Netanyahu’s Greatest Electoral Asset: Visionless Fear

‘One of Netanyahu’s greatest electoral assets….’ referenced by David Horovitz in today’s article, Netanyahu’s ‘Gevalt’ Gamble, is less the perceived ‘inevitability’ of his rule.

More accurately, it is that he and the failed Israeli hard Right have ensured that there will remain a cycle of conflict and constant instability within the Israeli politic as well as between Israel and the Palestinian Territories to include large components of the global community.

And the delusion by Netanyahu that only Netanyahu can manage this conflict and instability becomes more ironic still when realizing that Netanyahu and the Israeli hard Right is, itself, a focus for that instability. His current last minute and scripted media barnstorming to claim that Israel ‘really, really likes me’ even if they don’t know it presents more as sad, deluded pleading than strength of leadership or a vision for that leadership.

The exact dynamic during the Bush/Cheney years in the U.S. which required a sustained level of indecency and outright incoherence in political discourse has been another hallmark of Netanyahu politics.

Jews, of course, disagree; it’s what we do! Its why a town with only 3 Jews needs at least two synagogues since there always has to be at least one synagogue we’d never go to!

But neither have I ever seen Jews attack other Jews using the degree of dividing, inflammatory and degrading vitriol until these last several years under Netanyahu. And this is a dynamic which only continues to escalate to the benefit of our enemies and the growing instability of Israel.

Such internal divisions represents a primary goal long held but not able to be accomplished by all of the Arab nations combined. But just as with Bush/Cheney, the internal divisions and indecency in Israel and among Jews have been carefully nurtured by Netanyahu and the Israeli hard Right in its inability to offer anything productive while better distracting from reality and real questions about now and the future.

Iran: What Do We Do…?…and how will Jews attacking Jews in ways all Arab nations never could help?

That the global community largely doesn’t like and resents Israel is a reality. But despite the accurate fact that a European core would much prefer Israel to not exist, Netanyahu simply continues to provide those flames ever present high octane gasoline by his lack of vision and forethought. Other than his own ‘brand,’ it certainly does not benefit Israel, Israelis or those of us in the Diaspora

Netanyahu and the Israeli hard Right continue to strengthen Israel’s international isolation with visionless and self-aggrandizing politics. Besides sending the IAF over Tehran, Netanyahu has yet to offer – or be directly asked – about the stabilizing and strengthening of Israel both regionally and internationally.

What will happen in the Territories; what will happen with regards to Israel’s struggling economy? These are keys that continue ignored at the risk of Israel’s future.

It is the forever tribal mentality that existed long before Israeli statehood in 1948 which calls for the wagons to be constantly circled paired with a refusal to respond more maturely to both primary and international geopolitics. Netanyahu’s lack of vision and prioritizing day to day life in Israel is also tied into Israel’s struggling economic foundation. Bringing Netanyahu back to office will also only make Israel’s own economic crisis still more intractable.

Rather than allowing Netanyahu’s ‘self-worship’ electioneering, I still haven’t heard him directly asked to articulate a vision for Israel; for Israel’s current stability and future viability. That the current status quo – still rapidly degrading status quo – will ultimately subsume Israel is real but seems to be the issue ‘which shall not be named.’

Netanyahu is a perfect practitioner of Rovian politics American style whereby he keeps everybody afraid; lets them know their being afraid is everybody else’s fault and ensures that fear remains embedded as an ultimate distracter based on his own self-aggrandizing political presentation.

Netanyahu has nothing to offer to combat the fear and Israel’s increasing instability because he has, himself, so carefully nurtured, ensured and benefitted by it. Netanyahu is working to save his day job far more than offering any kind of coherent and doable vision for the future stability of Israel other than for the never-ending conflict and fear which will potentially do the damage to Israel that all of its own enemies could not accomplish on their own.

Do not ‘boycott’ these elections; that will only make Netanyahu and the failed Israeli hard Right stronger and more likely to remain in place. And that will serve nobody’s interest……..