The war cabinet may have been dismantled after Gantz’s departure, but the Netanyahu-led cabinet of looters isn’t wasting tim
Yossi Verter. Haaretz. Jun 19, 2024 10:48 pm IDT
The man who’s been fleeing journalists for two months now as if they were infected with Ebola, sent another typical and heavily edited video to the newsrooms yesterday, with his thick makeup, his familiar hand gestures and the cyclical taunting of the United States. The media outlets he despises had to run it. That’s their journalistic duty, and he counts on that. But he’ll keep the interviews to the foreign outlets.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose to mock the Biden administration because of the latter’s intention to reexamine a single, specific, shipment of munitions to Israel, despite attempts through quiet diplomatic channels at the highest level to resolve the crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told that to Netanyahu during their meeting last week.
Instead of Netanyahu keeping quiet and letting diplomacy take its course, he did what he knows how to do best: being “Tricky Bibi.” Rage, tease, poke a finger in the eye and play politics in the United States.
Netanyahu mentioned Blinken’s assurances, adding, “I certainly hope that’s the case” (he emphasized the word “hope”). Like a dog returning to its vomit, Netanyahu joins the Republicans in Congress and exploited this momentary crisis between Washington and Jerusalem to garner a bit of support from Trump’s supporters – his preferred candidate in the presidential election. Moreover, if it’s possible to implicitly blame Biden for the delay in “the total victory” in Gaza – that’s a plus.
The Biden administration’s response to this provocation by the cynical crook from Jerusalem was fast and sharp. According to a report in Axios by journalist Barak Ravid, the administration cancelled a pending high-level meeting with Israeli officials on the subject of Iran.
The administration also called off the annual meeting on the strategic dialogue between the two countries, in which top military and intelligence officials dialogue on strategic issues that are crucial to Israel’s security. It was a clear-cut retaliation by the Americans.
It’s proven once again: Benjamin Netanyahu is a clear and present danger (actually an imminent one) to Israel’s security and strategic interests.
If anyone still has any doubt about the degree of this man’s cynicism and detachment from reality, Netanyahu’s following statement entered directly upon being uttered into the pantheon of the most ludicrous sayings of the decade: “During World War II, [UK Prime Minister Winston] Churchill told the United States, ‘Give us the tools, we’ll do the job,’ and I say: give us the tools, and we’ll finish the job a lot faster.”
The most failed war ever waged by Israel has now lasted 257 days, longer than the War of Independence. It has no end in sight. There’s no diplomatic vision to it, not an even hint of strategy. And the man who’s responsible for it is comparing himself to Winston Churchill.
The worse the failure and the deeper the hole – the more the country is trapped and sinks – the greater the insanity and megalomania by the one who is responsible for the failure (both before and after October 7).
A few hours later, during a state memorial ceremony for the victims of the 1948 Altalena affair, Netanyahu lashed out with typical nastiness at the anti-government protesters who are receiving vicious beatings by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s police.
“There’s an extreme, vocal minority, who is unfortunately sometimes violent, and is organized and financed by unimaginable funds,” Netanyahu said of the protesters, hinting that they don’t back Israeli troops.
One tact less than saying “the protesters are an arm of Hamas” as Likud MK Nissim Vaturi did Tuesday. As of the latter, it may be wondered if he’s more evil than dumb. But as of the prime minister – no one has ever claimed that he is stupid.
The cabinet of looters doesn’t miss a beat
The ongoing war in Gaza and on Israel’s northern border, the dead and wounded, the suffering of Israelis who’ve been evacuated from their homes, the fate of the hostages – this was all put on lower priority yesterday.
The government had more important things to respond to. An important Knesset committee room was bursting with participants on Tuesday. The prime minister summoned an emergency meeting with leaders of local authorities. Ben-Gvir accused Shas chairman Arye Dery of improper political deals.
These are all probably relevant headlines in a time of war and suffering. But the first doesn’t refer to a Knesset committee session with the presence of family members of the hostages, the second doesn’t relate to the desperate heads of local authorities in northern Israel and the third does not concern itself with government corruption.
All of the above madness concerns one of the most corrupt and damaging bill we’ve seen in a long while: the so-called Rabbis’ Law – the foremost legislation that Dery is interested to pass.
The war cabinet may have been dismantled, but the cabinet of looters – headed by Netanyahu, Dery and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – isn’t wasting time.
Last week was marked by a crisis between the Ultra-Orthodox and the national religious parties, with the Knesset moving forward the nauseating draft-dodging bill. This week, the so-called Rabbis’ Law came back to life. October 7 has dropped it off the radar. Dery said at the time that during a war, elected officials should only deal with saving lives.
Time has passed, and the moment has come to address another kind of life-saving. What do Dery and his representative at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Minister Michael Malkieli, want?
Hundreds of unnecessary jobs for rabbis whose appointments will be forced on mayors. In the chronicles that’ll be written about the fall of Israel, a whole chapter will be devoted to Dery and his partners. It’ll be titled “Theocracy by Kleptocracy.”
As far as Dery is concerned, he’s the one being robbed. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich get whatever they want from Netanyahu, and he, who enjoys the image of the coalition’s responsible adult (we might need an urgent visit from welfare authorities), turns out to be the sucker? Never.
Dery is blackmailing because there’s someone who can be extorted. Netanyahu allows him to cater for the needs of Shas voters at the expense of the Likud’s. Why should the prime minister care?
On Tuesday night, after Netanyahu realized the seriousness of the situation in his party, he summoned the chairman of the Union of Local Authorities and Likud member Haim Bibas to discuss a so-called compromise.
As long as the rabbis’ legislation was not in jeopardy, the prime minister couldn’t care less about Bibas or loyalist mayors such as Ashkelon’s Tomer Glam or Dimona’s Benny Biton. The moment Netanyahu sensed that his coalition is at risk, he panicked.
During the late night hours, after intense discussions between Netanyahu’s office and all involved parties fell apart – including Ben-Gvir’s decision that his party won’t support the bill – Netanyahu decided to drop the legislation from the Knesset agenda.
This abhorrent bill is a serious misstep on Likud voters’ sentiment. The signs of rebellion by the party’s members on the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, MK Tally Gotliv and Moshe Saada, were permanently ousted from the panel in a brutal and vengeful move. With no discussion, no vote and in violation of the Likud’s protocol.
Before the October 7 Hamas massacre, these two babblers were among the supporters of the judicial coup discussed in MK Simcha Rothman’s led Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. They pushed for it with messianic enthusiasm that was a mix of blazing hatred for the establishment and belief in delusional conspiracies.
On Tuesday, they personally felt the anguish of a judicial coup. Sometime, injustice can also be poetic.
One Democratic State 