If you are keeping score at home, you have surely noticed that the two most important defense officials in Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet — Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the former military chief of staff Benny Gantz — warned last week that Netanyahu is leading Israel into a disastrous abyss by refusing to present any plan for non-Hamas Palestinians to govern Gaza and appears to be contemplating a long-term Israeli military occupation of Gaza instead. Gantz said he would leave the government if there was no plan by June 8.
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“Netanyahu’s acquiescence to the extreme right, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, has generally been seen as motivated out of his need to keep his coalition together and himself out of jail,” Friedman told me. “Now it seems that he has willingly sold his soul to the extreme right. One explanation is that the extreme religious right projects a Messianic image onto him that corresponds with his own sense of having been called to save Israel and the Jewish people. He has a plan for the day after and it’s very clear to anyone who listens: ‘Total victory’ — and eventually the return of Jewish settlement there. Israel is on the way to reoccupying Gaza.”
If that happens, Israel will become an international pariah and Jewish institutions everywhere will be torn between Jews who will feel the need to defend Israel — right or wrong — and those who, with their kids, will find it indefensible.
Make no mistake, Bibi is doing all of this knowing that a Trump victory will give him the carte blanche permission he needs to annex Gaza, and so the political damage this is doing to Biden is just icing on the cake. He has made this much clear by inviting Trump’s lackeys to peacock for the Knesset. Friedman isn’t alone in thinking that Biden’s playing checkers while Bibi is playing chess, but even if Biden made a 180 and took a hard stance against what’s happening, two things would be virtually guaranteed:
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He would be ruthlessly lambasted as an antisemite by the AIPAC-endorsed left and all of the right, and lose the Jewish vote in every swing state, handing the election to Trump in a landslide.
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Bibi would ignore him just like he ignored the Israeli left, the Supreme Court, and now his own Defense Minister.
This is looking more and more like an Iranian masterclass in subterfuge which began during the Obama years, and which Trump unwittingly supercharged.
Edit to Add
This piece really puts a very complicated, multi-decade process into much clearer focus. For anyone who’s been flabbergasted at how awful this situation is, and who suspects that there’s something deeper and more sinister going on, these are the major points that have been highlighted behind the paywall:
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Why did Israel/Bibi secretly help fund Hamas for all those years? Because it destabilized Gaza and made a 2-state solution less likely.
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Why did Hamas act so brazenly if they were so militarily outgunned? If they knew the reaction would be disproportionate? Because they weren’t calling the shots, and they were useful pawns for Iran.
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Why has the reaction been so unreasonably bloodthirsty? Because Bibi is facing possible jail time and knows a strong alliance with the bloodthirsty far-right is his only means to avoid it. Their votes are all that’s keeping him a free man.
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Why does Biden trust Netanyahu so much? Even after his lurch to the right and during a staggering onslaught of civilians? Because he knows AIPAC will sink his reelection if he takes a stand, and the risk of nuclear war will rise considerably if he loses.
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Why has Netanyahu flatly refused to negotiate with Abbas and the Fatah-led PA? Why does there seem to be no “what’s next” plan? Because the far-right wants to annex Gaza, not coexist with the Palestinians. The Supreme Court tried to get them to stop the annexation of the West Bank, and Bibi’s far-right coalition neutered the Court in response.
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Why are US politicians so blind to all of this? Many of them are too old to have seen the ground shift beneath them, and don’t see the Israel you and I see.
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Why is Netanyahu kissing Trump’s ass? Because Iran is days/weeks away from becoming a nuclear power, and he thinks Trump is willing to nuke them to stop it.
None of this timeline could play out if Bibi willingly negotiated a post-Hamas ruling coalition. He won’t stop the onslaught because his far-right cohorts have already decided that the end game is complete annexation of disputed territory, and Iran has forced them into that corner because they knew Bibi’s coalition was dumb enough to go full bore. This ends with complete isolation of Israel on the world’s stage one way or another, and all Iran had to do was fund a small band of murderous ideologues for a few decades to set the stage for a final showdown.
We are weeks/months away from a nuclear standoff in the middle east.
So Biden is essentially a dead man walking? No matter how much it terrifies me, I just don’t see him winning through all these disputes while the right is unified. This is exactly what they needed, and the right is exactly what Israel needs. What are we to do, the American People, when we’re caught in the crossfire?
My friend, I wish I knew. The more I learn about this timeline, the darker our future becomes. There’s a reason Putin, Bibi, and the Ayatollah all have their pedals to the metal right now, and it’s not because they sense that America is on the up and up.
If what seems likely comes to pass, by next January Project 2025 will begin the wholesale dismantling of our federal bureaucracy, Republicans will hold the Senate, Trump will lay out the red carpet for Putin to attack NATO by refusing to honor Article 5, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito will orchestrate their successors, abortion will be banned at 12 weeks nationwide, Obergefell will be overturned, and future US elections will not run the way they’ve been run before. If we have a legitimate chance of winning the Oval Office in 2028, I’ll be absolutely shocked. None of this is outlandish or far-fetched, and people have bragged openly about most of it.
