Bibi's Reckless Rhetoric Could Lead To National Tragedy
Disturbing parallels to the venomous political climate that led to the Rabin assassination.
Desperate to stay in power and avoid a criminal trial, Prime Minister Netanyahu is calling his political opponents traitors.
Following the fast-moving events in Israel, I join those who fear that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s reckless rhetoric of late could lead to violence and even political assassination as he asserts that the “change” coalition led by Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett would endanger the land, society and security of the State of Israel.
Netanyahu, who has been prime minister for a total of 15 years – 1996 to 1999 and since 2009 -- longer than anyone in Israel’s history, is desperately trying to stay in power to avoid a trial on three counts of bribery and fraud. In increasingly dark statements, he is stirring a dangerous pot, most recently crossing a red line by accusing his political rivals of being traitors.
He posted a message on Facebook before Shabbat referencing the weekly Torah portion’s account of the spies “who spread false reports about the Land and weakened the spirit of the people out of concern for their own interests.”
But it is Netanyahu who is acting out of his own interest by calling the “change” coalition “a dangerous left-wing government” that would represent “the greatest election fraud” in history.
(Parallels to Donald Trump’s denial of election defeat, citing baseless claims of election fraud, are too strong to ignore.)
Most worrying is that telling signs of societal breakdown are coming fast and from many directions.
The Times of Israel reported that “in an extraordinary statement on Saturday, the head of the Shin Bet, the state’s internal security service, Nadav Argaman, warned of rising incitement and hate speech on social media, and the danger that it will spark political violence.” He expressed concern that someone “will grab a weapon, will carry out a violent act and will harm either Bennett” or one of his party colleagues in the “change” coalition. “It is our duty to come out with a clear and decisive call for an immediate cessation of the inciting and violent speech,” Argaman said.
Bennett and other members of his right-wing Yamina party have been assigned additional security in light of direct threats against them and members of their families from those on the right who oppose the “change” coalition.
A number of Orthodox rabbis, worried that charedi parties would be left out of the next government, issued a statement calling on their followers to do whatever is necessary to assure that the Lapid-Bennett coalition -- described as “entirely against the will of the people” -- does not come to power.
Responding to criticism of the statement, a leading signatory, Rabbi Chaim Druckman, stated, “there is no incitement here,” and said opposition should be expressed only “through democratic means.”
To those of us who remember the tragic assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin in 1995, this toxic atmosphere is all too familiar. Rabin was demonized by activists on the right, viewed as a traitor for making a peace deal with the PLO. And Benjamin Netanyahu, as leader of the opposition Likud party, was criticized for not countering such accusations. Rabin was shot at a massive peace rally by a Jewish fanatic who believed he was fulfilling a Biblical command to kill those who would give up a portion of the Holy Land.
Today, the added element of social media, which did not exist 26 years ago, is fueling the fire, spreading false and dangerous information and making the situation even more alarming.
Has Israel not learned the lesson that hateful words can lead to hateful violence?
Netanyahu has an immediate responsibility to halt and apologize for his dangerous allegations, even as he denies charges of incitement. If successful, his effort to undermine the fragile “change” coalition by picking off at least one of its partners through political jockeying would most likely result in a fifth national election in two and a half years.
Clearly, Israel’s political status quo is dysfunctional. The state’s future as a thriving democracy is at stake. As the Shin Bet head has urged, “the responsibility for restraining the discourse rests on all of us.”
At least Trump has been banned from Facebook...