{"id":23187,"date":"2020-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/regthink\/coronavirus-crisis-in-the-service-of\/"},"modified":"2023-05-29T11:52:31","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T11:52:31","slug":"coronavirus-crisis-in-the-service-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regthink.org\/en\/coronavirus-crisis-in-the-service-of\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus crisis in the service of a ruthless leader"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Prime Minister Netanyahu&#8217;s press conference last Saturday made it clear that we should all be afraid, very afraid, of the political threat looming over us &#8211; which is no less dangerous than the national health crisis created by the coronavirus.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Some Israelis see true leadership in Netanyahu&#8217;s handling of this unprecedented health scare. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">They forget that in recent years, the prime minister has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Netanyahu works for himself only. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Everyone in the healthcare system and across the political board knows that public healthcare in Israel has been in a <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/taubcenter.org.il\/2019-the-healthcare-system-an-overview\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">terrible downward spiral<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> for some time. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Netanyahu has done nothing to fix it, since pressing questions on the subject <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/.premium-netanyahu-lashes-out-at-heckler-you-re-boring-us-1.6567731\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">&#8220;bore us&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> . <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The governments he has headed, breaking a national record for successive terms in office while retaining <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/netanyahu-said-set-to-give-up-4-ministry-portfolios-after-charges-announced\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">several important portfolios<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> along with the premiership, have neglected the <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/Israel-News\/Israel-invests-less-in-healthcare-than-most-other-OECD-country-607185\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">vital services<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> the state is supposed to provide its citizens.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Apparently, run-of-the-mill Israelis bore Netanyahu. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">We are supposed to be grateful to Mr. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">National Security for <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/pms-iran-tweet-ignites-social-media\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">life itself<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> , regardless of its quality. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Does that make sense? <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Sure &#8211; in an authoritarian regime.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Netanyahu has already demonstrated his willingness to trample every law, procedure and custom underfoot. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Now, he is even ready to exploit a true crisis to stay in power. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">That is our prime minister, and that has been his modus operandi in recent years. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The right understands this just as well as the left does. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The honest among them even admit it &#8211; but as Netanyahu is serving their ideology, they have no bone to pick with him. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">On the contrary: let him do everything he can, which is actually anything he wants, to keep the \u201ctraitorous left\u201d and the Arabs away from power.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Any clear-minded Israeli has not a single reason to believe Netanyahu will act with integrity and responsibility during this crisis. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Over the last year, Bibi has installed yet more puppets in positions of power, some as ministers, all of them devoted to a single cause: keeping him in power at all costs. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Actions that were legally, politically and publicly unthinkable five years ago became possible a year ago. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Things that seemed impossible a year ago became reality a month ago. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">What was preposterous until last week is now unfolding before our very eyes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Israel&#8217;s current reality is best described as an authoritarian regime headed by a single ruler who is exploiting a true crisis to take unprecedented measures to cement his power, trampling basic civil rights in the name of \u201cfighting the coronavirus\u201d. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">If the Knesset, including the Sub-Committee on Intelligence and Secret Services and former chiefs of staff, refuses to play along with emergency regulations that bypass parliamentary oversight &#8211; they are all overridden <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/.premium-israeli-coronavirus-surveillance-who-s-tracking-you-and-what-happens-with-the-data-1.8685383\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">\u201cin the name of urgency\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> . <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Yes-men inserted in crucial positions in advance thwart a <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/blue-and-white-petitions-high-court-against-edelsteins-closure-of-knesset\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">democratic procedure<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> to replace the Knesset speaker even though it is backed by a parliamentary majority &#8211; a principle Netanyahu&#8217;s regime touted until recently as the ultimate expression of \u201cthe wish of the people\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Our neighbors in the Middle East are authoritarian states, and we have been sliding into a <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/Israel-News\/Is-Israels-democracy-in-crisis-591119\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">similar situation<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> in recent years. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The corona pandemic, which erupted in the middle of the worst political crisis in Israeli history, is speeding this process up. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Democracies have crumbled, or failed to rise, in many countries throughout history. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Israel and its citizens are not immune to a similar fate. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">In fact, we have never been more vulnerable, after years of the dangerous, unruly rule of Netanyahu&#8217;s Likud party.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Now Netanyahu is telling us stories. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Every evening, on prime-time TV, he regales the public with tales of his brilliant crisis management, as his obsequious ministers gaze upon him adoringly. