The genocidal carnage in Gaza has not ceased. The settler violence on the West Bank has sharply increased this year, the UN has denounced the systematic sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, and the IDF’s ethnic cleansing of large swathes of southern Lebanon continues apace. Regardless, any criticism of these atrocities gets routinely labelled as antisemitism by Israel’s apologists. In New Zealand, their lobbying pressure appears to be working. These days for example, you can trust that the news and information on RNZ will not include any reports on Israel’s brutal actions in Gaza, or on the West Bank.
Thankfully, there are still some Jews who are appalled by Israel’s overt acts of state terrorism. Late last month, a diverse group of former military, security and cultural leaders signed a letter that (among other things) threatened legal action if the Netanyahu government and the IDF did not stop the surge in settler violence against Palestinian residents on the West Bank:
Two former prime ministers, former heads of all the Israeli security services, former judges, a Nobel laureate and the country’s most revered living novelist were among the signatories to a “final warning” over violence against Palestinians. They demanded immediate action to “eradicate Jewish terrorism”, cataloguing years of attacks – including murder, sexual assault, theft, arson and desecration of the dead – by civilian and military perpetrators who acted with “almost complete impunity”.
The signatories also warned that that the global rise in antisemitism was being fuelled by Israel’s own behaviour:
The campaign of extreme violence against Palestinians broke Israeli and international law, put Israel’s security at risk, isolated the country internationally and fuelled antisemitism around the world, they said.
Regardless…on the weekend, Jewish settlers emerged from their illegal West Bank settlements to again go on the rampage and attack Palestinian businesses, farms and homes, while the IDF and Israeli police (as usual) simply stood by and watched.
Circling the wagons, forever
Despite Israel being the catalyst for many regional conflicts that have had global repercussions, the Western media routinely ignores the internal politics of Israel. As a result, the racial and religious dynamics of the Israeli government’s domestic policy formation are only dimly understood. This is unfortunate, given that Israel is due to hold a crucial election by the end of October.
To an outsider, domestic Israeli politics do seem astonishingly inward- facing. It is as if Israel’s pariah status on the world stage is now taken as a given by voters, and by the country’s leaders. Much of the deeply paranoid to and fro of the nation’s political debate is over which party can build the safest bunkers in which Israelis can hide themselves from the hostile intentions of the entire outside world. As Israel continues to alienate friends and foes alike, none of its political leaders appear willing to consider what an off ramp might look like – or might require of them, and of ordinary Israelis.
This rush to embrace a sullen isolationism takes some striking forms. How can it be – for instance – that the largest mass protests that Netanyahu has faced in recent years have been over (a) his mooted changers in mid 2023 to the powers of Israel’s highest court (b) his deliberately tardy efforts to rescue Israeli hostages from Gaza and (c) his nominal scrapping in 2024 of the exemption from mandatory military service of ultra-orthodox (Haredi) Jews engaged in religious studies.
To an outsider, the tunnel vision involved in each instance seems extraordinary. As a matter of course, Israel’s legal system confers differing rights, on ethnic grounds. Did those erstwhile defenders of Israel’s Supreme Court not realise that habitually, the laws of the land in Israel are intrinsically lacking in a fair and democratic balance? Similarly, how could the hostage protesters be so single-mindedly focussed on the fate of the relatively small number of Jewish hostages, while tens of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children were being slaughtered by the IDF in Gaza?
As for the nominal scrapping of the exemption of ultra-orthodox Jews from a military call-up to defend Israel in wars they actively promote…nothing much has actually changed in practice. That’s mainly because (surprise, surprise) the religious parties within the coalition government are against the law being enforced.
It is worth repeating that not all Israelis are so morally short-sighted. (Not all Americans support Donald Trump, either. The Israeli defenders of human rights may be relatively few in number, but NGOs like B’tselem do sterling research and campaigning to challenge the inhumanity of the government. B’tselem’s work has included drawing attention to the systematic rapes and sexual assaults carried out on male and female Palestinians held in Israel prisons. In May, the UN blacklisted Israel for the IDF’s repeated use of sexual violence as a political weapon.
On the West Bank, Jewish activists from the Torat-Tzedek NGO bravely risk injury (or worse) by bearing witness to settler violence, sometimes by bodily intervening, and sometimes by beseeching the police present to do their job and protect the innocent. With increasing regularity, Palestinians are being wounded and killed. They are also having their animals stolen and their crops, cars, businesses and houses torched, so that they can be forced off the land, on which further illegal Jewish settlements can then be built.
The Jerusalem Post recently published this fascinating account by a Torat-Tzedet observer active at one such incident, and who cited the Torah teachings that had inspired him to get involved:
Despite condemnations from those responsible for stopping the violence, security forces, the state, and our courts either actively support settler violence to expel Palestinians, or allow it. Our non-violent presence protecting fellow human beings is therefore a problem to be limited as much as possible. What should a citizen of conscience do when a crime is being committed in front of his eyes, and the police and army don’t come? What should the Jewish people and all people of conscience be doing in light of this betrayal of our highest Jewish values?
What should Jewish people be doing, indeed. Not to mention what countries like New Zealand should be doing. Currently, we continue to uncritically allow Israel to commit these crimes, with international impunity.
