Groundhog Nightmare

The movie Groundhog Day tells the story of a man who wakes up every day with the same surroundings, events, challenges and characters. He is in a loop from which he cannot escape. Well in the case of good old Phil, after the cycle that could not be broken, he somehow finds himself on a new tangent with a happy end. 

Not so is the case with the reality we now face in an Israel that has been transformed by fanatic Hamas Jihadists, an army that fell asleep on its feet and a prime minister whose manipulations are as predictable as the cyclical nature of the seasons of the year. He has managed to manipulate an entire country into the cycle of self destruction we now find ourselves in. 

Think of it: it all started in 2023 with the bizarre and unpredicted fanatical charge towards “reformation” of the justice system by a Bibi “soldier”, a Likud party apparatchik by the name of Yariv Levin, driven by his fanatical belief in control and domination of the independent justice system of Israel, recognized worldwide as one of the key foundations of Israel’s democracy. This is a core element of any democracy, and allows for equality before the law and a balance against outrages by leadership in government. The public was infuriated, outraged and angry that one of the pillars of Israel’s democracy and its standing in the world as an advanced society based on equality, was under threat by its prime minister and his ruling coalition.

Protests raged weekly in central Tel Aviv, the country was up in arms. Society at large felt shaken to the core, with the exception of course of the Likud government that greedily looked at control and rule without any barriers or safety nets. So deep and wide was this upheaval that at some point, the fanatical and unnecessary need for antidemocratic upheaval created a shift in what was a solid society based on solid rules with a solid defense system, one that became broken and weakened, distracted and confused influencing the foundational structures that have been in place for years, into a weakened and unstable, vulnerable and confused country. 

Netanyahu was warned: by the army; by leaders in and beyond parliament, by members of the justice system – that this distraction could have dire consequences especially regarding defense and protection of the Jewish State at large. Enemies of Israel rubbed their hands in glee at the upheaval and the scale of disruption. It’s the old adage: power and control are not enough. Those who have it only want more power and more control. The superfluous need at the time, to fire the minister of defense, who was neither a follower nor a lackey of the ruling wannabe junta, caused even greater public anger. Military and defense leaders iterated the fact repeatedly that Israel’s enemies were watching, waiting and rubbing their hands in glee at an opportunity that clearly presented itself, whereby this national distraction became a priority over defense.  

And then came October the 7th, 2023. Both government and the army were taken by surprise. Aside from one or two retired generals, until then, all was considered under control in Gaza and the West Bank. Netanyahu’s belief was that Hamas – Gaza dare not try any attack: previous attempts by Hamas had been crushed. Military leadership followed this line. Real daily events and updates, delivered by continuous and pedantic monitoring at Gaza’s eastern border which revealed a continuous and vast preparation for an invasion of Israel, were disputed, ignored, furiously rejected with threats of disciplinary action against the women who operated observing the positions along the border of Gaza and Southern Israel. 

Aside from this, the self-delusional manipulations by Netanyahu and his government believed in a strategy of playing off Hamas against the PLO West Bank leadership where Hamas would be encouraged and the Abbas Palestinian authority would be weakened. Ideology lay behind this foolishness: better a gated Gaza than PLO Palestinian domination in the West Bank which would preclude further settlement and a clear inevitable slide to an independent state demanded by international pressures. 

And then it all blew up. October 7th 2023 was the largest failure, politically, militarily, intelligence-wise and ideologically that has ever occurred since the creation of the state. 

Where are we at this time? After the overkill in Gaza – yes, killing by bombing homes which led to somewhere between 20,000 to 40,000 dead and twice that amount maimed or wounded of course it is no surprise that governments world-wide condemned this, even if the horrors of October 7th and the outrages by Hamas were beyond shocking. It is no surprise that Israel was hauled before the ICJ. It is no surprise that Netanayahu and Gallant are on the wanted list in every country in the world. It is no surprise that the slogan “apartheid state” is banded around internationally. It is no surprise that soldiers that travel are now open to arrest and capture due to undisciplined selfies. It is no surprise that foul outrages by some undisciplined soldiers in and out of Gaza committed abuses against prisoners and civilians in this conflict. 

It appears now in retrospect, though at the time many argued for a wiser course of action, that the failures by Netanyu and his government in decision-making were hopelessly off-course: to begin with, at the outset, the first decision needed to be made was a full and total hostage-prisoner swap directly after the attack. Israel was taken off guard. Damage done. Hamas had outwitted both the army and “Mr. Defense” and his government: hundreds of hostages presented the key issue that could only develop into a gangrenous disease as this event has dragged on, and that has affected society at large. This matter would have been over in two weeks had the decision been made at the time. The military issues could wait. Yet every attempt at negotiations failed partly if not mainly due to the pig-headedness of Netanyahu claiming that these top negotiators didn’t know how to negotiate. 

To conclude: Gaza in in ruins. Israel’s standing in the world has plummeted. Antisemitism has taken on renewed energy globally. The remaining hostages are in shocking conditions and Hamas has lost control of where they are. Death, pain, starvation and emotional destruction are the daily ration of those remaining. And Israeli leadership is, and has failed in getting them back. 

What to do? Oh, Netanyahu’s government has a new plan: New judicial reform, whittling away at the justice system, the core of democracy. No fear. A new day is around the corner.

Groundhog Day.