Eh! How many times have we seen this movie over Israel’s 75-year history? Countless. Yet, it’s the same military movie over and over again with the same conclusion. Nation states and terrorist organizations attack Israel; Israel beats them back and exacts its revenge; the international community pressures Israel to ease up after several days or weeks; a truce ensues. Wash, rinse, and repeat a few years later. Not much changes with the Israel-Palestine question being largely unanswered. Indeed, this 2023 war is qualitatively different. Many liken this attack by Hamas to Israel’s multi-Pearl Harbors or multi-9/11s. And Israel has rightly declared war on a terrorist organization (aka the Gaza Strip). Militarily, I get it.
But politically, the comparison to Pearl Harbor and 9/11 is all wrong. Completely wrong! Politically, this is the Reichstag fire. It is not lost on me that I compare Netanyahu’s government to Nazi Germany, for I have made this comparison long before the war started. Indeed, Israelis duly elected a fascist government into power that has more in common with the Nazis than Western democracies. In fact, this is a perfect opportunity for Netanyahu to consolidate his power and force through all his judicial “reforms” and more. This, too, is a movie we have seen before. I’m just waiting for Netanyahu and the right-wing fascist government to pass their notion of the Enabling Act. All the while, Israelis will eagerly give up their freedoms — that they have been protesting to keep for the last year — all in the name of security, nationalism, and vengeance. Mark my words, morons! It’s the same human condition and Pavlovian response, just a different century. This is how democracies die with a bang instead of the usual whimper. Oh, well.