I’m not protesting today. I am not blocking
main traffic arteries.
Before October 7th, I spent months
demonstrating against Binyamin Netanyahu’s judicial putsch. Even then, I never
blocked traffic because it is illegal. I do not want to get arrested, and I do
not want to be responsible for keeping someone from their urgent appointments.
Why punish motorists?
Since the war began, I see no justification for stretching police resources by holding protests.
More to the point, I am
not demonstrating because I do not want to meld two distinct causes: (1) bringing the government down and (2) “Bring Them [the Israelis kidnapped by the Palestinian Arabs in Gaza led by Hamas] Home Now.”
Elections first: Yes, I want elections, but
so long as the Netanyahu-led Likud, the Hardal parties of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir,
and the Haredi parties of Agudat Israel and Shas hang together, I see no path
to bringing down this government. If anything, the "Channel 14" la familia crowd will point
to “leftists” protesting in wartime and harden the government’s resolve.
Who in Likud even wants to stand up to Bibi? Anyway, of the handful of Likud MKs who don’t owe
their places in the Knesset to Netanyahu, which is going to resist the
Magician of Cesearea? Yuli Edelstein? Nir Barkat? Yoav Gallant? All three repeatedly
chickened out. Most of the rest are brown nosing Bibi drones.
Like you, I oppose the Netanyahu-Hardal-Haredi government. Under Netanyahu, the Likud is irredeemable; rotten to the core. Hardal is messianic apocalyptic. These parties want Temple Mount sacrifices, Gaza re-settlement, and pop-up nonstrategic settlements in Judea and Samaria. They would like to make believe there are no Palestinian Arabs and that, anyway, we have no obligations to them. As for the Haredi parties, they want us to embrace the sanctity of parochial draft dodging and the blessedness of their insular, cultish mores.
Blame yourselves if you voted for Likud or
one of the “religious Zionist” parties or God-forbid the haredim. This was the axis Netanyahu promised
all along: Likud, Hardal, + the haredim.
Now, let’s turn to the matter of the
hostages: “Bring them home now!” should be read as capitulate to Hamas at any
cost.
Hamas is not offering to release Israeli
hostages in return for a ceasefire. Hamas is demanding an end to the war, a complete withdrawal, and, therefore, an IDF pullback from the Philadelphi Corridor. Caving in would renew the free flow of weapons and materials from
Sinai into the Strip. Obviously, after disengagement, we should never have given up the
Far worse, “Bring them home now” hands Palestinian
Islamists precisely what they asked for on Day One, namely the release of
hundreds of Arabs justifiably incarcerated in our prisons. Netanyahu released Yihya
Sinwar himself in an earlier trade that put the needs of the few over the
safety of the many. Repeating Netanyahu's mistake, which had cost us hundreds of lives
leading up to October 7th, would be reckless in the extreme.
“Bring
them home Now!” not only hands Hamas a victory, it encourages another October 7th
either from Gaza or the West Bank or Lebanon – or, maybe, all three fronts. It
encourages the Shi'ite Arab Houties in Yemen and the Shi’ite Arab militias in Iraq. It will encourage Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is
building up in Judea and Samaria. It will embolden Hezbollah to try something
like October 7th using its tunnels in South Lebanon. And it would send a clear
signal to our arch-enemy Iran.
After 275 days of war, massive dislocation of Israeli civilians – north and south, nearly 1,600 Israelis killed, and God knows how many life-altering wounds suffered by our soldiers, not to mention our collective national trauma, “Bring them home Now!” raises a white flag that says: we are yielding. It is an invitation to kidnap more Israelis later.
And not incidentally, bring who home now? Does Israel even have a list of who is alive and who is dead? What normal country negotiates without knowing what it is bargaining about?
Ceasefire now? No thanks. Fuck the Hamas.
Fuck the Hezbollah.
Netanyahu has failed to tell the families of the hostages the painful truth. He has strung them along. And Israel's anti-government media is committing malpractice by not spelling out precisely what Hamas expects in return for the hostages.
Our prime minister also can’t bring himself
to acknowledge that Hamas has to be replaced by some other Arab entity in Gaza,
and the only possible alternative is the repulsive PLO. Thus, thanks to this
benighted government, we have wasted lives and time with a Biden-like refusal
to acknowledge harsh reality. The Gaza vacuum works against us.
Netanyahu told us we should let the PLO collapse in the West Bank as punishment for their lawfare campaign against us. It felt good to do so, I admit. Yet, now, the West Bank is militarily more dangerous than at any time since the Six-Day War. We actually need to use warplanes to pacify West Bank refugee camps. And for all his bluster and all his obsequious groveling to Trump, Iran is closer to a deployable nuclear weapon than ever.
We need to acknowledge reality – if it is
not too late – and work with the “moderate” Arab states to salvage the hideous PLO.
The irrational, ideologically driven
policies of this government and Netanyahu’s relentless commitment to putting
his personal interests first have brought us to a bad place. Indeed, to October
7th. That said, falling into the enticing “Bring Them Home Now!”
trap only exacerbates our problems. It’s not what you want to hear, it’s not
what I want to write, but this is no time for mass-delusion.
