OpinionThe disillusionment is long and partial. But it has started
Opinion
The disillusionment is long and partial. But it has started
As expected, disillusionment hurts. Israel is beginning to understand, perhaps for the first time, that even the ministers of the extreme right, who believe in forceful solutions, cannot work miracles
As expected, the gun waving and TikTok videos of the Minister of "National Security" didn't stop terrorism. The neo-Kahanist who arrived at the ministry with zero management experience didn't contribute anything to security or deterrence. On the contrary, his arrogance harmed the police, spurred terrorism and violence, and sparked a massive blaze. It is no surprise that the rockets from Gaza are once more a part of our lives, as well as those launched from Lebanon and Syria. Ben-Gvir's voters are destined for disappointment - what was will be, at best.
As expected, Netanyahu, Smotrich, Goldknopf and Deri are not coping with the cost of living any better than their predecessors in the government. The cost of living does not interest them. During the election campaign, they scattered empty promises to stop the rise in prices, freeze mortgages, property tax, and more and more nonsense slogans. After 100 terrible days, it turned out that the slogans were, well, nonsense, and the promises, as usual, meaningless.
As expected, Smotrich makes sure to allocate resources to the settlements at the expense of the periphery. Goldknopf and Deri are "social" only when it is necessary to increase the budgets, allowances and rights of the yeshivas and the rabbis’ cronies. Most Israelis - secular and traditional - are learning, once again, that they are the last in line, or in fact not in line at all, in receiving any favors from this government.
As expected, the Biden administration is not easily digesting Netanyahu's anti-democratic stew, and does not welcome in Washington the extremist figures who star in the government. Biden's blunt "no", when asked if he intends to invite Bibi soon, will echo for years to come in the annals of Israel-US relations.
As expected, instead of focusing on security challenges and the cost of living, Netanyahu and his partners indulged in a smug and drunken obsession with changing the foundations of the regime in Israel. The extremists teamed up with the psychos, and together with the cynics and the corrupt, and the wretched reticents, tried to hijack democracy and abuse it. The security, economic and social price has been terrible - three months of value destruction of the Israel brand.
As expected, disillusionment hurts. Israel is beginning to understand, perhaps for the first time, that even the ministers of the extreme right, who believe in forceful solutions, cannot work miracles. Even fanatics are unable to prevent terrible terrorist attacks and exhausting rocket barrages. Even the most experienced extortionists can not invent an economy in which more and more money is given to those who do not work and do not serve without raising taxes and imposing decrees on those who work and those who serve.
Is this another modest attempt to spread optimism? Not yet. The coming months will be unbearably difficult. Netanyahu and the Bibists will use every trick in the book to blame their failure on the leftist media, the deep state of the legal system, the treacherous opposition, and the anti-Semitic world. In recent years they have specialized in spreading lies and gaslighting. The poison is rampant. Therefore, the disillusionment is long and partial. But it has started.
Yoel Esteron is the Publisher of Calcalist
