[Salon] Why So Many Young Israelis Adore This Racist Politician - Israel Election 2022 - Haaretz.com



Sorry for this long introduction but leaving the “story” to the journalist who wrote it, too often just multiplies the inadequacy of their analysis, and the USG didn’t fund my study of political theory and support me in the practice of law just for me to defer to journalists. Or teach me the rudiments of Psychological Operations so that I can “multiply” bad, incorrect, or incomplete information by ignoring its deficiencies without comment. So excuse me if I put a bit of that investment to work, as all of us should be here in this forum. And as always, delete it, if my analysis is so disagreeable, or if so, please explain factually how it is, so that all of us can learn from my possible mistake. And sorry if some of what I say is repetitious, but it is meant to apply to the facts of the article I am sharing. 

To the article below, “nationalism” if it only meant the sort of pride almost all people have for their own countries, and their fellow citizens through the intersubjectivity all humans have for “their fellows,” whether that is familial, geographical, situational/experiential, or common citizenship has always been seen as “normal” and non-threatening, as we saw in countries like Sweden and Switzerland. But to countries engaged in “Perpetual War,” as Israel is in a permanent "war of pacification” against the Palestinians and their neighbors, Leo Strauss’s friend Carl Schmitt defined a different demarcation which changed its character with his sort of “nationalism,” that of the necessity of the “Friend-Enemy Distinction.” Ironically, “ordinary social scientists” in the field, with the disallowance of any non-quantitative approaches to the study of human societies, fail to even research this because it is impossible to “quantify” people’s feeling. Coupled with a reluctance to explain to people in societies at war that in addition to “killing their enemies,” a change is necessarily taking place in their consciousness so that most will come only to see the world divided into "Us vs Them,” (Friends, and Enemies), with only time and the human replacement which comes with time helping a society to return to “normal,” if they don’t allow the militarists to continue their war on consciousness by memorializing and unduly “heroizing” the “Warfighters,” as Germany did twice. First after the victory over the French in 1871, then in the loss in WWI. All of which served as the precursor and the manifestation of fascist consciousness, as George L. Mosse wrote.  

Edmund Husserl, the Jewish German founder of “Phenomenology,” or as he preferred, the “science of consciousness,” understood this and saw it take place in Germany beginning in the 1920s, and by the 1930s tried to warn European intellectual colleagues of what was happening, and to criticize their common method of “positivism,” for its inadequacies in understanding the “Human Condition,” in his Vienna Lectures, to no avail. And we still refuse to look at what effect a constant “state of war” has on the collective consciousness of a society (even if so many don’t even know the war is taking place, it still seeps into virtually everyone’s life experience) so that only “extreme measures,” preferably coupled with brutality and cruelty, come to be seen as acceptable counter-measures to any societal ill/problem. Thus, fascism! Even if the term is frowned upon being used to describe ourselves. 

As can be seen in the “nationalism” of the type described below, one that "National Conservative” Yoram Hazony does his best to incite even more, in Israel, and the U.S., and as with the “NaziCons” like Giorgia Meloni, as the “NatCons" would need to be called in Italy, most appropriately. And we’re alway presented with only two “choices” in this fascist lexicon, as if there is never any other method to deal with such issues. Though admittedly when the dominant “Absolute Majoritarian” ideology first promoted by a fellow who once taught at Yale, worked for the CIA, founded an “Influence Operation” magazine, and is haled as a founder of  the “Conservative Movement,” becomes the “official ideology” of a nation so that all dissent is to be squelched, as we now see as well from the party that this self-same “Conservative” belonged to (before the exodus of “Southern Democrats” to the Republicans, which he would predictably have been part of had he lived slightly longer). And as our, and Israeli “Warfighters,” have relentlessly researched, that same “Friend-Enemy” consciousness can be artificially produced through “Cognitive Warfare,” what was formerly called “Psychological Operations,” now taken to an “all of society, Total War” attack upon human’s very minds, beginning with those “at home,” to incite the populations to support the wars, and suppress dissent. As we see in Israel, and the US, every day. 

