Israel’s extreme-right leadership is failing not only this generation but future generations.
By Peter Bailey
The foremost responsibility of every government is to act as the guardian of future generations by ensuring the long-term viability and security of the state. The major concerns of the government of the State of Israel seem to be directed at the short-term future of the governing coalition, rather than the long-term future of the country. Since the October 7 attack, with barbaric atrocities committed by Hamas, followed by Israel’s predictable subsequent military retaliation, a multitude of complex emotions have been unleashed in Israel, as well as within the Jewish world globally. Amidst the fog of war and an ever-increasing concern about the fate of the hostages, another kind of hostage drama sees Israel’s prime minister voluntarily held hostage by politicians on the extreme right of his coalition, inhibiting his ability to effectively govern Israel.
The inevitable decision to invade Gaza had the full and unequivocal support of the Israeli public, but as the war against Hamas in Gaza unfolded over almost two years, elements of doubt and disquiet began to surface in many minds. While several hostage recovery deals have taken place, elements within the governing coalition began latching on to United States President Donald Trump’s fanciful idea of turning Gaza into a Riviera-type holiday resort. Trump’s plan meant that the residents of Gaza would have to be temporarily housed elsewhere, while his unlikely plan unfolded. The hard right in the governing coalition immediately read occupation and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza into Trump’s outlandish proposal. Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party leader Ben-Gvir was very quick to ensure that his prized prime ministerial hostage, Benjamin Netanyahu understood clearly that any deal to end the war would end the coalition, forcing an election. The reality here is a strong likelihood that Netanyahu would no longer be the prime minister, reducing his court appearances to be like those of any other accused in a criminal case, sans the deference and special treatment accorded to him as prime minister. The bizarre determination to keep the war in Gaza on the boil with the Knesset Members of Netanyahu’s Likud Party continuing to support him, while he caves in to the demands of the far right, sets the scene for the dilemma of conscience with regard to morals, ethics and loyalty affecting many Israeli citizens.
While 47 hostages, 20 or 22 alive and at least 25 are confirmed dead, the stakes for releasing the hostages, even if it means ending the war, have never been higher for most Israelis. Similarly, for prized political hostage Benjamin Netanyahu, the stakes are at an all-time high. He has to stay in power to retain his VIP accused status, with the kid glove treatment that goes along with it. His personal political lifeline is to keep the war going, with an ever-increasing number of troops facing a deadly urban terrorist foe, while the living hostages remain subject to the whims of their cruel captors, who have no respect for the captives’ lives or wellbeing. Keeping the war going creates all kinds of challenges for Netanyahu, least of all being an outward show of being committed to the endless hostage negotiations being moderated by Qatar, Egypt and to a lesser extent the United States. The hostage families and other critics within Israel believe the government is not showing sufficient flexibility in the negotiations in an effort not to reach an equitable conclusion, freedom for the hostage captives and an end to the war. The reality is that Netanyahu, taking his own hostage status into account, does not have the political maneuverability to be flexible in the hostage negotiations.
The Trump Administration has been placing an ever-increasing degree of pressure on Israel to commit to a cease fire agreement, while the coalition government is doing its utmost to delay such an eventuality. The current deal on the table, presented by the U.S., puts Netanyahu on the spot. Refusal to negotiate will anger his friend and ally Donald Trump, negotiating in good faith and bending to Trump’s demands will alienate his political captors, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, leaving him very little wiggle room. It would seem that the creative solution he, or his advisers, came up with had the potential to kill two birds with one stone. Give flesh to Trump’s threats of “all hell breaking loose” on Hamas by taking a calculated risk with a precision military strike on the Hamas leadership in their safe haven in Qatar. The prize, a potential breakdown in negotiations without angering the U.S. looked inviting, while a collapse of the negotiations would keep Ben Gvir and company smiling. The jury is still out on the end result of the attack
Being a former South African who lived through the 40 years of National Party rule with government politicians judging loyalty on the degree of support given to the ‘Nats’, despite all the attendant dangers. The identical situation is unfolding in Israel, with those not supporting the right-wing government line being labelled as “traitors”, so similar to South Africa between 1960 and 1990. Zionist identity is being redefined in that those who question the extreme Revisionist line being taken, are declared to be unpatriotic at best, and anti-Zionist anti-Israel leftists at worst. The original Left Right political divide where the left-wing traditionally favoured progressive social policies through government intervention, while the right-wing sought individual liberty through limited government intervention, has become totally blurred in Israel. Israelis who favour some form of accommodation with the Palestinians, not necessarily two states, are labelled as leftists. Those who call for the annexation of Gaza, Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are the new right wing, who also see civil liberties as being discretionary and subject to government intervention, the exact opposite of classic right-wing beliefs.
Many Israeli citizens, myself included, have spent countless hours writing articles, answering criticism in foreign media and defending Israel however and wherever possible. We consider ourselves ardent Zionists and defenders of the State of Israel. The reality that more and more of these ardent traditional Zionists are questioning their determination to defend an Israel that is becoming increasingly indefensible. The majority of Israeli citizens accept that there is no widespread deliberate starvation in Gaza, but at the same time, many are beginning to understand that there is a hunger and potential human rights problem, which requires honest acknowledgement and intervention. With the viciously barbaric Hamas terrorist attacks on 7 October in the background making this exceedingly difficult, Jews and Israelis must never allow themselves to be lowered to imitate the inhuman and inhumane standards of the terrorist. We must continually bear in mind that Hamas are vicious terrorist murderers and not freedom fighters, while striving to maintain our own high Jewish ethical and moral values. This does not make those who maintain Jewish standards traitors, but rather labels those who call for the halting of aid and enforced starvation as Jews who do not fully subscribe to Jewish laws and morals as to how we are expected to treat our enemies.
Added to the disquiet over the way the war is being waged is the manner in which the hostage negotiations are being conducted, as well as the attempts at partisan appointment of officials to critical senior positions in the Judiciary and the Security Establishments. There is thus great concern about many aspects of life in Israel, from the attacks on the judiciary to an unequal military draft system with financial rewards to Yeshiva students for not doing military service, while reservists are expected to serve ever-increasing periods fighting in Gaza or elsewhere, causing long-periods of separation from their families, many with young children adding thus adding unbearable strain as well as financial concerns. Here again, any criticism of the unfair and unjust systems in place, labels the critics as “unpatriotic leftists” and even “traitors” to Israel.
Having said all this, let me clarify that criticism of the current right-wing government is not criticism of Israel, but rather the democratic right of the citizens of Israel to object to what they find abhorrent and totally unacceptable in everyday government policies.
*Feature picture: Troubling Triumvirate. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich, Minister in the Defense Ministry.
About the writer:
The writer, Peter Bailey, a military history buff, was a Major in the South African Army Reserve before making aliyah in 2013. He is the author of two books: Street Names in Israel; and Men of Valor: Israel’s Latter Day Heroes.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
