Mellon Bibi and the Infinite Cynicism
- Karl Johansson
- 24 mars
- 3 min läsning
Uppdaterat: 6 apr.
Bibi Netanyahu seems to be cynically using war for his gain at Israel's expense.
Israel is in a strong geopolitical position. It crushed its enemies to the west and cowed its enemy to the north while its enemy to the north east suffered the chaos of a regime change. In the eighteenth century this would be the time for a military parade, and perhaps the building of a triumph arch. Instead, Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas and started terrorising the civilians in Gaza once more.
The official justification for resuming attacks against Gaza is that Hamas refused to release hostages; The Economist reports that “Mr Netanyahu, under pressure from his hardline coalition partners, has refused to end the war while Hamas remains in power, despite this not being part of the original deal.” What power is there to remain in? Gaza has been thoroughly bombed, Hamas’ leaders systematically killed, and the civilian population starved by inconsistent deliveries of aid. The idea that Hamas poses an existential threat to Israel was dubious to say the least even before the war.
What is a real and present threat to Israel is the way it continues to alienate and radicalise the Palestinians and Arabs more broadly. Not content with breaking its ceasefire with Hamas, Israel has also occupied new territory in Lebanon and Syria, even having the gall to tell a sovereign state that Israel “will not allow HTS forces or the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus.” There is no good strategic logic for what Israel is doing. It may have the upper hand now, but going out of its way to antagonise its neighbours will come back to haunt it sooner or later. States don’t simply up sticks and moves, and tend to have long memories.
The best model for understanding why Israel is doing what it is doing is to consider the narrow personal interests of Binyamin Netanyahu. At a time when he was under pressure from the protests against his proposed judicial reform, the war in Gaza diverted focus and he remains in power. Now his aides are accused of taking money from Qatar, and he is firing the head of the internal security service and the attorney-general. Having a distraction in the form of a renewed offensive in Gaza is suspiciously convenient. It also offers cover from any political attack against him; he cannot step down now, in the middle of a shooting war.
To say that this explanation for Israel’s recent actions is cynical is severely understating things. But I see no other explanation, and given Netanyahu’s past misconduct and his determination to hang on to power like a tick hangs on a person, boundless cynicism is appropriate. If there are great men of history there must also be terrible men of history. And few modern leaders are as strong contenders for being a terrible man of history as Netanyahu with his infinite cynicism. Real, actual people, humans with rich inner lives and families, and friends are dying for something as banal as a man’s political career.
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I've always been interested in politics, economics, and the interplay between. The blog is a place for me to explore different ideas and concepts relating to economics or politics, be that national or international. The goal for the blog is to make you think; to provide new perspectives.
Written by Karl Johansson
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Cover photo by cottonbro studio from Pexels, edited by Karl Johansson
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