One thing seems to be infinite: the chorus of gloating Israelis after the "elimination" of an enemy leader. On Tuesday, it extended from far-right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – who, after Israel killed Hezbollah's number two, wrote the Arabic phrase "Every dog has his day" in Hebrew – to the Tel Aviv grocer who handed me a candy to celebrate the fresh hit job.
In the past 24 hours, Israelis with a vengeful streak had a double celebration: Hezbollah's top military commander Fuad Shukr was killed early evening in Beirut, and Hamas' political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated overnight in Tehran.
"Jewish Power," the literal translation of Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party, is shaping this war. The minister is having everything his way: no hostage deal, no Gaza cease-fire and more combat fronts – both foreign and domestic. But his sadism, combined with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's politically motivated war efforts, would not be possible without the blind support of Israel's mainstream – especially those who try to present a sanctified image of Israel to the world in polished English.
Ever-loyal to the government that dismissed him as its spokesperson, Eylon Levy, seeking to be a barometer of Zionist and pro-Israel sentiment, tweeted (before deleting it) after the two latest assassinations: "Not your grandparents' Jews anymore," referencing generations of defenseless Jews massacred with impunity.
Indeed, my great-grandfather, who was shot in the leg while fleeing the Nazis before being gassed in Auschwitz, never had the advantage of warplanes. Similarly, my great-uncle, who was shot while jumping from a Nazi train and whose blood-stained and bullet-riddled shirt I saw as a child, lacked the sovereign power that Levy and Ben-Gvir now celebrate.
Despite this, the war-supporting duo cling to their narrative of victimhood, wanting it both ways: dismissing centuries of weakness while casting themselves as eternal victims. This mind-set allows them to use the pain inflicted on Israelis on October 7 to justify any retaliatory action.
Some Israelis who endured unimaginable atrocities by Hamas show how misguided the Israeli government's pursuit of revenge is. "Peace is not a dream of bleeding hearts. We have no other alternative. … The wretched statement that the whole [Gaza] Strip is Hamas is factually wrong," said released hostage Liat Atzili in a recent interview with Haaretz.
Would Ben-Gvir and Levy simply dismiss her as naive?
Reaching 300 days of war, Israel's Jewish power has not become a force for responsible restraint but for vindictive violence.
Last week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant slammed Ben-Gvir as "a pyromaniac who is trying to set the Middle East on fire" after the latter's visit to the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa compound and his pompous declaration that the status quo there was over. But Gallant shouldn't be so modest: Just last night, he seized his own opportunity to inflame the region with his estranged partner, Netanyahu, with the two assassinations.
Israel has become a Matryoshka doll of pyromaniacs, waging war on every front. And the Israeli hostages? Palestinian children in Gaza? They can wait another 300 days – because these Jews in Israel's government aren't "your grandparents' Jews anymore," who sanctify life over death, or peace over war.