Sara Netanyahu and the Zionist Regime’s Societal Implosion
Ironically, a government that has touted "Israel’s" façade of a Jewish democracy to legitimize Palestinian oppression is now facing ‘anarchy’.
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Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right, demagogic administration which includes Zionist bigots, setter colonizers, anti-multiculturalism preachers, and hate mongers have received an appropriate blowback over its monstrous and barbaric raids in the West Bank. The ruthless shedding of Palestinian blood has been followed by a societal implosion which is coming from within Israeli society as protestors attacked Netanyahu’s wife Sara and chanted slogans of ‘shame, shame’ while besieging the beauty parlor she attended. The ensuing chaos is symptomatic of how countries built as settler colonial projects will eventually meet an unenviable fate of self-destruction as authoritarianism is agitated against by the very polity it seeks to subjugate. The protests which rallied around calls to reverse sweeping reforms to the Israeli Supreme Court are now targeting the very foundations of the apartheid regime.
As emblematic of countries that combine hard-line nationalist ideologies based on religious exclusion with crass capitalism that fills the coffers of one religious group at the expense of the other, “Israel” is witnessing glaring internal fissures. India is another country that comes to mind where Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s hardline Hindutva ideology has not only isolated the Muslim minority but resulted in farmer protests and a movement to establish an independent Sikh state called ‘Khalistan’. Ironically, with no counterarguments or proposals to pacify angry protestors, the Netanyahu government has conveniently labeled the protestors as ‘anarchists.’ Ironically, a government that has touted “Israel’s” façade of a Jewish democracy to legitimize Palestinian oppression is now facing ‘anarchy’ from the very society it seeks to govern through a social contract. This is a quintessential case of internal implosion.
Enabling factors of the crisis point at how the entire Israeli system is infested with corruption. Critics have argued that Sarah Netanyahu’s opulent life style and flaunting of wealth marks a stark contrast to the economic affairs of the Israeli entity or the plight of the common Israeli citizen. The Zionist regime has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world with a corporate Jewish elite benefitting from profits through military-industrial complexes at the expense of the well-being for the common man. From 2017 onwards, “Israel’s” youth unemployment rates have witnessed persistent increases which includes a 0.84% increase to 8.79% in 2021.
Astronomical corruption reaches the very top. Sara Netanyahu has misappropriated public funds, overspent on household expenses, and sealed gifts from world leaders in the absence of accountability. In 2019, she accepted a plea bargain to settle the misusage of $100,000 in public funds for lavish meals from celebrity chefs at Netanyahu’s residence. Alongside cooks on the government’s payroll, she was also enmeshed in Netanyahu’s corruption trial which brought about “Israel’s” worst political crisis. The ugly nature of the Israeli political system and its culture of impunity for corruption is made worse as Netanyahu accepted gifts from billionaire friends which included extravagant jewelry for Sara. Through his influence, the Zionist Prime Minister tried to muzzle out voices by striking backroom deals for more favorable coverage of his wife in the press. Furthermore, the Knesset committee unabashedly approved new spending for the Netanyahu family which included thousands of expenses on trivial items such as makeup kits. These measures are deplorable and have backfired on the Netanyahu regime.
As a testament to the very nature of the Israeli regime and the bigoted society that it governs, internal political fissures have also accompanied the corrupt profile of Netanyahu’s wife. Scenes of occupation police forces, secret services, and helicopters calling to extract Netanyahu from her appointment demonstrate how “Israel” lacks the democratic maturity to apprehend, convict and put controversial political figures on trial. The truth is that many of the pseudo-pro-democracy protestors would never push for holding Israeli war crimes and the proliferation of settlements on occupied Palestinian territories, accountable. Even the media with so-called pseudo-liberal news outlets are bypassing state-sponsored apartheid and refraining from discussions while debating on corruption scandals in a society that remains polarized and divided yet ironically united on the subject of Palestine.
From the top echelons of power down to the common Israeli who resides on occupied land, the problem lies within. On the 4th of January, 2023 Yariv Levin announced plans to reform the judiciary which granted the governing coalition, a majority on a committee that appoints judges. Such unconstitutional moves do not represent democratic norms, customs, or principles which clearly means that “Israel” is not a civilized country. The supremacy of the law, constitution, and writ of the state should ideally reign supreme. That is not the case with “Israel”. According to a new report by The Conversation, Israeli politicians remain strongly motivated to strengthen ‘Haganah-minded politics’ with Haganah being one of the main Zionist paramilitary organizations till 1948.
The militarized orientation of the regime, the societal chaos, the corruption scandals, and the hollow ground on which this Netanyahu administration stands clearly show that Israeli society is imploding. There is little end in sight as protests continue to remain defiant with even members of the occupier security services joining the unrest. According to the New York Times, democracy cannot be saved in “Israel” when it never existed in the first place. The shaky foundations also serve as a wake-up call for the international community to call out the repression of the Netanyahu cabinet. Only then, can peace truly prevail in the Middle East and beyond.
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Hamzah Rifaat is a broadcast journalist, analyst, and visiting fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington D.C., 2016.
Featured image is from Al Mayadeen English
