Netanya was born with a spelling mistake. Back in 1928, the original agricultural settlement by the Mediterranean was named after the American-Jewish philanthropist Nathan Straus. It would have made sense to spell it N-a-tanya.
Netanyahu is spelled correctly, and the Net part makes sense: The Israeli prime minister is a net negative in terms of dishonesty, deviousness, corruption, cowardice and total lack of accountability, all of which outweigh any braggadocio that he’s a “strong right-wing leader.” That went out the window on October 7th.
For the anti-Semites of the world, Netanyahu is a net positive. As Hamas was whipping up anti-Israel hysteria on college campuses across Europe and the United States, Netanyahu was delivering monthly payments of Qatari money to Hamas to build up its terror infrastructure. Moreover, Netanyahu kept silent as ministers in his crackpot government sputtered vitriol such as “burn down the village,” “there are no non-combatants in Gaza,” “flatten Gaza” and “nuke Gaza,” which is gleefully quoted by the anti-Zionist/ anti-Semitic haters in their most successful propaganda war. Indeed, ever since October 7th, anti-Semitism has increased exponentially. Hence, the fruition of one of Hamas’s war-aims: Israel has never been so isolated on the world stage.
Internally, Israel has never been so torn apart. Over half the country believes that the PM is terrified of a state commission that would determine who is responsible for the October 7th tragedy. Some Israelis argue that the PM is blameless. Many Israelis fear that our liberal democracy is in serious trouble. Many, too many Israelis are saying that the country would be “more democratic” without interference from the Supreme Court and Attorney General. Most Israelis didn’t take Donald Trump seriously when he said that with anyone other than Netanyahu as head of state, Israel might no longer exist. The president’s “big statement” resonates with the “Bibistim,” the PM’s hard core supporters.
In spite of Netanyahu’s widely perceived share of the blame for October 7th, his stalling tactics that left Israeli hostages suffering in Hamas’s terror tunnels, his coverup of the shameful Qatargate affair and barefaced attempts to make the criminal charges against him disappear, Netanyahu retains his political clout. He empowers the Messianic settlers movement and its lunatic fringes, the “Hill Kids” and “Temple Mount Faithful.” The PM enables haredi elements who call for full-time Torah study in government funded yeshivas, exemption from the IDF and National Service and non-participation in the workforce, all at the expense of the Israeli tax-payer. In return, Netanyahu enjoys the support of the above factions.
Not surprisingly, Netanyahu feels right at home in Netanya, now a major Israeli city and right-wing stronghold.
Just before the recent mayoral elections in the “Israeli Riviera” that is steadily devolving into Bnai Brak, Netanyahu dropped in to endorse candidate Avi Salama. The latter is on friendly terms with Netanya’s Kiryat Sanz community which seeks to reinforce the religious-secular status quo and establish a true “hevrat lomdim,” a yeshiva haven for haredim. This doesn’t bother the Bibists and “moderate” right elements, they who believe that the West Bank settlements, notwithstanding our image as occupiers, are “good for Israel;” the folks who say that good things came out of the Gaza war, all thanks to Bibi, of course, and aren’t embarrassed to say that there’s nothing wrong with an October 7th commission run by politicians. Privately, they resent those haredim for their IDF exemptions and tax-free privileges. But, like their man Bibi, they understand that the haredi parties hold Israeli governments by the balls and squeeze all they can.
Netanya is full to bursting with moderate right, far right and ultra-religious right. Small wonder that Avi Salama won the election by a landslide.
On January 20th, my wife and I voted for his liberal rival, Tali Molnar, knowing that she didn’t stand a chance, with the hope that she would at least emerge as a viable opposition leader. It was our farewell to Netanya.
The very next day, we left this town where we raised our kids and moved to Givatayim. The timing was a coincidence. After much careful thought, we made the big move for different reasons. Among them, we believe that the Tel-Aviv area is one of the last islands of sanity in this going crazy country.
We needn’t wait for future historians to tell us what went wrong. We are witnessing what is taking place right now. Israel is backsliding from the “only democracy in the Middle East” into a theocratic autocracy, just like Iran. The horror story that is coming out of Iran today is, God forbid, what surely awaits us, what we are letting happen.
Avi Shamir is a freelance writer, editor, translator and the author of “Saving the Game,” a novel about baseball. A Brooklyn College graduate with a BA in English, Avi has contributed to the Jerusalem Post, The Nation, Israel Scene, In English and The World Zionist Press Service.