The real shame
One of the defining moments in the sweaty press conference he held Benjamin Netanyahu On Wednesday evening, he took credit for the achievement of lowering Israel’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 60%. He is right about one thing: this is a huge, almost one-time achievement, in an era of economic uncertainty and global crises (the war in Ukraine, the corona virus, etc.).
The only problem is that this achievement is signed by Avigdor Lieberman, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. He is responsible for the failure, when he gave these three a country with a huge deficit, with high unemployment and a high debt-to-GDP ratio (crossed 71%). They gave him back a country in wonderful condition, which he now boasts about. He is an inch away from praising himself for stopping the nuclear deal with Iran.
What Netanyahu did here is unthinkable. In a reformed country this would not happen. In a reformed country he should not have come and taken Lieberman’s credit himself. They would wrap him in black plastic (“so they won’t be seen”) and load him into the luggage. But even that can no longer be trusted here. Benjamin Netanyahu is the son of a historian. His historical consciousness is highly developed. He reads history books. He understands history. He is living history. He knows that what he is doing now to the Zionist dream will be recorded in history. He knows that history is written by historians, not preachers.
He knows that his poison machine will no longer be here, when generations of Jewish history students will learn about what he did to the only Jewish state in the world. He knows that the Bardogo has not yet been born to be able to protest from his face the disgrace that has been inflicted on them for eternity. I don’t know what is going on in the depths of the man’s soul. Is he aware that he was taken prisoner? Does he agonize over the fact that he had to kidnap an entire country on a crazy journey that ends in an abyss, just to escape the threat of judgment? Or did he convince himself, as he did quite a few times in the past, that he was right? Does his developed victim consciousness allow him to believe that he is the persecuted, while he pursues Israeli democracy to the slaughterhouse?
After all, nothing fundamental has changed since he gave his countless speeches, in which he was proud of the independence of the court, praised the court, declared that he would never allow anyone to harm the court and described in eloquent words the virtues, virtues and abilities of the court. At the miserable press conference this week, to which he failed to attract even a renowned economist, he passionately claimed that “excess legalization” is the main economic barrier that prevents Israel from taking off. This man has no shame. A few weeks ago he was a guest on a podcast in the English language where he described in great detail the virtues of the Israeli economy, its achievements, its power, its capabilities. All this was achieved despite the “excess of legalization”.
If you want to fight legalization, Mr. Netanyahu, budget billions for the immediate appointment of hundreds more judges and registrars, establish more economic courts. This is what is blocking the system: the lack of judges and personnel. Instead, you are smashing democracy to pieces. You give a jealous and angry robot the position of Minister of Justice, hide behind him and blame the left and legalization. It can help you here and now, because there are still enough people who believe in you and your poison machine. It will not help you above the pages of history. You can’t fool them.
Benjamin Netanyahu is the sum of all his fears. Today he is torn between two conflicting circles. In the first circle, three central forces that frighten him greatly. The first force is the check. Netanyahu knows this is not a Balfour protest. This is a different protest. Wider, more diverse, more dangerous. The audience crosses genders, colors and tribes. There are people from the economy, high-tech, military, society, academia. Of all species and colors and types. And no, they are not spoiled. The videos in which 80,000 people are seen huddling together, under one (metaphorical) umbrella, in the pouring rain, but not running home, are familiar to Netanyahu. Familiar and scary.
He knows that this protest will not go away peacefully. It is real and authentic, it comes from the inside, from the stomach, from the depths of the soul. People are really fighting for their identity, for their country, for their home. And they are not anarchists. It will be difficult for him to commit character assassination on them, as he did for the previous protest. It will be difficult for him to reduce them. And there, in this audience, are also politicians. In Balfour there were hardly any. Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot We come there every Shabbat, hang out among the guys, chat and get chats. The torch of the breeze the first time, came the second time. And there are many MKs. They don’t make speeches, but they influence, are heard, are present.
The second force is the economy and high-tech people. One warning from the governor of the bank and a letter signed by hundreds of economists derailed Netanyahu and forced him to hold a press conference where he had, in fact, nothing to say. The next day, Papaya Global announced the withdrawal of the money from Israel, and as a result, venture capital funds and other investment entities began to flow. The avalanche is on its way.
The third and most frightening force, as far as Netanyahu is concerned, is the world leaders. What the Governor Prof. Amir Yaron heard in Davos. What the President of the European Union said to President Herzog. What senators and members of Congress say in public are staunch supporters of Israel in recent days. And especially what the national security adviser told him Jake Sullivan Last week, and what the foreign minister will tell him Tony Blinken Next week. This is a different kind of American airliner. There is no provision in it, there is an expression of concern and not a little threat. Netanyahu wants to talk to the Americans about Iran, they are trying to make sure that he does not turn Israel into Iran.