Haaretz, Israel’s influential newspaper of record, has been tracking the failings of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reportedly ignored repeated credible warnings about an impending terrorist plot and was thus caught with his pants down during Israel’s 9/11. I wish to share with you some noteworthy excerpts from that paper’s copious commentary. Let these words be a warning to all of us:
“The danger looming over Israel in recent years has been fully realized. A prime minister indicted in three corruption cases cannot look after state affairs, as national interests will necessarily be subordinate to extricating him from a possible conviction and jail time...
“A corrupt leader, a criminal defendant…(a) recidivist liar guided by only one principle – saving his own skin…He’s a gang leader…
“He’s the first (head of state) in the history of western democracies to wage war on his own country, on its institutions and foundations…he has declared war on Israel’s elites, the judicial system. the checks and balances, and by extension the military he views as an elitist cabal undermining his political agenda…
“His government is extremist, messianic, hollow, inept, and inherently kakistopcratic – government of the worst…No one looks up to him at the ultimate moment of tragedy and crisis; only sycophants trust him. His record is one of incompetence and gung ho delusion…He has shown arrogant recklessness, dereliction of duty and responsibility, and gross negligence…excessive narcissism, extreme paranoia, and chronic victimization.”
Does any of that ring a bell?
And here’s a deafening clang from Bernard Avishai, a scholar at the University of Jerusalem:
Netanyahu “has a string of former appointees, especially high-ranking security professionals, who look back on their service in disgust. (He) brags promiscuously, condemns ‘fake news’ and has a sycophantic, tweeting son…Netanyahu has already proven how an indictment can be useful in rallying the base, along with blocking potential challenges from feckless leaders of one’s own party. His playbook is pretty much self-evident. You prompt condemnation of (the charges) as amounting to a witch hunt enabled by a ‘weaponized judiciary.’ You discredit prosecutors and judges before they can convict you, and you justify your reelection, in part, by promising to tame them. The larger crime is thus submerged in ‘politics-as-usual’ sparring – catnip for reporters and pundits who like the sport.”
Netanyahu has weakened Israel from within – sowing hatred and division, relentlessly attacking its democratic institutions – and he has weakened Israel on the national security front, ignoring repeated warnings of an impending Hamas attack (warnings from Egypt, and from his own intel officers). As one Haaretz columnist writes, “He has marked the army, the Shin Bet security service and a majority of the public as enemies of the people.”
All this, of course, is America in microcosm. Avishai warns, “The crisis confronting Israel’s democracy…is cautionary for the United States.”
We have our own Netanyahu. Granted, he’s currently in exile. But he continues to wreak havoc even without the power he’s so desperate to reacquire. He seeks to weaken America’s western alliance – his master in Moscow supports Iran, which supports Hamas (connect the dots, people!) – and he’s grinding down democracy here at home. As political analyst A. B. Stoddard writes today, “For eight years Trump has demanded Republicans defend his every lie, every violated norm, every crime. And now battered Republicans are incapable or unwilling to carry out their responsibilities and respond to national security threats. They cannot be counted on to serve their constituents or their country, or to come to the aid of allies in desperate need of American leadership. Trump and tribalism have incapacitated them.”
But if enough prospective voters take the time to read and process President Biden’s remarks yesterday (“Our hearts may be broken, but our resolve is clear…This is not about party or politics, this is about the security of our world, the security of the United States of America”), then maybe we’ll have a fighting chance to save ourselves from Netanyahu II.