Never Waste a Serious Crisis

Anti government protestors in Jerusalem yesterday (JTA)

The mask is off. The current protests in Israel aren’t really about the hostages. Although protesters say they are - that is just a pretext for what they really want. Which is what they wanted well before Hamas  slaughtered their brethren and took hostages on October 7^th.  They want Netanyahu out. Lest anyone think I am exaggerating, here is what one of the protest organizers said: 

“First of all we want elections because we think this government is not representing the public and second of all we think it is not a good time to take a recess when the hostages are still there,” said Moshe Radman, a leader of the Jerusalem protest, according to the Times of Israel. 

The left in Israel is taking advantage of the legitimate blame the rest of the country places on Netanyahu for that day. Polls do in fact show that his popularity is at an all time low and he would lose the election in a landslide should it be held today. I guess they agree with former Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel who once said: 

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” 

I believe that this is exactly what’s going on. The same crowd protesting Netanyahu before October 7^th are protesting now. They are saying the same things. They want Netanyahu out and new elections.  All under the guise of freeing the hostages which they claim is not a Netanyahu priority. What a great opportunity Hamas has provided for the left wing Netanyahu haters.

Well if any of them - or their preferred leaders  - have a better idea for getting the hostages out, I’d sure like to hear it. I have not heard a single suggestion other than capitulating to all of the Hamas demands. To the best of my knowledge there is not a single Israeli leader – even those to the left of Netanyahu that thinks that’s a good idea.

They say Netanyahu doesn’t care about them enough. That he just wants to win the war. 

Do they really believe that if Netanyahu could get the hostages out that he wouldn’t do it? My gosh, if he could do that he would become a hero. That would vastly improve his chances of getting reelected. What kind of a fool – even a self serving fool - wouldn’t grab that opportunity? Netanyahu may be a self serving prime minister that has made many enemies in his own country and overseas, But he s certainly not a fool. If he could get the hostages out he would do so in heartbeat!

And another thing. Do they really think that their choice for prime minster – whoever that may be - will better be able to get the hostages released? 

No sir. These protesters care more about ousting Netanyahu than they do about the hostages. Sadly many of the hostage families are right there along side them. While their concern for the hostages is obviously very genuine. I am convinced that their hatred of Netanyahu is equally genuine and preceded October 7^th.  They were surely among those protesting Netanyahu then and are continuing it now 

I for one do not believe that Netaayhu cares only about himself. He may be self serving in many ways. But he cares deeply about his people and his country. You cannot be the longest serving prime minister in Israel’s  history if you only think about yourself.  To the extent that some of what he does is self serving – that does not necessarily mean it won’t benefit his people. Both can be true.

This is not to say that I would necessarily support Netanyahu in the next election. But for me that is beside the point. Having elections in the middle of an existential war is a prescription for disaster. As I have said numerous times, Israel cannot lose focus on its mission. Anything that would distract them from that should be avoided. It’s too bad the left half of Israel and the US don’t seem to understand that. Thankfully the right half of Israel and America do.