The victory of the Netanyahu bloc and the defeat of the left are neither surprising nor the influential aspect of the election. There was one victor in this election – religious Zionist nationalism. Netanyahu will go. So will Ben-Gvir. Fascism is here to stay. It’s no longer just another political player on the field; it’s a worldview.
This is a dramatic, historic change. Fascism has come to pass. The big picture is that it has come in with a score of 14-0: 14 seats for fascism, 0 seats for the left. In a stinging defeat. Israel has adopted the worldview of the worst of its enemies. Let’s call it what it is: Ben-Gvirism is Kahanism is fascism.
We weren’t surprised. We were indifferent. We called budding fascism “processes” in the hope that they would continue forever, or at least wouldn’t bloom as long as we were around. But the 14-0 is not just a phase; it has already skipped over that whole phase. Processes are dynamic. They develop and advance, first to the Knesset, then to the cabinet, and then to your house.
Fascism is an old acquaintance. It has been here since 1967, maybe before. People were ashamed to call it that, but it was there at every step, even if we accepted it silently. Today there is no shame. Fascism is no longer a curse. Today you can call somebody a fascist and they won’t get insulted. Call us fascists if you feel like it, in Otzma Yehudit we don’t care, in the next election, Yigal Amir will get a spot on the ticket.
Just the way we legitimized Ben Gvir, we’ll legitimize fascism. We’ll convert it. We’ll take the far right, put a skullcap and ritual fringes on it and we’ll have Zionist-religious fascism. Umberto Eco defined fascism also as a deep affinity for tradition, an understanding of dissent as treason, an obsession for conspiracy and hero- and death-worship. The Jewish Zionist religious fascist has it all.
When the far right came into power in Italy, we didn’t panic and we didn’t call on the Jews to come and live in Israel. So what if 80 years ago Jews were murdered in its name? You’ll say we shouldn’t compare, and fascism has its beautiful sides too. They’ll appreciate patriotism, they’ll praise discipline.
Who is to blame for the victory of fascism here? Over the short term, commercial television, and over the long term – the education system. Television built Ben-Gvir as a jocular clown, a harmless gimmick, and gave him a platform that no politician has ever dreamed of. Now, when the genie is out of the bottle, he refuses to go back in. Don’t worry about television, it’s already preparing for the new masters, to bow down and suck up to them.
Commercial television’s fawning on fascism didn’t surprise us. We came prepared. For 75 years they dribbled fascism in the schools without calling it by name. “Love of country,” “settlement,” “far right.” They taught us that we are better than the whole world, but also its victims. Thanks to the connection between self-pity and arrogance, we did what democracy rejects and fascism accepts. Every education minister contributed to the advancement of fascism. Every curriculum reinforced it. They diluted it with ingredients meant to cloud its essence; “our right to the land” gave us the right to expel refugees and torment the occupied. Parents rubbed their eyes in disbelief: They went to sleep with good kids and woke up with shock troops. If they really want to know where their children got this evil from, they should go to their school and read the curriculum, check what they’re learning and especially what they’re not allowed to learn.
They will understand that you can teach 17-year-olds about human rights, justice and equality before the law when as soldiers they will be required to crush these values underfoot. You can’t teach equality in a conquering country and explain what a border is when you’re not allowed to mention the Green Line. Maybe it’s already too late. Maybe we missed our chance, and fascism can no longer be rooted out.
Like every fascist movement, it will use democratic tools to win; it will reflect the worldview of most of the public. Is it legitimate? But can fascism be legitimate in a democratic country?
The official entry of fascism into our lives is the real message of the election. They talk about Netanyahu’s trial, they talk about Lapid’s military service, and not about the elephant in the room. They evade it, they ignore it. After this election everyone must ask themselves if they are still proud to be Israelis.
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