If you know anything about the rise of Likud you'll know it
was rooted in quasi-fascist paramilitary movements dating back to the days
before independence in 1948. Benjamin Netanyahu represents the second
generation of this party... a party long associated with violence.
Belligerent toward Israel's enemies abroad and certainly the
Palestinians at home, the party has also taken a very hostile and aggressive
stand against its domestic Jewish rivals. Many blamed Netanyahu for fomenting
the climate that led to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin at the hands of a
radical member of the settler movement... a militant element within Israeli
society that Netanyahu panders to. Additionally, he more than any other
previous Israeli leader has forged strong ties with American Evangelicals and
the politically symbiotic relationship has fostered militarism and aggression
on both fronts. Netanyahu is a man of blood and now under threat of legal
prosecution he seems willing to push Israel into dictatorship. He's using the
crisis surrounding Coronavirus to restrict the power and reach of the Knesset
and to hold on to power even though he cannot procure a majority in government,
even after three elections. Loved by some, absolutely hated by others he has
become the chief figure of Israeli politics for this generation and at present he's
pushing his standing and legacy to the very edge.
Right now it looks like he's either going to seize power and
rule in defiance of law or he's going to go down in flames. His power, money
and allies may afford him time. The situation reminds one of Silvio Berlusconi
who has continued to pivot and avoid serious legal accountability for his many
scandals. But Berlusconi is now well into his eighties, while Netanyahu is just
entering his seventies and (presumably) has quite a few years left to dodge
these bullets or to hold on to power as he would have it.
As the linked editorial reveals, even those long willing to
stand by him or give him the benefit of the doubt are now start to discern his
true colours. In the end many a super-patriot or ultra-nationalist is revealed
to be a self-absorbed sociopath who justifies their actions by wedding their
own fortunes to the standing of the nation... an act of delusion and
megalomania.
I for one will not weep if Netanyahu is marched out in
handcuffs and spends the rest of his days behind bars, and yet he has powerful
allies, especially in the United States. Like many politicians around the world
Coronavirus may either make them or break them. In a time of growing volatility
the stakes are high and danger mounts.
See also:
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