Challenging the status quo: Israelis' growing dissatisfaction with Netanyahu

Israel has had major resistance from Palestinians and now, surprisingly, many Jewish Israelis are expressing resentment towards the Israeli government as well. The rise of the extreme right-wing in the parliament has prompted many Israelis to stand up to Netanyahu. Why the discontent? Is there something wrong with this government? From the Palestinian point of view, yes. They have their reasons to loathe Netanyahu, but why would the Zionist Jews hate him? Why are we witnessing such a huge display of their dissatisfaction towards this government?

The current government in Israel is not a regime. It might be a regime for Palestinians, but not for the Jewish Israelis. It is a democratically Jewish elected government, chosen by Israelis themselves. It treats Jews as the most superior individuals in the world. It has blurred the fine line between Jewish nationalism and Palestinian hatred. The Prime Minister has promised to provide residence to all Jews, even at the expense of rightful ownership of Palestinians to their homes. The government is actively establishing Jewish colonies, despite the risk of offending the international community. Israeli National Security Minister declared that the right of his family to stay in Israel trumps the right of Palestinian self actualisation. The Israeli economy is stable. National security is well handled. What else does a Zionist Israeli want?

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It turns out, it is not enough. These tactics might make a certain section of Israel happy, but not all Israelis can be flattered this way. Hang on, do not assume that Israelis are ambivalent to Netanyahu for what he is doing to Palestinians – they are not. They are indifferent to his actions against Palestinians due to the hatred that Israeli governments have garnered in the hearts of its Jewish population, making it difficult for both sides to find common ground. It is the over-powering of far right Israelis and ultra conservative Jewish groups that is bothering them. Netanyahu is consolidating power in the hands of a small elite which contradicts Israel’s claim to be a democratic nation. 

Israel has criticised Muslim-majority countries for being run by small elites under “outdated” Islamic ideology. Now Israel itself is on its way to become an ultra-Jewish state, being run solely on Zionist dogma. Israel will become what it hates.

In an ethnocracy like Israel, Palestinians were already marginalised (I acknowledge that the word marginalised is unfair for their suffering), and now the majority of Israelis are protesting, fearing the same fate. 

It is not like Netanyahu has banned women from education or imposed a morality police; all he did was to pass a bill that deprives the Supreme Court of its rights. And he did not do so because he wants to marginalise Jews in any way. He did it because he wants to crush Palestinians in full throttle without any judicial restriction.  But there is an Iran-like outrage in the country, from the Jews, not from Palestinians. To grasp this outrage, you have to understand the thought process of Israelis. 

What is the overarching motivation behind everything that Israel does? The perception of THREAT! 

“Iran is a threat to Israel, it must be stopped”. “Hamas is a threat, it must be destroyed”. “Hezbollah is a threat, it must be crushed”. “Palestinians are a threat, they must be killed”. Whether it is about bombing a mosque, or targeting an ambulance carrying injured victims, if they are a threat, they will be destroyed and Israelis will be fine with that. So when a whole nation is raised to destroy everything, even a defenceless Arab toddler, because of a perceived threat, why would it overlook Netanyahu when he is an evident threat to their liberty and freedom? 

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Israelis do not want Israel to become another Iran and, obviously, Netanyahu will not do so. However, there is a perceived threat that, if Netanyahu and his peers are not stopped, Israel might become a Jewish version of Iran, which is a big concern for Israelis. And for every perceived threat, Israelis know only one solution – destruction. This is the reason they are not calming down and are demanding the resignation from Netanyahu because he is a threat to their democracy. 

A Jewish supremacist regime will only empower Jewish supremacists. Jews used to be considered superior as compared to Muslims and Christians, and now Orthodox Jews would be considered superior to centre-right and left-wing Jews. Palestinians are already discriminated against, and it is expected that the liberal Jews will be discriminated in the future. 

A Zionist Israel is bad for Palestinians, but an ultra-orthodox Israel will be terrible for everyone, except a handful of people, which is why everyone, including the Jewish, Muslim and Christian population should seek common ground and stand up to this. 

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.