For what it’s worth, the far left is absolutely correct. It’s a genocide, and we’re complicit. We’ve funded too many genocides in the past for this to be ok in any way, shape, or form. But also, the center-left is absolutely correct. It’s a multi-polar world now, and Bibi already has the blank check he needs. If Biden backs down, he’ll be slaughtered at the polls. What comes after will absolutely be worse.
One of the reasons Hitler was able to do what he did was that the far-left KPD turned on the center-left SPD under the banner of “anti-fascism”. The SPD tried to unify with the KPD after the elections of 1930, but the deal was rejected. The KPD routinely got about 10% of the German vote in the Weimar Republic. In 1933 the Nazis came to power and banned the KPD on day one. Then they blamed the KPD for the Reichstag fire, and suspended civil liberties in response. The Weimar Republic collapsed, and the rest is history.
If the far left and the center left can’t find commonality under a shared vision for the future, I think we’re all about to be fed to the wolves.
The more I learn about this timeline, the darker our future becomes.
Oh man that’s a statement that just barely scratches the surface.
As someone that has bounced around from politics, to advanced earth sciences, to the arts and now just keeps learning new things because I can’t help it… Yeah, things aren’t looking so good.
Humans will prevail and all that but we are slamming head first into a wall of spikes that is going to be and already is starting to be a giant crushing destructionary force for all of what we think of as normal.
Everyone hates the people calling for change when they feel comfortable where it is but if you are calling for change to go backwards to when you felt even more comfortable somehow that always wins, and we go barreling towards fascism from it.
Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin’
Will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times, they are a-changin’
What are we to do?
Vote for Biden. He’s no guarantee for the Palestinians, that is true. The alternative is confirmed annihilation of Palestinians and Ukrainians, as well as occupation of Taiwan.
And click one more ratchet to the right.
They don’t need to beat us, y’all are slowly but surely doing that for them
He would be ruthlessly lambasted as an antisemite by the AIPAC-endorsed left and all of the right, and lose the Jewish vote in every swing state, handing the election to Trump in a landslide.
Instead, he’s getting ruthlessly lambasted as a genocider by significant Muslim populations in swing states, losing their vote, and handing the election to Trump in the Electoral College.
Yep, so now you see why he’s not budging. He loses either way. My guess is he’s trying to thread the needle by counting on the Jewish, pro-Israel voting block being more valuable (i.e. larger) than the pro-Palestine left wing. Could also be that he knows Trump presents an existential crisis not just for everyone on the left, but also for many center-right voters who are already talking about swinging for Biden. He might (or might not) have good reason to. More likely, I think, he’s counting on the fact that young people care more about Gaza than old people, and young people consistently have the lowest turnout of any age group. It’s a hedge, to be sure, but apparently one they think they have to make.
This has been clear from the start. Netanyahu has spit in the face of Biden time and time again, taking US tax dollars and using it as he sees fit. Trump won’t even require Netanyahu to spit!
Hmmm I wonder why he would prefer Trump?? Where are all those enlightened Leftists saying they’re gonna sit out this election? Are you making the both sides argument? Or are you willing to admit that voting for a guy you don’t agree with 100% (Biden) is better for your causes than letting Trump win?
Why is your first reaction to attack the left, when the right is standing in front of you?
Because the right isn’t hem-hawing around and are all in-line behind Trump. The left they’re talking about are the ones sowing division, banging the drum on the left-side wedge issues, and encouraging apathy / vote 3rd party / sit out the vote. Some of those are shills, sure, but not all.
IMO, it’s perfectly reasonable to call those people out because they’re completely missing the bigger picture.
There is division within the ranks of the right as well. There are protest votes upwards near 20% in the Republican primary in some states, even when there is nobody running against Trump. I understand things are dire, but the Democratic party can win this election. I am far further to the left than the Democrats are, but will still vote for them in the elections to buy time. We must believe in ourselves, and I think lashing out against the far left is detrimental to the cause. It is fair to confront those who are adamant about sitting out elections, but the conversation to mobilize the far left pragmatically must be tactful and not full of hate.
The left is very prominent on the Fediverse. The right is (thankfully) almost nonexistent.
If their post is meant to persuade a super-minority of US political types (the far left) by talking down to them on a niche social media website, they are not doing a very good job. This is not how you convince people to join you. Then again, maybe they have no intention of doing this, and just want to lash out at anyone who will listen.
They’re addressing those that propose abstaining from voting because of Biden’s support of Israel. That is exactly what it takes for Trump to take office and help Netanyahu turn Gaza and Rafah into parking lots.
Typically because we expect fascists to support other fascists. It’s when leftist supports fascist that we get annoyed.
I understand your view, though I see those who do refuse to pull the levers of democracy as misguided and self-destructive rather than overtly and explicitly “supporting fascism.” Convince them to pull the levers they are given, rather than lash out at them. Humans who are confronted with negativity and accusatory language will only back further into their corners and pull out their fists.
BB has always been Trump’s buddy, that was never a question.
A fascist siding with a fascist. Never seen that one coming.
