexual connotations at the expense of women. This was exacerbated by being repeated by a man, who also happens to be a senior media figure.
It is easy to understand why Shaffir felt humiliated. Any woman who saw the clip, which inevitably went viral, should identify with Shaffir. They should feel horrible that — in 2016 — someone like Segal, who deals with serious issues and wants to be taken seriously about them, would resort to such lowbrow humor. In fact, Shaffir first threatened to file a complaint with the police. But then she took it to all the wrong places, belittling the important struggle against sexual harassment along the way. A more proportionate response would have been a far more effective way of clearing the media space from the kind of offensive comments by men, which should have disappeared long ago. Segal’s joke was pathetic. It certainly wasn’t funny. Yet, when watching the clip, all anyone sees is a television host who is full of himself, surrounded by a group of male cheerleaders, giggling at the expense of a young Knesset member.
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