The current political balance of power
As mentioned, Israel is holding an election this year, sometime before the end of October. Under Israeli’s electoral law, 3.25% of the overall vote is the threshold required before a party gets to enter the 120 seat Israeli parliament, aka the Knesset. The coalition government led by Likud’s Benjamin Netanyahu consists of:
Likud (32 seats).
Shas An ultra-orthodox party (11 seats).
Religious Zionist Party (7 seats) This Jewish supremacist party is led by the far-right Finance Minister Belazel Smotrich.
Otzma Yehudit (6 seats) This openly racist party was founded by the fanatical rabbi Meir Kahane, who was assassinated in New York City in 1990.
The United Torah Judaism (7 seats) Another ultra-orthodox party.
In sum, this extremist coalition never had much room for compromise, nor shown any interest in it. As for the Israeli political opposition, it is comprised of these elements:
Yesh Atid (24 seats) This party is led by Yair Lapid. In the 2026 election, Lapid is co-leading the Beyachad (Together) party alongside Naftali Bennett, another former PM. Both men are strongly supportive of extending the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, regardless of the US/Iran ceasefire.
National Unity (12 seats) This coalition of parties has included former IDF senior commanders such as Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, who has been rising in the polls and is now seen to be a very strong presidential contender. Eisenkot now has his own party, called Yashar.
Yisrael Beiteinu (6 seats) This right-wing party draws most of its support from the Russian Jewish immigrant community.
United Arab List, aka Ra’am (5 seats) A conservative Islamist nationalist party supported by some Arab/Palestinian citizens of Israel. Led by Mansour Abbas. Was in government in 2021 when it was part of the briefly popular Joint List coalition of Arab parties.
Hadash-Ta’al (5 seats) This little bloc is comprised of Hadash, a Jewish/Arab communist party and Ta’al a secular Arab nationalist party.
Democrats/Labor (4 seats) This shell of the once powerful Labor Party is a sad “Likud-lite” option. Meaning: it strongly supports the Gaza occupation and Lebanon offensive, but wishes it was less overtly brutal. Recent polling indicates that the Democrats/Labor bloc may win up to ten seats at this year’s election.
Blue & White (8 seats) This faction-riven party is led by former IDF commander Benny Gantz,who describes himself as a liberal Zionist.
Noam (1 seat) Another ultra- conservative Zionist party. It runs on an openly anti-LGBTQ platform.
It should be noted that none of the potential governing combinations are offering any significant change from the pattern set by Netanyahu’s coalition – not with respect to Gaza or the West Bank, certainly not in Lebanon, and not with respect to the wider Zionist dream of a Greater Israel stretching from the river to the sea.
Netanyahu, perhaps seeing the writing on the wall for his political career, has raised the prospect of a grand coalition – whereby everyone gets a taste of power, but under his leadership. Ironically, a big part of his deeply unpopular image is that he is widely seen to be a Trump puppet who allowed Israel to be humiliated over the Iran ceasefire deal.
At this point, there are two main alternatives to Netanyahu. The first option is Beyachad (in English, “Together”) the unity ticket of convenience forged between Yair Lapid and another former PM, Naftali Bennett. It has been sinking slightly in recent polls. The other chief option for PM is Gadi Eisenkot, the popular former IDF commander and leader of the Yashar Party.
Here are the most recent poll positions, from about five days ago:
Channel 12 News poll shows opposition parties with 68 seats and Jewish [my emphasis] opposition parties with 58, while the coalition holds 52 seats. Jewish opposition parties would [therefore] still fall short of a majority without Arab parties, the poll finds.
To the racists running Israel, any dependency on the Arab parties would be an abomination. To ward off the Arab menace, the Likud Party Education Minister is already talking publicly of a potential new Likud configuration behind Eisenkot as PM – an unsubtle way of telling Netanyahu that his time is probably up.
To repeat: none of these deckchair re-arrangements will alter the doomed trajectory that Israel has set for itself. Israel appears hellbent on conducting an eternal war against its neighbours, as well as raining devastation down on the Palestinian communities in its midst.
Madonna Strikes Back
Back in the day when Madonna released her first album, Return of the Jedi was top of the US box office, Ronald Reagan had invaded Grenada, and the HIV virus had been discovered. At the age of 67 though, Madonna has released a light as air, but hard-hitting dance album last week, easily her best record in 20 years.
Confessions II is a follow up of sorts to 2005’s Confessions On A Dance Floor which, by general consensus, was her last good album. That is, until Confessions II dropped last week to rave reviews, right across the board. Here’s the opening track “I Feel So Free” as re-mixed by Peggy Gou:
“Danceteria” is the track where Madonna most directly celebrates the days of old. In the first two verses, she’s hustling to get into the fabled Danceteria club. By verse three she’s inside, celebrity checking and name dropping on her way to achieving fangirl forever /iconic status in her own right:
This is how we start the party
There’s Fab Five Freddy and Basquiat
Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf…
There’s Maripol and a guy named Fred
See these guys spinning on their heads
There’s Rock Steady Crew and Crazy Legs
Puerto Rican boys, they make me crazy
They made me crazy
Nile Rodgers and David Byrne
B-52s had money to burn
Lounge Lizards had so much style
Lower East Side, take a walk on the wild side….