The bland term “event” must be beside itself with pride. From now on, the brink of a civil war is nothing but an “event.” Incitement and sedition by the government against its citizens, wild behavior in the Knesset Constitution Committee, putting Israel at risk of war with external enemies – these too are nothing but “events.” And the dialogue over the legal overhaul will also end up being nothing but an “event.”
In recent weeks, a civic uprising has been launched, planned, steered and nourished by a prime minister suspected of crimes, a megalomaniac justice minister, a national security minister convicted of crimes, a racist finance minister who flies too near to the sun, and a cabinet of cardboard characters who do nothing but sing songs of praise to the high priest.
They have deliberately set out to alter our system of government, to replace relative democracy with complete dictatorship, to grant personalized legal rights and powers to the directors of this coup against our system of government, to politically destroy anyone considered a regime opponent, to brand half the people as traitors and the other half as an eternal victim entitled to historical justice.
In contrast to ordinary events like weddings, where there are inviters and invitees, a start time and an end time, this government’s actions comply with no such standards. The “event” began as soon as the government took office and will continue even in the coming months, and if the government ultimately emerges with the upper hand, this “event” will become a long occupation with no real chance of ending it.
“Events” like these have given Turkey’s president 20 years in office. In Poland and Hungary, there’s no real chance of restoring democracy. And even comparisons to the perpetual reigns of Arab dictators don’t seem so ridiculous. The regimes in most of these countries have also used the expression “national dialogue.” It’s a sort of lordly and deceptive invitation to allow the subjects to voice their opinions, which will then promptly be thrown in the garbage.
Dialogues like this haven’t led to change, but they have enabled tyranny to wrap itself in a stained, tattered cloak of democracy. The fate of Israel’s dialogue isn’t likely to be any different.
Shreds of President Isaac Herzog’s compromise proposal are still scattering to the four winds. Knesset Constitution Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman’s thuggish management of his committee is no half-forgotten memory. Previous requests to halt the legislation for the sake of dialogue were spat on. And Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s desperate plea to halt the legislation because of the security threat ended with him being thrown out like a stray dog.
Incidentally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t fire his lawyer, Boaz Ben Zur, who threatened to quit his defense team if the legislation wasn’t halted. The defendant has his own priorities.
The falsity of this dialogue hasn’t been hidden in the least. It appeared in all its glory in Netanyahu’s declaration of intent – a statement that was delayed for 10 hours and cost the economy tens of millions of shekels.
“I want to tell members of the national camp,” he said, referring to his own political bloc, “that we have the majority to do this on our own in the Knesset ... We won’t abandon the path for which we were elected.” The majority was decided in democratic elections, and it will ensure that its “path” isn’t subject to negotiations, dialogue or concessions.
This is an automatic majority that will be preserved even if the dialogue fails – and it will fail, because it’s seen as a threat that aspires to destroy the majority’s decision, aka “democracy.” This majority guarantees the passage of any law, no matter how crazy – laws that legitimize any failure, cleanse any corruption and ensure the regime’s continuance in power. If there are any concessions, they won’t alter the goal and certainly won’t delay its achievement.
But now, the government will enter this dialogue more experienced and more vengeful after its easy defeat in the battle. Now, it recognizes the “enemy’s” forces and has marked the army, the Shin Bet security service and the Mossad as disloyal organizations.
It will quickly mobilize its own volunteer units, its version of Iran’s Basij militia, and swiftly legalize National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s private militia, in order to lay the groundwork for deterrence against the “anarchist” terror. And then it will return to the legislation.
Israel's Coup Is Tyranny Wrapped in the Cloak of Democracy Israel’s Judicial Coup Is Tyranny Wrapped in the Tattered Cloak of Democracy
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30.03.2023
The bland term “event” must be beside itself with pride. From now on, the brink of a civil war is nothing but an “event.” Incitement and sedition by the government against its citizens, wild behavior in the Knesset Constitution Committee, putting Israel at risk of war with external enemies – these too are nothing but “events.” And the dialogue over the legal overhaul will also end up being nothing but an “event.”
In recent weeks, a civic uprising has been launched, planned, steered and nourished by a prime minister suspected of crimes, a megalomaniac justice minister, a national security minister convicted of crimes, a racist finance minister who flies too near to the sun, and a cabinet of cardboard characters who do nothing but sing songs of praise to the high priest.
They have deliberately set out to alter our system of government, to replace relative democracy with complete dictatorship, to grant personalized legal rights and powers to the directors of this coup against our system of government, to politically destroy anyone considered a regime opponent, to brand half the people as........
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