Netanyahu forms apartheid government
Benjamin Netanyahu has formed the most right-wing government in Israeli history. Nobody should be surprised. But his right-wing coalition partners are pipers who will make him pay.
They include Itamar Ben-Gvir. He was convicted of incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organization. Now he’s security minister, head of the national police. Then there’s Bezalel Smotrich. He has championed annexing the occupied territory. Now he’s finance minister, head of building new settlements in that territory.
So everyone should beware of the consequences this portends.
Netanyahu will polarize Israel as Trump did America
Israel returning Netanyahu to power today is like America returning Trump in 2024. Imagine Trump then appointing Stephen Miller as Secretary of Homeland Security. And him topping that by appointing Kanye West as Secretary of Commerce. What could go wrong?
The point is that Israelis knew Netanyahu was corrupt. They knew he would form a fascistic government. And they voted for him anyway.
So expect Netanyahu to do to Israel what Trump did to America. That includes stoking political divisions to serve his own political and personal interests. You know, like Trump did as president.
Echoes of South Africa’s apartheid with Darfur’s strife
Netanyahu seems hell-bent on turning Israel into an apartheid for Palestinians. Just as Whites turned South Africa into an apartheid for Blacks.
Except that, unlike those Blacks, these Palestinians have rockets. And they can make Israel pay a deadly price for its ethnic cleansing and systemic oppression.
For example, Netanyahu plans to deport 40,000 African migrants. But even prominent Jewish Americans are attacking him on this score. The former head of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman is leading the attacks. He’s warning of ‘incalculable damage’ to Israel’s reputation if Netanyahu executes his plan.
But Netanyahu can counter that he’s only doing in Israel what Trump did in America. After all, xenophobic policies defined Trump’s presidency. It began with his “total and complete shutdown on Muslims entering the United States.”
The silver lining
Of course, crusading Zionist zealots are rejoicing in the streets. Russian oligarchs, especially those of Jewish heritage, are rejoicing too. Because this Netanyahu government offers them a safe haven. There, they won’t have to fear the defenestration that has befallen so many of their comrades. And they can launder their billions in ill-gotten gains.
Former US President Jimmy Carter wrote “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” In it, he warned about Israel losing its moral values. But I doubt even he envisioned the current state of affairs.