Israel’s colonial democracy gave birth to a potentially more extreme kind of ‘Jewish state’, like a more modern and sophisticated version of the ‘Islamic state’. But unlike ISIL, which was conceived and defeated by war, Israel is the sole nuclear power in the Middle East today.
Fanatics, fascists and far-right fantasies, who won this week’s elections in Israel, are about to form the most openly radical government in the country’s history. It will certainly include the rising star of the Jewish state Itamar Ben-Gvir – an extremist organization that erupts in violence, hatred of the Palestinians for which government support will stand.
The majority of religious nationalists and extremist parties in the government, who were the first in Israel’s history, wanted to turn the Jewish state into a theocracy that lived according to the Halacha (Jewish law) and perfected it. into the domination of the whole of Palestine, what can happen.
But they can? What can they practically do that their predecessors failed to do, in terms of death and destruction to be exact, and further expand illegal Jewish settlement in Palestine?
Benjamin Netanyahu, who is likely to form and lead a new coalition government, from his experience as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister that there is a limit to how far Israel can go before began to face fierce resistance from the Palestinians and Arabs. Furthermore, and Israel could also lose support in Europe and the United States; indispensable support for security and standing in the region.
In the past, he preferred incremental steps toward radical measures that would alienate Israel’s main supporters and new regional partners. As a result, Netanyahu may try to curb the eagerness of his partners to annex the occupied West Bank and ethnically wipe out its Palestinian people.
But then again, it is doubtful whether he can tame these religious fanatics, knowing all too well that they are vital to the existence of the prime minister’s office. his; his only guarantee is not to go to jail, after being prosecuted on serious corruption charges.
I think the genie is finally out of the jar.
The elections have opened a Pandora’s box that could put Israelis on the dark side. They exposed the fragility of Israel’s exceptional freedom as a colonial state, and exposed the fanaticism pervading the majority of the electorate after decades of military occupation.
The defiant statements by Netanyahu’s scandalous new partners reflect the popular belief of the majority of Israel’s right-wing parties, including his own Likud, which has ruled the country for the past few decades. But now that they are flaunting Jewish supremacy openly, it is even harder for Netanyahu’s hasbara to hide their – or his – racism from the rest of the world.
After all, it was Bibi, as Netanyahu is known, who returned in August deliver coalition of two or three fanatical small parties, to ensure they maximize their seats and join his future coalition government. They did well: The Zionist Religious Party won 14 seats. Its lawmakers include Ben-Gvir.
Netanyahu’s two other coalition partners, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, Shas and UJT, which are socially receding and politically fanatical, won 18 seats. Along with 32 far-right Likud members, they command a comfortable majority of 64 like-minded seats in the 120 Knesset members.
Emboldened by the new mandate, the always complacent Netanyahu can forego the incremental strategy he has adopted so far, in favor of a maximalist agenda. Domestically, that could include his attempt to control the judiciary and other levers of the state, and continue to marginalize Israel’s Palestinian minority. Regionally, it could involve annexing occupied territories and bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities, in the face of international backlash and a war. .
But will he?
Perhaps the answer lies in his recently published autobiography, written with reelection in mind. In this 733-page Bibi: My Story, Netanyahu repeatedly emphasizes the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel’s security and the need to eliminate it once and for all, while emphasizing the disadvantaged Palestinians to normalize relations with the Arab world.
Like a broken record, he repeatedly rejected the “central role of Palestine” in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, condemning all forms of nuclear diplomacy and any Any method of normalizing relations with Iran is naive and reckless.
He made it clear that he was the undeterred Machiavellian; that he worships power – hard power – and believes that superior military power is the only way to achieve peace or security. An evil narcissist, he is willing to do anything and everything to keep his position, including betraying his closest allies and partners.
Like all populists, he is quite delusional and conspiratorial. Despite being the longest-serving prime minister in the history of the state, Mr. Netanyahu claims in the book that throughout his career, the elites, the press, the judiciary and the far-reaching government – even generations US presidents – have all gone out to get him. .
Bibi, the book, is all about chutzpah: Where Netanyahu – the victim of countless conspiracies – tells tantalizing stories of Bibi, the victor and arch-enemy of all living, real enemies. and in the imagination. But since the book is rife with lies, exaggerations, and other misrepresentations, it is certain that he is also lying about himself and his family, keeping the reader reading for a long time.
In that way, one could infer what this tenacious, ambitious political animal represented, but it was difficult to discern who he was; real from fiction, sacred from nowhere. It was as if nothing was really there; nothing but carefully packed character and clichés.
Lacking all empathy, he won’t let anyone or anything stand in his way. Experience does not humble Netanyahu. On the contrary: With each chapter, he becomes more smug and confident, talking about himself walking among the greats, walking between Washington and Moscow, as if he were the prophet of Israel, the leader of a superpower – as if he were invincible.
That mindset, coupled with his new victory, will likely entice Mr. Netanyahu to act even harder in Palestine, and for Iran and the region, to bring Israel to supremacy in the Middle East. As he sees it, the United States is sleep and President Joe Biden is easygoing and weak; Arabs are divided and their leaders are skeptics; The European Union is concerned about Ukraine and Russia at war; and China is busy with, well, China.
But I got the news for Bibi and his “baboon” – as the opposition calls his supporters. Any such overreach is a guaranteed mistake that risks a major counter-offensive militarily, politically and on other fronts. Palestine will always be a sacred symbol of injustice against the Arabs and at the center of their conflict resolution with Israel, despite the fact that some leaders have turned against the Palestinians to appease the Palestinians. Washington. And last but not least, arrogance invites disaster; Any bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities will only strengthen the country’s regime and lead to a regional war with unpredictable consequences for Israel, the US and the Middle East.
Always remember: The higher you climb, the harder it is to fall.
