How long can Netanyahu survive? And can we survive him?

I am currently in the USA for a while, visiting family for Passover, and even a bit longer. It is a bit strange to be here with so much going on in Israel.

While I am here, many people repeatedly are asking me the same questions: How long can Netanyahu survive? How can he be removed from power? Can he continually manipulate the political system to ensure his own personal political survival? Is there anything that can happen that would force him to resign and call early elections? Will Israel outlast him or will he totally destroy the Israel we once knew? (Has he already done so?)

These are all good questions, but I am not sure that I or anyone else in Israel knows the answer to them. But some things are clear at this point:

• Netanyahu appears to be in very serious trouble with the scandal called “Qatargate” in which some of his assistants appear to have been in the service of Qatar, and he probably knew about it. In addition, according to Israel’s Attorney General, it is clear that he is involved in a major conflict of interests by his attempt to fire the head of the Shin Bet (the General Security Services) and we are now waiting for the Israel Supreme Court to rule on this in the next few days. Could this scandal become so severe in the very near future that it could force Netanyahu to resign and call new elections?
• The people of Israel are furious with him due to his renewal of the war against Hamas and his abandonment of the hostages remaining in captivity (59, of which 21 or 22 are presumed to be alive). In a recent poll, 70% of Israelis responded that they favor ending the war now to bring all the hostages home! Nevertheless, the Prime Minister has renewed the war, much to the chagrin of most of the citizens of the country. How angry will they get? So far, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens are protesting every Saturday night, and often during the week, against Netanyahu’s policies. The major questions are: What will happen when more and more hostages die or are killed, either by Hamas or by Israeli bombs? Will the protest movement grow to more than a million people? And can it force the Prime Minister to resign and call elections?
• If Netanyahu and his far-right partners  in this extremist government continue along their path, there is nothing but continued disaster in store for Israel: a forever war (or wars) with no end in sight, on many fronts (yesterday, he called it “the seven front war”), the complete abandonment of the hostages, as well as the total refusal to plan in any meaningful way for the “day after” once this war ends (since there is no plan to end it!), an economy in shambles, a population in ongoing trauma and post-trauma, continued isolation in the international arena (except for a few dictators like Trump and Orban), and much more. The continuation of the Netanyahu regime is like one big Trumpian tariff!! It causes extreme suffering and loss of hope for everyone in Israel and most people around the world.

The other questions that I am frequently asked here in New York is: who is worse, Trump or Netanyahu? And which country is harder to live in right now?

The answer to the first question is difficult, since they are both so terrible. Both “leaders” are destroying their democracies and economies, both are cunning and narcissist, both are cruel and crybabies (“everyone is after me”, “everyone is guilty but me”, “the deep state is out to get me”), and both are isolationists who care nothing about peace and the international community. In addition, they are both deeply flawed individuals morally and psychologically, so that it is absolutely scary that they hold the reigns of prolific power and potential damage to their countries and the world.

However, the answer to the second question–which country is harder to live in right now?  –is clear. At the moment, Bibiland, with its forever wars, is a much more difficult place to live in emotionally currently than Trumpland, although it is a very close call. Since Bibi has abandoned the hostages and shows no signs of ending the war against Hamas, there is a pervasive feeling of hopelessness and despair in Israel. The fate of the hostages and the dangers that our soldiers face are on our minds and in our hearts all the time. The repeated stories in the Israeli media of the failures of our government and army on the infamous day of October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas militants launched their surprise attack on Israel (which should have been no surprise to the IDF and the government if they had paid careful attention to the information passed on within the military chain by the young women spotters, many of whom were kidnapped or murdered) are in our consciousness every day, almost every hour. And the evil deeds of our government, especially our corrupt Prime Minister and some of his most extreme irresponsible political partners, such as Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, are in our face every minute so that they cause us to lose our trust completely in our ‘leaders’ and to worry existentially about the fate of our country.

We are approaching the holiday of Passover this week. It is a time to think about freedom, for the Jewish people and for all peoples who seek to move from slavery to freedom, including the Palestinian people. On this Passover, I am unfortunately also wondering if and when we will be free from Netanyahu (and Trump!). He and his extremist political partners are holding us hostage to their horrendous policies which are destroying democracy and limiting our freedom more and more all the time. We need to be freed from him, even miraculously, as the Jewish people were freed from the Pharoah of Egypt in ancient times.

Yet, we must retain some sense of hope. This is why we open the door to Elijah, the messenger of peace after the meal at the seder. Despite the likes of Bibi, Trump, Orban and Putin, we still yearn for peace, for tranquility, for some sense of sanity, some caring and compassion in our society. We also sing the second half of Hallel, the psalms of thanksgiving and gratitude, after the meal, which also is designed to help us dream of a better future. We will not have a better future until Bibi (and Trump!) are gone from the political landscape and replaced by forward-looking responsible leaders. May that day come soon.