POLITICS

Where to Find the Truth – in Real Life or on TV?

OP-ED BY NUGZAR B. RUHADZE

Life in the Republic has turned into a real paradox, and it is bittersweet fun to watch, especially in an electoral season socially and politically heated to an excruciating redness. Notwithstanding the political temperature in Georgia, life is continuing in the same old way, with a more or less balanced ratio of good and bad, and fairly merging gives and takes: people somehow make ends meet, car tanks are full of gas, food stores stay alive with moderate success, prices are up but are still bearable, planes are fl ying, marriages are consummated, kids are born, funerals are served, divorces are fi led, hospitals operate, teachers teach and students learn, games are played both on homerun computers and at social joints, sanitation trucks continue blocking the traffi c, movies are being watched, restaurants keep catering to our appetites, lands are tilled, businesses drag along, construction activities are in full swing, banks operate, taxes are paid, criminals are apprehended, indispensable surveillance has its negligible way, exports are executed and imports are in place, and money is earned and spent.

All this is happening in real life, but on TV, we witness a totally different version of our existence, as if real life and television happen to be two totally different realms of our being. The question is where the essentials are for our survival in this country. Functionally speaking, television, as a media of mass communication, is normally called on to inform, to educate and to entertain society. In Georgia, the last two of those three essential functions of media seem to be stuck in the idea of an Armageddon, which all of us, it claims, are a part of and victim to. We the media-watchers are faced with their informative job, drastically bisected as a political tool in the hands of the self-defending ruling power and its ferocious opposition. The fi ght between them has put their watchers and listeners at a total loss, with no ability to discern between lie and truth, because the real-life truth has stopped being refl ected in the reported version of the truth, especially on our TV screens. Hence the question: where to fi nd the truth that is still in demand – in real life or on TV? After all, we all need that truth so as to be correctly oriented in the ocean of electoral bickering and story-telling. One could say that the politicians and media are kept safe from political disasters thanks to public gullibility in general, but the public (electorate) are also aware that ‘they can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but they cannot fool all of the people all of the time’. (Thank you so much, President Lincoln, for having me wax this fair and strong!) On the other hand, all is more than simple: what other way could media have to get a favorite politician elected except by blowing the assets of the preferred one into an oversize balloon of exaggeration, and infl ating the faults of the opposite side into some monstrous parameters? None!

So, let’s perform the political-choicemaking dance to the tune suggested by the barefacedly divided media so that the entire pre-electoral choreography looks decent enough to be believed in. Meanwhile, let us carry on seeking the truth, which we also need to continue living, somewhere out in the open air, beyond TV’s technical capabilities and moral stands. The picture just described is the clearest possible refl ection of those roaring controversial values of liberal democracy. I only wonder if this is the best way to organize our lives well enough to avoid the potential missteps on our way to a better personal life and eventual national survival. There is something very substantial that makes this question fair and lawful; only, we need to gather some patience and acquire more knowledge to respond to it with some dignifi ed truth and clear conscience. Both have become scarce and expensive to attain, but an attempt wouldn’t hurt.

Image source: Getty Images/iStockphoto

BUSINESS Israeli Week to be Held in Tbilisi

Israeli Week will be held in Tbilisi at the initiative of the Israeli House. Especially for these events, 120 guests from Israel, including members of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament), public fi gures, businessmen and representatives of other spheres, will visit Tbilisi at the invitation of the IsraelGeorgia Chamber of Business and the Israeli House. The delegation is led by the Co-Chair, Israel-Georgia Parliamentary Friendship Group David Bitan.

Itsik Moshe, president of the IsraelGeorgia Chamber of Business and founder of the Israeli House, says due to COVID regulations, the events will be held in a different format. Regarding the business forum, it will be partially dedicated to project presentations and the other part -B2B meetings between businessmen and investors. "Such a forum has not been held for the last 2 years and now we have managed to bring a representative delegation from Israel. To date, no Israeli business forum has been held in other countries. There is a great desire from Israel to strengthen economic ties with Georgia. We will focus on the potential, the business environment and caring for and increasing already incoming investments. This, in turn, will help complete existing projects as well as attract new investment, ”said Itsik Moshe.

As part of Israeli Week, guests will plant trees in the Israel-Georgia Friendship Park together with members of the Tbilisi City Council; They will browse a 30-meter portrait of Anne Frank with GeorgianIsraeli fl ags painted on the wall of a residential building at the initiative of the Israeli House; They will attend a cultural event; They will meet with Georgian parliamentarians; They will attend the opening of an Israeli room at the university; They will learn about new tourism / cultural routes and potential; They will visit Kakheti, and learn about Georgian traditional wine production and folklore.

A book dedicated to 32 years of activity will be presented within the Israeli week. The book mentions that Georgia was the fi rst country in the Soviet Union to open its doors to Israeli and world Jewish organizations. It also tells about the projects implemented in the fi elds of education, culture and tourism and the cooperation of the "Israeli House" with international organizations in Europe.

Regarding economic ties, a brief presentation of 3 successful projects is planned at the business forum:

Signing ceremony regarding WYNDHAM Leader, exclusive and leading brand COLLECTION entry in Georgian market and application for construction of 3 hotels (with one under construction) with international management;

Presentation of Georgian Kosher products - wine and processed products; And presentation of the completed tourist infrastructure of the tourist town of Tsalka - Dashbashi.

Due to the regulations, attendance will be limited and the working groups will be divided into 2-3 parts.

The business forum also marks the 25th anniversary of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business. In this regard, the President of the Israel Chamber of Commerce, as usual, sent a congratulatory letter to the forum.

During the forum, as part of the Jewish Days of Jewish Culture, photos from seven countries that won the competition of The European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage co-funded by the European Union within the framework of the Creative Europe programme, will be displayed in the lobby. The route is implemented by the Israeli House in Georgia under the auspices of the Council of Europe and with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture And Sport of Georgia.

It should be noted that the Tenth Annual Consultative Forum on Cultural Route of the Council of Europe is being held in Kutaisi during the same days, in which the Israeli House participates as an organization presenting Jewish cultural routes in Georgia.