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We have to choose: Do we back Bibi or support Israel?

Israeli society is unraveling because of the campaign against the judiciary, the rule of law, and the secular public

November 25, 2024 15:16
Netanyahu F200226YS14 (Read-Only)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a Conference of Heads of Local Authorities, Kiryat Anavim, near Jerusalem on February 26, 2020. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
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This is an impassioned plea for the JC’s readers to choose between backing Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and supporting Israeli civil society.

The collision between these two entities – these two Israels – which has been building for years, took a horrendous turn on October 7, 2023 and has now reached an irreversible nadir. Such a total parting of ways between the government and a large part of Israeli society is a tragedy for Israel, but we have been facing it for years. It is time, albeit an unfortunate and dangerous time, that Netanyahu’s supporters abroad faced it too.

I am a centre-left Zionist, born and raised a kibbutznik. My Zionism is based on Theodor Herzl’s humanist legacy and on Israel’s magisterial Declaration of Independence. I believe in defending Israel wisely and powerfully from within its internationally recognised borders, and working cautiously toward a two-state solution that will not breed a terrorist state next door.

Before you write me off as an obsessive anti-Bibi leftie, please note that most of the numerous Israelis who currently brand Netanyahu as one of Israel’s worst problems are more politically hawkish than me. This is no longer about security or even a Palestinian state. It is about personal and public corruption, criminal cover-up and an ongoing constitutional coup.