Israel has crossed the Rubicon and the reckoning is coming

The brutal Israeli war on Gaza has done more than reshape the physical landscape of the besieged enclave; it has irrevocably altered the global political and moral landscape. In less than two years, the edifice of eighty years of Zionist propaganda and carefully constructed global brainwashing has not merely cracked, it has crumbled. The once potent weapon of being branded “anti-Semite” for criticising Israel, which once silenced dissent, has now lost its sting, increasingly met with derision rather than dread. This profound shift marks Israel’s crossing of a critical Rubicon, leaving it exposed to an unprecedented international reckoning that is now rapidly unfolding. 

Across Europe, the tide has turned. Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia have recognised the State of Palestine. The fear of being labelled antisemitic, once a powerful deterrent, now often provokes ridicule. Hundreds of thousands march weekly in European capitals. From London to Berlin, from Paris to Rome, protesters, many of them Jews, chant: “Not in our name.” Israeli flags are burned not in hatred of a people but in rejection of an apartheid regime and an illegal occupation. Israel’s impunity is cracking.

In the United States, the fortress of unconditional support is also beginning to wobble. While the Zionist lobby remains deeply entrenched in American politics and finance, voices of dissent grow louder. Senator Bernie Sanders, long a lone voice in the wilderness, has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of war crimes. He has called for sanctions, for an end to arms shipments, and has asked what many Americans are now asking: Why are we financing this war while tens of thousands sleep homeless in the streets of America?

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Even within Israel, the war has split the country. Opposition leaders, military officials, and citizens now speak with unfiltered rage. Yair Golan, a former IDF general and current leader of the Labour Party, has warned that Netanyahu is eroding the nation’s moral fabric. “They are bringing the state down,” Golan declared. “This is the end of the Jewish dream.”

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, once a symbol of Israeli centrism, has accused the government of committing genocide. Thomas Friedman, writing in The New York Times, warned Donald Trump that his Jewish grandchildren may forever live in fear, haunted by Gaza. “Gaza will follow them,” he wrote, a chilling reflection of how deep the stain has become.

Israel has now lost its three foundational military pillars: early warning, deterrence, and swift military dominance. The events of 7 October shattered the myth of invincibility. A modest resistance force breached one of the most heavily fortified borders on planet earth by air, land, and sea, remaining inside Israel for days and taking hostages back into Gaza. For a military that once boasted about dismantling entire Arab armies in six days, the humiliation is historic.

The IDF is in disarray. Resignations have followed. Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, stepped down. The Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, was replaced by Eyal Zamir. Netanyahu dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. These are not signs of confidence; they are signs of collapse.

International legal institutions, long silent, are now finding their voice. The International Court of Justice has deemed the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza illegal. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. France, Belgium, and other nations have announced they will enforce the warrants. When Netanyahu recently flew to the US, his plane deliberately avoided certain airspaces due to the risk of interception.

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Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the British Labour Party has expressed criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza. He recently supported South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians. Corbyn described the South African legal argument as “brilliantly prepared and brilliantly put forward and stated that Israel was “in breach of the Convention on Genocide and engaging in collective punishment of the people of Gaza.” He further questioned whether the world would continue supplying arms to Israel or take action to stop the violence, emphasising that ignoring the suffering of Palestinians would make nations complicit. His participation in the ICJ hearings was part of a broader effort to hold Israel accountable for its military actions in Gaza.

Perhaps the most symbolic blow came when the United Nations placed the Israeli military on the “list of shame”—a list typically reserved for groups like ISIS and the Lord’s Resistance Army. The listing is not merely a diplomatic embarrassment but a tectonic shift in Israel’s global standing.

Let us remember the words of Winston Churchill, speaking in 1940 during the darkest hours of the Blitz: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” He spoke of the RAF pilots who defended Britain. Today, a similarly small force, the Palestinian resistance, is withstanding the onslaught of a vastly superior military machine. For decades, Israeli deterrence held back Arab states. Now, a stateless people in a besieged strip of land has forced a reckoning.

Yes, the United States still stands as the final redoubt of unconditional support. But even that support will not last forever. The shifting sands of public opinion, especially among younger generations, point to a time when the US will no longer provide diplomatic cover for crimes against humanity. That day may still be decades away but it is no longer unimaginable.

In their desperation to cling to power and avoid prison, Netanyahu and his allies have lit a fire that will consume more than just Gaza. They have destroyed Israel’s moral high ground, ruptured its social fabric, and accelerated its isolation. What once seemed permanent is now unravelling. Israel has crossed the Rubicon. The world is watching, and the reckoning is coming.

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