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">The truth is that the ones managing crisis after crisis are Israel&#8217;s civil servants, who are still loyal to their professional responsibility because Netanyahu and his people have not yet replaced them with yes-men, as they have in other institutions. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Netanyahu and his lackeys in the ministries of justice, health, foreign affairs and &#8220;strategic threats&#8221; &#8211; and let&#8217;s not forget former minister and current sycophant Ayoob Kara, who has us all waiting with baited breath for his <\/span><\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ayoobkara\/status\/1231292499509022722\">Evgeny machine<\/a>&#8220;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">to save us &#8211; are the terrifying mask hiding the people who continue to grit their teeth and work quietly. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">If the citizens of Israel are being saved from anything, it is thanks to the civil servants and healthcare workers collapsing for lack of resources, and in spite of Netanyahu&#8217;s smug puppets.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Netanyahu is a ruler, not a leader. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">If he were a leader, <\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/taubcenter.org.il\/a-wellness-check-of-israels-hospital-system\/\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">our hospitalization system<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> would not be in a permanent state of dysfunction, and our healthcare system would be capable of running <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/.premium-israel-health-ministry-s-refusal-to-ok-tests-leads-to-dumping-of-samples-1.8675058\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">comprehensive coronavirus tests<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">to allow the government to prepare for what lies ahead based on real data. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Since he is a ruler, Israel&#8217;s healthcare system is flailing in the face of the coronavirus, and the steps that are being taken are technological surveillance of citizens and suspension of the court system. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">That is how an authoritarian ruler thinks, and especially Mr. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">National Security, whose has always spoken the language of security above all. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">At first it was only against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Then it was against Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have not been spared his criminal incitement against them and their elected politicians even at a time of national crisis. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Now, it&#8217;s our turn. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Yay.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">If any center-left opposition remains in Israel, it will refuse to enter Netanyahu&#8217;s government under the terms of surrender he is offering. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Gantz and Lieberman are already giving encouraging signals in that direction, and other senior politicians and government officials who once worked with Netanyahu &#8211; Ya&#8217;alon, Lapid, Hendel &#8211; know exactly how he operates. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">We can only hope that the non-Bibi bloc will move to immediately topple his government, and until then support it externally to ensure careful management of the crisis. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">At the same time, let us hope that Netanyahu&#8217;s many rivals and opponents will put up a sturdy fight against his persistent attempts to cement his authoritarian rule on the wings of a global pandemic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">If Netanyahu were a true leader, if Israel and its citizens were truly his top concern, he would offer the Joint List a place in his emergency government. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">That could start healing the rifts between the various segments of the Israeli population he has turned against each other in recent years &#8211; Arabs, Jews, Druze, religious and non-believers, the ultra-Orthodox, the left and the right. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">But Netanyahu is not a leader, and he does not care about us. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">He is a cynical ruler who will do anything it takes to fortify his power. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">So far, he has practiced separation in order to rule; <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">if we let him, he will introduce surveillance in order to rule. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Hopefully, the centrist Blue-White and the left-wing parties will not forget that.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">If you think this is delusional, just listen to all the people suffering anxiety after prolonged exposure to Netanyahu &#8211; that is, half the citizens of Israel. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">This interminable prime minister, whose time and practices in power are beginning to look a lot like those of Arab rulers, has reduced Israelis to mistrusting every step his government takes and assuming they are merely another corrupt power grab. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">What is truly frightening is that the last few years have proven every delusional scenario about Netanyahu eventually becoming a reality. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">He really is ruthless.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">That is Netanyahu&#8217;s &#8216;leadership style&#8217;. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">It&#8217;s just about the last thing a country needs when dealing with a pandemic. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Food for thought for anyone admiring Bibi&#8217;s &#8216;crisis management&#8217;.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Dr. <\/span><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Assaf David is the academic director of the Forum for Regional Thinking<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Translated by Michelle Bubis<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Originally <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.haokets.org\/2020\/03\/17\/%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%98-%D7%97%D7%A1%D7%A8-%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">published<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"> on Haoketz (Hebrew)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Netanyahu&#8217;s press conference last Saturday made it clear that we should all be afraid, very afraid, of the political threat looming over us &#8211; which is no less dangerous than the national health crisis created by the coronavirus. Some Israelis see true leadership in Netanyahu&#8217;s handling of this unprecedented health scare. They forget [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[315],"tags":[196],"class_list":["post-23187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-196"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Coronavirus crisis in the service of a ruthless leader | The Regional Thinking Forum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u05d4\u05e4\u05d5\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd \u05dc\u05d7\u05e9\u05d9\u05d1\u05d4 \u05d0\u05d6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05ea \u05e7\u05dd \u05d1\u05de\u05d8\u05e8\u05d4 \u05dc\u05d7\u05d5\u05dc\u05dc \u05e9\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05d9 \u05d1\u05d0\u05d5\u05e4\u05df \u05d1\u05d5 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