The election results are in, and they don’t look good. By a narrow margin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be keeping his seat at the head of the government. Netanyahu’s Likud party won a total of 30 seats out of 120 in the Knesset — Israel’s parliament — while the rival Zionist Union party won 24. What is interesting is that just a few days before the elections, Likud was trailing Zionist Union in the polls by four seats. The brilliant last-minute politicking on the part of Netanyahu is probably responsible for this radical change.
But if Netanyahu’s politicking was brilliant, it was also frightening, and I am deeply concerned about the future not only of Israel, but of the Middle East. In the first place, Netanyahu’s focus on the safety and security of Israel, while important, is both misplaced and overblown. Isaac Herzog, the leader of the Zionist Union party, would be just as committed to Israel's security, and therefore I don’t see how Netanyahu has a monopoly on facilitating that security. Not only that, Netanyahu has contributed more to instability than security with his recent actions.
Let us go down the list. First, he alienated the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S., the man who would be charged with assisting Israel in the event of an emergency, through his recent speech to Congress. During that speech, he not only criticized the President and made it harder for him to reach a deal with the Iranians by demonizing any talks, but he also blew the threat from Iran way out of proportion, as even many security officials attested to before that speech.
Perhaps the way in which Netanyahu jeopardized the security of the state of Israel the most was through some comments he made immediately before the election (this is the brilliant politicking part). When asked whether a Palestinian state would not be formed while he was prime minister, he said, “Indeed.” But then he went further: “Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel.”
These Islamophobic, deeply divisive and bombastic comments by Bibi equate all Palestinian organizations (and indeed the entire Palestinian people) with terrorist organizations like Hamas. Most Palestinians don’t agree with the radical Islam of Hamas and those like them and are simply frustrated with what they see as the occupation of their lands. Implying that all Palestinians are terrorists, and by extension justifying not allowing a two-state solution, is simply ignorant.
There are some like Gidi Grinstein, founder of the Reut Institute, who say we shouldn’t worry about Netanyahu’s comments; they say he has traditionally been able to differentiate between the campaign trail and governing the country, that he is pragmatic. But if this is Bibi’s idea of pragmatism, then I call it selfish pragmatism. This wasn’t about the people of Israel and their security: This was about Netanyahu winning back power for another few years.
What is perhaps the most stunning part of this entire process is the lack of a response on the part of the Palestinians. Now that they have no recourse under Netanyahu, they really only have three options. One, they could target the Knesset; but this probably would not be a good idea, since it would be extremely hard to get accommodations from the fractured body that the Knesset now is. Two, they can continue to lodge complaints and petitions with the U.N., the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice in the Hague. Finally, they can return to armed expression to get their point across. In the end, Netanyahu’s stance doesn’t look good for Israel.
As I said, these election results don’t look good. It perpetuates the picture of the Middle East as a place of conflict, stalemate and tension that has kept everyone on their toes for decades. Really, Netanyahu should be concentrating on how to make the economy and quality of living in Israel better, rather than endangering the state’s existence by blowing things out of proportion and using racist rhetoric.
Reach the columnist at jbrunne2@asu.edu or follow @MrAmbassador4 on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
