Israel is slowly becoming a pariah state… and Netanyahu is still “legitimate” – from Israeli media

In September 2022, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s richest man, who spent 11 years in prison after the indictment of President Vladimir Putin, was at a Financial Times conference in London. He was asked if Putin was a rational person. So his answer was: of course, but his value system is very different from the acceptable one. According to him, there are two problems in Putin’s vision in order to preserve his rule and, therefore, his life: one, he is willing to cause the death of tens of thousands of people; two, he is willing to cause the death of tens of thousands of people. Including his own people. Regarding Netanyahu, I intend to give a similar answer. Another analysis to understand their behavior is that they both have narcissistic personalities.

There are many similarities between Netanyahu and Putin, I don’t want to go into them, the meaning is clear: since Putin came to power in 1999, the West has communicated with him during Putin’s rule and tried to get close to him, cooperate with him, and even put pressure on him. With the invasion of Ukraine, everything changed, “he became a pariah”, and Russia became isolated. If the West treats Netanyahu like it treats Putin, there will eventually be a chance for change. Now, Israel is turning into a pariah state little by little, but Netanyahu is still “legitimate”.

Netanyahu is undermining Western interests. The West has enough influence to replace it democratically. This will become possible when the local political system gets the needed signals. Is the Israeli Prime Minister really an ally of the United States? How is Putin’s position different? It is necessary to distinguish between Israel’s interests and Netanyahu’s interests. Over time, the gap between the interests of the two has become larger and larger, and now it has become very large. Netanyahu is turning Israel into an authoritarian state, in which case it can no longer be a true partner of the United States.

Netanyahu is leading Israel down the same path that Putin is taking in his country. Soldiers and citizens are dying, the economy is ruined, and the upper echelons of society are fleeing. The younger generation has run out of hope.

Netanyahu is a serially failed strategist. He failed to recognize the danger of Hamas and, most importantly, he continued and increased his mistakes until Iran finally became a country on the nuclear threshold. One day, he will become the beloved of the Iranian nation.

Israeli political actors have not yet understood the need for delegitimization. They will not succeed in treating Netanyahu as a dead horse and find an alternative in the Knesset or elsewhere. Moreover, they do not understand that even if Netanyahu continues to remain on the stage, there will no longer be free elections in Israel, at best there will be restrictions on certain groups, at a lesser extent, elections will be postponed due to a state of emergency. These problems are also relevant to the Orthodox parties, which are characterized by an extremely narrow vision. She does not understand that Netanyahu’s dependence on the right and the far right exacerbates the shift of voters’ votes towards Ben Gvir, and that the sharp deterioration of the Israeli economy will prevent her from receiving the state resources she demands.

As for the heads of the security services, they (and their graduates) were naive and stupid in their commitment to presenting possible alternatives and scenarios to Netanyahu. The situation is the same: a war without a goal and without an end, allowing elections to be postponed and him to remain in power. Moreover, the mistakes of the Biden administration are painful: first, not distinguishing between Netanyahu’s interests and those of Israel; second, Washington treating him as a legitimate leader and a friend who can be influenced.

The solution to the Middle East complex lies in adopting a new and completely different narrative. If they understand both in Israel and in the West that he is the head of a minority government, without the support of the public, then they will understand that he is illegitimate. The Israeli government can and must undergo democratic change, and there is a range of power tools to achieve this. For example, dialogue with the Orthodox parties that have the necessary 18 seats in the current or next parliament. In addition, allies from the West and Europe have pressure tools that prompted the EU to democratically replace Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi in 2011. New dynamics will only be created if the Biden administration sees Netanyahu as the equivalent of Putin.

Biden also has a clear interest in helping Harris win. A policy that could remove Netanyahu from the political arena, coupled with real support for Israeli interests and a good explanation of the motivations behind the policy, would send a strong, clear message to the United States and help Harris win.

Currently, Netanyahu is leading Israel towards the abyss. He is angering the North, the South and the West Bank and making every possible mistake regarding Iran. If the political system and the West do not stop it soon, Israel will commit suicide along with its Prime Minister.

Elan Yasif

Haaretz

Palestine Institute