So none of what is described here should come as a surprise, is my point, with this statement bolstering that: 

"When asked if he was surprised by the warm reception Ben-Gvir received in a place that isn’t his natural turf, Degani admitted he was a bit. “I know I shouldn’t be, because surveys have shown that young Israelis are far more racist than their European counterparts. But still, the admiration these kids showed for him was a bit shocking. 

“I guess that’s what happens when there’s so much emphasis on nationalism in the educational system,” he adds. “And as we know, there’s a very small distance between nationalism and fascism.” 

(When there’s so much emphasis on “Us vs Them” might have been more correct to say. And the following which comes at the end of the article:)

"Noa Lavie, head of the political communications division at the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Academic College, was involved in a large study several years ago comparing the political views of young people in developed countries. The study found that after young Hungarians, young Israelis were more right wing than their peers in any other country. 

Lavie attributes this to several factors, including Israel’s religious radicalization, an educational system that focuses on a narrative of the Jews and Israelis as victims while ignoring the narrative of the Palestinians, and growing incitement against the left. 

“If Israelis are shocked by what’s happening, they need to get over it and face the fact that right now, the bon ton for young people is to be right wing and see the Arabs as the enemy,” she says. “That’s why Ben-Gvir is so popular.” 

She adds: “Perhaps the biggest failure of the so-called ‘government of change’ was that it wasn’t able to delegitimize this man.”


For someone teaching “political communications,” she should know that what she “added” contradicts her recognition that the material fact of a continuing state of war against the “Arabs as the enemy” makes it impossible to “delegitimize” such a man, who within Israeli society, is the norm, not the aberration: from much of the “Left” to all of the “Right.” Just as in the US today with almost all of us wanting to kill Russians, except for a few on the “Right,” who prefer to kill Chinese and Iranians first. 




Why So Many Young Israelis Adore This Racist Politician - Israel Election 2022 - Haaretz.com

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT

Far-right lawmaker and Otzma Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir visiting the archaeological site of the Tomb of Samuel at the Nabi Samuel village between Ramallah and Jerusalem in the West Bank last week.Credit: AHMAD GHARABLI - AFP

In 1977, just before the right assumed power for the first time in Israel, a high school in Ramat Gan successfully called the race. At a mock election held at Blich not long before the big day itself, Likud emerged as the big winner.

In 1992, Blich once again appeared to have its finger on the nation’s pulse, predicting Labor’s return to power after 15 years of nearly continuous Likud rule.

Although they haven’t always been on the mark, the students of Blich did foresee two of the biggest political upheavals in Israel. For good reason, it is often said that as Blich goes, so goes the nation.

Hence, all the soul-searching and hand-wringing that went on last week when Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of a far-right party that often incites against Israel’s Arab community, was greeted at the school by wild cheers and racist chants. Not by all the students, to be sure, but by a very vocal minority.

Ben-Gvir leads Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), a far-right party that will be running in the upcoming November 1 election (as it did in March 2021) together with Bezalel Smotrich’s no-less extreme Religious Zionism party.

According to recent polls, Religious Zionism – as their joint slate is known – could become the third or fourth largest party in Israel, and Ben-Gvir could become a minister if Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu succeeds in forming the next government.

A disciple of Meir Kahane – the racist, American-born rabbi whose Kach party was eventually banned from the Knesset – Ben-Gvir has threatened to deport “disloyal” Israelis, including two current Arab lawmakers. Up until just a few years ago, he had a photo hanging in his home of Baruch Goldstein, the Israeli doctor who massacred 29 Palestinians at Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs in 1994.

Itamar Ben-Gvir waving an Israeli flag in the West Bank last week.Credit: AHMAD GHARABLI - AFP

He first came to the attention of the public in 1995, shortly before the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, when he was televised brandishing a Cadillac emblem ripped from the prime minister’s car and threatened: “We got to his car. We’ll get to him too.” Fifteen years ago, he was convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization.