Great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading.
DeleteU R 2 rational for your own good (even though you apparently believe in prayer !)
ReplyDeleteYour analysis is correct but unfortunately it coincides with Bibi’s agenda which is to do ANYTHING that will keep him in power , including endless war (a l’Orwell) .
So perhaps it is best to push for a hostage deal which if agreed upon due to enormous public pressure (yes those pesky demos) , will take the coalition apart and enable us to unseat the little dictator
It is unfortunate that it is Bibi sounding like a true Zionist (“smash Hamas!”) when this is just a tool
He may be more dangerous to our long term survival as a self governing Jewish commonwealth than either Hamas or Hizbullah? They can hurt but not totally incapacitate us
We can defeat them in a second round . Bibi (and his ilk) could destroy the country
My (convoluted I admit) thoughts
I appreciate your comment. Thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteGreat pieceunder control of the only recognized representative
ReplyDeleteI agee with your conclusion that however unpalatable, putting the PLO in charge in Gaza is one of the few options available especially given that they have a vested interest in rooting out all remaining Hamas operatives while being the only organization that would face little world criticism if they acted ruthlessly in doing so.
As an aside, I am wondering (without conclusion) whether there is a tactical advantage in coupling handing over Gaza to the PLO with a simultaneous declaration IN PRINCIPLE that Israel recognizes the state of Palestine in Gaza now that it is under the control of the only recognized representatives of the Palestinian people. Otherwise it will be seen as if the PLO are simply the agents of Israel without legitimacy.
Being able to show that this is actually a pathway to statehood could make it viable.
Obviously all the details of what is understood by "state" would be left for negotiation (it'll never happen) but it takes the sting out of all those countries "virtue signaling" by declaration of recognition of a Palestinian state, as now they will be parroting Israel's own policy.
Please delete my previous comment as too many errors crept in by typing on a cell phone
ReplyDelete"Repeating Netanyahu's mistake"
ReplyDeleteIt's healthy to look at things as they were, and are: Like most of Netanyahu's mistakes (and boy did he make them), that one was even more enthusiastically urged on by his political *opponents*, the same people who are rioting (and yes, they riot: I have a front-row view and more to prove it) against him (and let's be honest, it's against *him* and not for the hostages) right now- and, and I don't mean to be rude here, the ones who were rioting last year, and for years before then, since corona started at least.
It seems to me a bit of self-reflection would be called for on their part. But no, within weeks of October 7- days, really- they were out on the streets screaming that Bibi hadn't been tough enough on Hamas. You know the old expression, if they didn't have double standards, they'd have no standards at all.
So who *was* consistently opposed? Again, let's have some honesty: The people who dismiss as "hardal" up there. (And not very correctly: Ben-Gvir's party isn't even religious, let alone hardal- the hardalim can't *stand* Ben-Gvir.) I am no apologist for anyone in this coalition, but again a little honesty among those who are now condemning might help.
You might try listening to what the "Bring them home now" crowd actually says. It's easy to do, since these protests are mostly public lectures. The main claim is that bringing home the hostages should be a priority for the government. Ben Gvir, Smotrich, and the Haredi parties have made very clear that there is no price they would be willing to pay for making a deal. Netanyahu has made clear that he will make new red lines at every moment, thereby making it impossible to make a deal. The rest of the government is making it clear they simply do not care about the hostages - or even the war (how else could they take an unprecedented 91 day recess?). Unfortunately, your "reading" of the "Bring them home now" movement is the one promoted by Netanyahu and one that will continue to encourage him and the rest of the government to ignore the welfare of the citizenry. Do you really want to live in a country that does not commit to bringing home captives who have been treated in absolutely horrendous ways?
ReplyDeleteCan you really not bring yourself to a place to imagine that someone who disagrees with you may have just as valid and moral argument as you think you do?
DeleteWhat I have a hard time with is the kind of shadow arguing that you and Elliot Jager engage in. Neither of you points to actual positions of people. Mr. Jager here interprets a slogan (an empty slogan, just like "absolute victory") and you point to "contradictions" among the millions of people (about 75% of Israelis) who want elections now, and the probably around one million people who have been protesting on the street. By picking and choosing assembled arguments, you put together a counter argument to an argument that no one actually makes.
DeleteSo, by all means, put together a valid and moral argument as to why the hostages should not be a priority now. Put together an explanation of how this government's actions have not led to more hostage deaths than rescues, or why they are acting morally vis-a-vis the hostages. I, for one, would love hear it.
Fascinating piece and comments. Here's my take: Israel will keep crumbling under its own weight as long as people like you keep hating Bibi more than you fear Israel's foes. The frightening thought is: what will it take for you people to realize as much? A rain of 10,000 rockets from Hizbollah straight to your Tel Aviv condos? An Iranian nuke? Only Israeli unity and resolve will prevent that, exactly what you people are undermining at this critical point.
ReplyDelete