An Orgy of Jewish Supremacy and Antidemocratic Euphoria, Encouraged by Netanyahu - Israel News - Haaretz.com
Jerusalem played host Sunday to the modestly and concisely titled "Conference For the Victory of Israel – Settlement Brings Security: Returning to the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria." What you saw there was a religious-nationalistic sect in a state of thrall.
Even if you've seen one before, it's not the same. This was not a fringe opposition group: it was the government of Israel in all its political splendor, unabashedly showing its true colors. This was the governing coalition in an orgy of anti-state and antidemocratic euphoria.
But sure – and here I'm talking to U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken – you can keep pretending that you're engaging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a geopolitical dialogue over a reconfigured Middle East. Let's see how that works out for you.
What you saw Sunday wasn't "Startup Nation" Israel. It wasn't "13 Nobel Prizes" Israel. It wasn't "Weizmann Institute of Science" Israel, nor "Iron Dome technology" Israel. It was not liberal-democratic Israel.
What you saw was messianic ecstasy and religious fervor in a position of power.
What you saw was not merely a theocratic-fascist strain in Israeli society and politics but almost half of Mr. Netanyahu's coalition (27 lawmakers), including five ministers in his government.
Attendees at the conference calling for the resettlement of Gaza and North Samaria, in Jerusalem on Sunday, with a map of the Gaza Strip in the background.Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
This strain of religious-nationalistic Jewish supremacy has been normalized, legitimized, mainstreamed and encouraged by Netanyahu.
What you saw was not some wishful-thinking, abstract idea of resettling Gaza with Jews, but a cry for the expulsion and displacement of Palestinians. What you saw was more about the West Bank – biblical Judea and Samaria – than it is about Gaza.
Lastly, what you saw was not just the far-right elements in Netanyahu's government trying to make a point by demonstrating that they completely control him politically. This is him. Unadulterated, unhinged Netanyahu, trying to distance himself far from the debacle of the
This strain of religious-nationalistic Jewish supremacy has been normalized, legitimized, mainstreamed and encouraged by Netanyahu. So, President Biden, the next time you talk to him about "postwar Gaza," a "Palestinian state" or a "reconfigured Middle East," go back to the footage from Sunday's spectacle. Listen to the exultant, vociferous, rapturous delight there. And don't bother searching for Netanyahu's response. You won't find it. Israel is your ally; Mr. Netanyahu is a liability to your interests.
Now that the majority of Israelis have caught a clear glimpse of the future and realize what's in store, they may have to make a choice. The masks are off and the masquerade is over.
From the attendees' perspective, the timing of the event was impeccable. In fact, the issue of sensitivity to timing is not a concern or consideration for them at all. Two days after the International Court of Justice in the Hague rebuked Israel and recited incendiary Israeli rhetoric bordering on calls for genocide, some of the culprits were at it again with full force.
On the very day the head of the Mossad was meeting in Paris with the Qatari prime minister, Egyptian intelligence minister and director of the CIA to discuss a possible hostage deal, they were chanting "Return to Gaza." At a time when the United States – after the enormously generous aid it provided Israel, and encouraged by Saudi and Qatari overtures – is sketching and shaping an axis of stability and order, Netanyahu's coalition went on a road show to prove it is not a partner to a "postwar" anything.
But there's a flip side to this political horror show. Paradoxically, it is a necessary spectacle because maybe, just maybe, it will force Israel to decide. There is a liberal-democratic majority in Israel. The ultranationalists, extremist Orthodox Jews and settlers are the minority. Yes, Netanyahu put them in power because they serve his legal and political survival. Yes, they were and remain his willing partners in an obscene attempt to instigate a constitutional coup that would have turned Israel from a democracy into an undemocratic, illiberal semi-theocracy.
Extremist Rabbi Uzi Sharbaf speaking at the conference on Sunday.Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
Now that the majority of Israelis have caught a clear glimpse of the future and realize what's in store, they may have to make a choice. The masks are off and the masquerade is over. The messianic eruption is inextricably linked to both the occupation and uncertainty over the future of the territories, and the constitutional coup Mr. Netanyahu has tried to impose on Israel. They are connected vessels and are conducive to each other's existence.
The strain of "atchalta de'geulah" – Aramaic for the beginning of the redemption, prior to the coming of the Messiah – is as old as religious Zionism. It was enhanced by Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook and nurtured after 1967's Six-Day War, which to a growing number of religious Zionists was a sign of the coming of the Messiah. From there, the settler movement evolved and had its outsize influence on the policies of right-wing governments. The settlers sought to create an irreversible reality and assumed that the Palestinians would either assent or flee. Religious Zionism sought to integrate into Israel's elites, partly succeeding, and gained limited political power.
A parallel cultural-religious-political process saw the religious Zionists become more ultra-Orthodox, while the ultra-Orthodox community, reclusive and suspicious of the state, has increasingly become nationalistic, xenophobic and racist.
This was the ideal airtight coalition Netanyahu needed to evade his legal problems and ongoing corruption trial. But with the constitutional coup and October 7 massacre (and subsequent war) exposing his weaknesses and vulnerability, the messianic bloc feels it needs to assert as much power as possible.
One hundred and fifteen days since 1,200 Israelis were killed, with some mutilated and raped, and while Israel Defense Forces soldiers are fighting in Gaza, a sect of religious zealots put on a carnival-style show complete with singing, dancing and chanting. So, President Biden, the next time you discuss the "Mideast security architecture" with the Israeli premier, bear in mind Sunday's scenes. Those weren't just messianic. That was Mr. Netanyahu himself.