Decline of Democracy in the United States: Implications for Israel

The United States is beginning to sink into the quagmire into which its President has driven it. Depression looms, paranoia reigns and the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ is now being seen for what it is, an abbreviation for ‘Make America Great Again at the Expense of Other Nations’. Predictably, other nations are starting to hit back and the United States is finding itself increasingly bogged down in costly economic warfare.

Meanwhile, Putin cannot believe his luck at having discovered such a powerful bedfellow and is no doubt rubbing his hands in glee at the prospect of destroying a weakened Ukraine and girding his loins to take on other East European nations in fulfilment of his ambition to recover a lost Russian empire. We can hear emanating from him an insane Trumpian echo: ‘Make Russia Great Again’.

In all of this, Israel is a nation divided. Shaken to the core by the existential threat to its survival, it is living with Netanyahu, a leader who has unwisely embraced Trump’s absurd solutions to the war now being waged. Netanyahu refuses to see that Trump can never deliver on his promises, which, aside from their sheer inhumanity, trample on the sensitivities of the Palestinians and the honor of Israel’s Arab neighbors in ways which only presage a worsening of the conflict.

The moment Trump begins to sense any ambivalence on the part of of Israel towards his schemes, he will wash his hands of that country and consign its leaders to outer darkness. ‘Democracy’, ‘Negotiation’ and ‘Compromise’ are not concepts which feature in his political vocabulary. His pathway to power is littered with lucrative financial deals and his tactic is to ignore or vilify those who refuse to play his game. Browbeating and threatening those who waver or dare to stand up to him is the only diplomatic language he speaks. Unfortunately, he is backed by America’s phenomenal wealth and by an army of nationalistic followers who share his world outlook.

Netanyahu is a spent force. Popular in his day, he is now being seen as a leader who failed his country in its moment of crisis, who has placed his trust in an idol with clay feet and who is now clinging for dear life to his dwindling power base. In the words of a British politician, Leo Amery, addressed to Neville Chamberlain in May 1940, “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”

The best hope for Israel now lies in a future leadership emerging which will be courageous enough to bypass Trump. Such a leadership will build bridges with other democratic nations and show compassion towards the Palestinians, which can be done from a position of strength and which in no way implies a weakened stance against Hamas and other terrorist groups.