Netanyahu holds Israel and the world hostage, Israeli voters can change that

IT boggles the mind that a mature democracy like Israel can be held hostage by one politician for so long. Israel’s current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been in power for 16 years, thanks to the Jewish nation’s fractious parliamentary system. Until very recently the cost of allowing Netanyahu to remain in power again and again has mostly been felt domestically in the form of internal political strife, political corruption and the deterioration of democracy.

You cannot stay in power for so long without chipping away at established democratic norms and engaging in corruption. In fact, there are now three corruption cases being investigated involving Netanyahu and members of his family. But in the past few months, the cost of allowing Netanyahu to lead Israel has been immense.

Under his watch, the world has been brought to the brink, first with Israel’s offensive in Gaza and earlier this month Israel launched an attack on Iranian consular office in Damascus.

Last weekend, Iran chose to retaliate, sending a barrage of missiles and military drones directly toward Israeli territory, bringing the world ever closer to World War III. Analysts have said that the latest tit-for-tat between Israel and Iran is a calibrated affair and that the chances of the two countries starting a fullblown war with each other are limited.

There is always risk of miscalculation and in the fog of war, incorrect judgments can land countries on a slippery slope toward open conflict. The Middle East has been a hotspot for conflicts and Israel and Iran have been engaged in a covert military operation against each other for years, but the direct attack on Israel over last weekend did mark a serious escalation. (It was reported that a paramilitary base in south of Baghdad, Iraq, was hit by an Israeli air strike while three Israeli drones were downed near a nuclear base not far from Iranian historical city Isfahan on Friday)

Tension has been simmering for years between Middle Eastern countries and Israel, but we can confidently argue that the Netanyahu factor plays a major role in the current stage of conflict.

It is a classic diversionary war, a situation where embattled government leaders confronted with public antagonism domestically, launch a war to divert the public attention from domestic problems and therefore survive politically.

For some politicians, when the going gets tough domestically, they can always start a military campaign against foreign entities to get the “rally around the flag effect.” Leaders of both democratic and authoritarian nations have engaged in this practice and many times over the world has been made less safe because of the actions of shortsighted politicians.

In 1998, United States President Bill Clinton ordered the Operation Infinite Reach to attack an Al-qaeda base in Sudan while the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal reached fever pitch domestically.

Another often cited case of diversionary war was the Falklands invasion by Argentina in 1982, which many observers deemed to be a result of domestic economic and political crises in Argentina at the time.

Netanyahu certainly learned his history well and understood that a military offensive against Hamas and Iran could allow him to survive politically in the face of mounting legal problems. After all, he is the kind of leader who is willing to tear the country apart – in this case, by overhauling the country’s judicial system – just to shore up his political base and to give himself a new lease on his political life.

The corruption trial against Netanyahu which kicked off in May 2020 has been delayed many times, first because of Covid-19 and recently from the Oct 7 attack by Hamas. The corruption trial did resume amid the war in Gaza, which members of Netanyahu’s Likud Party deemed to be a “disgrace.”

The fresh tension between Israel and Iran may have given Netanyahu a reprieve if not boosting his standing internationally, with the US and Western countries lending a hand in dealing with the Iranian attack. But a diversionary war can only do so much. Israelis themselves have started to take to the streets, carrying on the protest that started after the controversial judicial reform initiated by Netanyahu.

Last week, as the war in Gaza entered its seventh month, protesters called for Netanyahu’s resignation and chanted “election now”.

“You are a pharaoh, a slayer of firstborns – 240 were kidnapped on your watch – it’s your fault,” said one of the protesters Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is one of the 134 still being held in Gaza by Hamas Even for people whose names have been used by Netanyahu to justify the Gaza offensive, he has widely been seen as an unreliable leader. And as the prospect of a regional war in the Middle East widens, Israelis should more seriously consider the option of removing Netanyahu.

If even the staunchest supporter of Israel in the US political establishment – senate majority leader Chuck Schumer – called Netanyahu an obstacle to peace, then there is certainly an urgency for the Israeli voters to make their voices heard. A prolonged and wider conflict in the Middle East would only further jeopardise Israel. The war in Gaza has now killed almost 34,000 including many children, and this is too obscenely high a cost to pay for the survival of one politician. Netanyahu’s diversionary war must be stopped. Voters in Israel can help achieve that goal. — The Jakarta POST/ANN