Demanding Netanyahu Resign in the Middle of a War

Image from a previous rally (October) demanding Netanyahu resign (AA)

According to a news report I saw last night, there was some sort of rally attended by thousands of Israelis demanding Prime Minister Netanyahu resign over his mishandling the hostage situation. If you are a father, mother, son, daughter, wife, husband…. or any other close relatives of one of the hostages, I can’t say that I blame you for making that demand. If by now the leader of my government hasn’t been able to secure the release my family member from their  terrorist captors, I would be livid and would have been demanding his resignation last night right along with them.

I completely understand their pain and sympathize with their demands. But if Israel were to go the route of agreeing to the Hamas demands that the hostages be released no matter what the cost, it could easily mean giving in to the Hamas demand of a a permanent cease fire in exchange for the hostages. That in essence would be agreeing to let Hamas live another day and do as they promised. Which is to do October 7^th  over and over again until ‘Palestine is free from the river to the sea’. 

Israel can obviously not afford to do that. They need to keep their eye on the ball and keep fighting for  their very existence. If they stop now, they risk a genocide in far greater number than the Holocaust. There are over 7 million Jews living in Israel right now. 

I am absolutely convinced that that Israel's leaders - all of them, not just the Prime Minister - sympathize with the hostages’ families. They surely understand what must seem like the endless pain underscoring their demands.  I doubt they even blame them.

So as much as I understand and sympathize with their demand with Netanyahu to resign, I don’t think it would change a thing if he did. His likely successor, Benny Gantz, would probably not change a thing in Israel’s play book.  Although as Prime Minister, Netanyahu makes the final decision on what to prioritize and the conduct of the war.  I doubt there is any real difference between him and Gantz, or any of the other members of Israel’s war cabinet. I would be shocked if Gantz would agree to a permanent cease fire  under any circumstance – including getting the hostages back.

If one is not directly related or close to any of the actual hostages they would have to agree with Israel's choice about priorities even while sympathizing with the hostages families. That they are blaming Netanyahu for something they have to know Gantz and the rest of the war cabinet basically agrees with can only mean one thing. These are the same people that demanded Netanyahu resign before October 7^th. and that this was just another opportunity to do that.

If that’s the case (and I have no real way of knowing for certain that it is) then these people are placing politics about the welfare of their own country. The time to make those demands would be after Israel succeeds in its mission. Not now in the middle of a war for Israel’s very existence. They are using the hostage crisis as an excuse to resume those demands.  And it ought to stop right now!