Ben-Gvir’s recent surge in the polls is often attributed to his growing appeal among young Jewish Israelis – particularly ultra-Orthodox men and traditional Mizrahi voters from the country’s geographic periphery. What became abundantly clear last week was that his appeal is spreading to less likely quarters – in this case, one of the last bastions of the secular left in Israel.

About 30 students from Blich waited outside for Ben-Gvir when he arrived at the school, greeting him with the notorious anti-Arab chant “Your village should burn.” He also earned himself a loud round of applause when he entered the auditorium to address the student body.

Soon afterward, he happened upon a group of Tel Aviv Scouts on an outing in the park – and this time it was an even a more enthusiastic reception. The encounter, which was caught on camera and went viral on social media, shows the young middle-schoolers jostling for selfies with Israel’s most racist right-wing politician.

That members of a youth movement that has produced many of Israel’s best and brightest would be fawning over such an extremist was jolting enough. That it happened in the center of Tel Aviv – a city synonymous with liberalism and tolerance – was mind-boggling. But it came as no surprise to Israel Democracy Institute researcher Or Anabi, who has been tracking the growing popularity of the right in Israel – especially among young people – in recent years.

His brand-new analysis, based on the results of half a dozen surveys conducted this year, shows that about 60 percent of Jewish Israelis identify today as right-wing. Among young Israelis (ages 18 to 24), it tops 70 percent.

Indeed, according to his analysis (published here for the first time), Ben-Gvir’s party performs significantly better among young voters.

The figures show that among this particular age group, 7 percent voted for Religious Zionism in the March 2021 election. This compares with 5.6 percent among 25- to 44-year-olds; 2.9 percent among 45- to 64-year-olds; and 3.4 percent among the over 65s.

The percentage of young Israelis who voted for Religious Zionism was more than double the percentage voting for either Labor or Meretz – the two left-wing Zionist parties.

The usual explanation for the popularity of right-wing parties among young Israelis is demographic: religious Israelis vote overwhelmingly for the right, and religious families tend to have far more children than nonreligious families.

Anabi believes this is only part of the story, though. Ben-Gvir’s recent surge in the polls, he says, reflects growing racism in Jewish society as a whole. “In the past, Jewish Israelis defined themselves as right or left based on how they viewed the conflict with the Palestinians and its solution,” he says. “But nobody is talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the status of the territories anymore. Increasingly, Jewish Israelis are defining themselves as right or left based on their attitude to the Arab minority living within Israel.”

The violence that broke out in Israel’s mixed Jewish-Arab cities in May 2021, which was unprecedented in scope, was a pivotal factor in Ben-Gvir’s rising star, Anabi says. “It raised deep questions about whether Jews and Arabs could ever live together peacefully,” he adds.

The fact that, for the first time in Israeli history, an Arab party joined the ruling coalition a month after these events might have served as a mitigating factor. But, actually, says Anabi, the opposite is true.

“Until Mansour Abbas joined the government,” he says, referring to the head of the Islamist United Arab List, “Jews were used to the idea that Arabs are never part of the power game. But once they did become part of it, as we’ve seen, they’re drawing much more fire.”

תיכון בליך דגל גאווה
Blich High School in Ramat Gan during Pride week in 2018.Credit: Moti Milrod

Drawn to extremists

Zeev Degani is the principal of Gymnasia Herzliya, one of Tel Aviv’s best-known high schools. A proud leftist, he believes it was a huge mistake to allow Ben-Gvir access to a school.

“I obviously believe in free speech,” he says, “but free speech is only one element in a democracy. Something even more basic is knowledge, and when you have kids, like we have here, who grow up quite ignorant about what’s going on around them, you’re asking for trouble when you invite a fascist propagandist like Ben-Gvir in – especially considering that kids by nature are drawn to extremists.”

