History Repeats: Will Israel Find Its Ben Zakkai?

When I published my book “They Stole My Country” some time ago, I described in detail how the events unfolded and how we arrived at this point. I portrayed the relentless corruption, the wild weeds that sprang from within religious Zionism and grew into thick, untamed trees, embedding nationalist roots into nearly every part of Israeli society. I showed, step by step, how Benjamin Netanyahu — through his words and actions — steered us toward the catastrophe of 7 October.

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote that we had what was likely a final opportunity to wake up, stop, and try to repair the damage before it became too late, before there would simply be nothing left to save. We have been here before: in the days leading up to the destruction of the Second Temple and the second collapse of the Jewish kingdom. Even then, divisive and self-serving leadership, driven by a messianic-psychotic ideology and nationalist extremism, led our people to a historic ruin that was meant to reverberate through our collective memory forever.

Some foresaw the impending disaster and managed to save the Jewish people from annihilation. The pragmatic model of leadership embodied by Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai ultimately preserved the Jewish world and made its rebuilding possible, even in the aftermath of destruction.

And now, it seems as though history is repeating itself — once again, as a tragedy. When I wrote my book, describing not only how events unfolded in the past but also how they could yet unfold in a way that would allow Israel to once again become an advanced and thriving model state, I still believed we had a chance. I believed it was still possible to avert disaster by dissolving the Knesset and holding elections in which Benjamin Netanyahu and his partners would surely be cast into a long exile in the opposition.

It turns out that even I, the pessimist, was too optimistic. Not only is there no investigative committee on the horizon, but the chances of dissolving the Knesset and calling early elections are slim, and with each passing day, the likelihood that those elections would be free and fair grows ever smaller. Netanyahu’s relentless efforts to crush the last remaining gatekeepers and democratic safeguards reveal that he has no restraints, and that he aspires to eternal rule, to be handed down either to his disturbed son exiled in Miami, or to other members of his family — like a Byzantine court.

Day by day, the terror that the Prime Minister wields over his citizens intensifies — psychological terror, economic terror, rhetorical terror — and the people remain submissive, accepting their fate and allowing him to lead them, eyes wide open, toward the third destruction.

If I were an alien observing this reality from above, I would likely suspect that Netanyahu and his far-right allies are simply agents of a cunning enemy, planted here to finally destroy the Zionist idea. But having lived here for many years, I know — or at least I want to believe — that these are people whose vision is the destruction of Zionism and a return to messianic Judaism, a vision that intertwines with Netanyahu’s ambition to rule forever.

The truth is, we have already passed the point of no return. The State of Israel will not return to what it once was. The processes run too deep. It is impossible to repair something so thoroughly corrupted, in which every part is infected.

From here on, the only path forward is rebuilding — from the ground up. And for that to happen, we will need pragmatic leadership of the kind once embodied by Ben Zakkai. If we are wise enough to find such leadership, perhaps, by some miracle, we will succeed in establishing a new Israel. If not, we will soon find ourselves in exile, by choice or force.