When asked if he was surprised by the warm reception Ben-Gvir received in a place that isn’t his natural turf, Degani admitted he was a bit. “I know I shouldn’t be, because surveys have shown that young Israelis are far more racist than their European counterparts. But still, the admiration these kids showed for him was a bit shocking.

“I guess that’s what happens when there’s so much emphasis on nationalism in the educational system,” he adds. “And as we know, there’s a very small distance between nationalism and fascism.”

The Israel Religious Action Center – the advocacy arm of the Reform movement in Israel – led a campaign to disqualify Ben-Gvir from running for the Knesset in 2019. It failed, however, with the High Court of Justice ruling in his favor.

IRAC Executive Director Orly Erez Likhovski is concerned that many Israelis have been taken in by Ben-Gvir’s recent charm offensive and the toning down of his rhetoric. He no longer talks about deporting all Arabs, for instance, but instead only those who are “disloyal.”

“Maybe this makes some people calmer, but this is just a mask he has put on,” she says. “His intentions have not changed.”

Erez Likhovski attributes his popularity among young Israelis to ignorance.

“First of all, it’s important to point out that most of the kids at Blich were against him – not for him,” she says. “But I’m sure many of them have no idea what he’s all about. From my experience, when you talk to them about Kahanism, they can’t even tell you who [Meir] Kahane was. There are a lot of lost kids out there looking for something, and when someone like Ben-Gvir comes along who makes everything sound very simple, this appeals to them.”

Still, she believes that most young Israelis would never entertain the idea of voting for him and recoil from his views.

A case in point is 18-year-old Shira Yehiel, a recent graduate of Blich who is spending the year before she joins the army volunteering in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Acre. It was an ideological decision, she says, born out of her desire to foster shared society in Israel.

“I don’t know if I can say that most of the kids at Blich have delved as deeply into these issues as I have,” she says, “but I’m sure many more identify with me than with the ‘Burn their village’ crowd.”

If the past is any indication, she’s probably right. In the last mock election held at Blich in early 2019, Ben-Gvir’s party captured barely 2 percent of the vote. Had this been the actual election result, it wouldn’t have crossed the electoral threshold.

Oz Balas Bareket grew up in the Scouts movement and spent a few years teaching high-school students before transitioning into high-tech. He is not at all shocked by the warm reception Ben-Gvir received last week from the crème de la crème of Israeli youth.

“I’d be concerned if these were people in their thirties or forties, but we’re talking about kids – and that’s the way kids are,” says the 36-year-old, who describes himself as a leftist. “They like provocations, and they like hotheads. I’m pretty sure that if you ask them why they’re singing about burning down Arab villages, most of them wouldn’t know. Nor would they even know where an Arab village exists on the map.”

What concerns him is that Ben-Gvir has become normalized. “He’s been trying to infiltrate the mainstream for years,” says Balas Bareket. “What changed now is that Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu] has legitimized him. Let’s not forget that Kahane got a cold shoulder from Likud. Ben-Gvir, by contrast, is getting a big hug. If it weren’t for this, I think he would have remained nothing more than a curiosity – just like the Green Leaf party [which supported the legalization of marijuana] used to be.”

בליך בחירות דמה 2019
Blich high school students during the announcement of the mock election results there in 2019. Itamar Ben-Gvir's party received only 2 percent of the youngsters' votes at the time.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum

Noa Lavie, head of the political communications division at the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Academic College, was involved in a large study several years ago comparing the political views of young people in developed countries. The study found that after young Hungarians, young Israelis were more right wing than their peers in any other country.

Lavie attributes this to several factors, including Israel’s religious radicalization, an educational system that focuses on a narrative of the Jews and Israelis as victims while ignoring the narrative of the Palestinians, and growing incitement against the left.

“If Israelis are shocked by what’s happening, they need to get over it and face the fact that right now, the bon ton for young people is to be right wing and see the Arabs as the enemy,” she says. “That’s why Ben-Gvir is so popular.”

She adds: “Perhaps the biggest failure of the so-called ‘government of change’ was that it wasn’t able to delegitimize this man.”



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