I was asked by numerous followers and subscribers what I thought about the C19 situation is Israel and its implications for us here in the US and perhaps even world-wide. A few months ago I wrote about the topic at some length and thought I’d just dust off and edit the old article. I quickly realized that much has happened since I wrote the piece and I find myself compelled to start from scratch. There was a fair bit of pushback on the previous article; many were unhappy with my characterization of Israeli citizenry vis-a-vis the Zionist underpinning of Israeli polity. I’ll try to be more precise this time.
Without delving into the hellishly complicated Middle East politics, let’s just agree on a couple of historical facts. The original impetus for the modern state of Israel started with the young Viennese journalist, Theodore Herzl. Herzl witnessed the Alfred Dreyfuss trial in Paris [French Army Captain Alfred Dreyfuss was wrongly accused of treason, demoted and exiled] and the enormous wave of anti-Semitism that followed, in a country that he and all his European Jewish contemporaries had considered a beacon of enlightenment. The ferocity of anti-Semitic fury that arose during the trial shook Herzl to the core and he devoted the rest of his relatively short life to re-establishing a Jewish homeland in the geographic location of ancient Hebrew kingdoms, a territory held by the Turkish Sultan at the time. It took Herzl, his followers and the early settlers a little over 53 years to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine (by then held by the British) - from December 1894 to May 1948. Really a stunning success and meteoric speed, all things considered. Most Jews have always thought of that little scrap of land their ancient home. For two thousand years, we have prayed at every Passover dinner: “We were slaves to the Pharaoh in Egypt and now we are a free nation. Next year in Jerusalem” No wonder that Herzl is a Messianic figure in Israel till this very day. He had a lot of help and there were already Jews living in Jerusalem, Safed, Acre, Jaffa and other places but his incredible stamina, clear-eyed goal and vehement drive are what created modern Israel.
After the Holocaust, there was a huge wave of survivors that landed in Israel, only to be issued a rifle and thrown into the War of Independence in 1948. Another wave arrived in the form of Jewish refugees expelled from Middle Eastern and North African Muslim countries. Throughout the 1950’s, 1960’s and up until the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the consensus in Israel was unshakeable: no matter which party was in power (until 1977 it was always the Labor Party), an Israeli government embodied the realization of the Zionist dream. This dream was best exemplified by the kibbutzim, which contributed a disproportionate number of elite officers and Navy and Marine commandos to the IDF. The country labored together, laughed together, worked the fields together, fought wars together and - in Israelis’ mind - the government would never do anything shady, corrupt or harmful to the Israeli people. That was an unthinkable thought. A heresy. The government of Israel was the guardian of the dream for those who lived there and for those who wanted to settle there. That was axiomatic. It was a very collectivist way of thinking. It stemmed partly from the early Labor party settlers who had been enamored by quite a few Russian socialist ideas, and partly by total fealty to the Jewish project. Everyone served in the IDF: three years for men, two years for women. To question the idea of service was would make you a social outcast. Not unheard of today but never even mentioned between the 1940s to the 1970s. If you lived in Israel, your body and soul belonged to the country. If you didn’t live in Israel, you were reminded via Zionist emissaries all over the world that you should. Please note: I am NOT passing judgement. I am a devoted Zionist myself. I believe Jews deserve a country like any other nation and that that country is Israel. I’m merely sketching the background to today’s complex situation.
The idea that “kol Israel chaverim” - “all of Israel are friends” is still very strong in the country. Nothing will bring back hordes of Israelis back home from a comfy life in L.A. like a new armed conflict. They will board every available plane, get home, throw on their drab olive uniform, grab an assault rifle and throw themselves into combat - be it in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon. The country calls and they are ready. It’s difficult for non-Israelis to truly grasp this kind of devotion. It is religious in nature, even though 80 percent of the returning combatants will eat pork, smoke on the Shabbat and disregard religion in every form. Their devotion to the collective is absolute. Israel safeguards their (our) freedom and they will fight for Israel at a drop of a hat.
When Covid hit, the same spirit was pervasive in the country and, to a very large degree still is. Why would the government, the guardians of our collective dream, lie to us? Benjamin Netanyahu, an experienced, combat-hardened fighter, member of an elite assault unit in the 70’s…why would he not be telling the truth to his people? If he says we need to be vaccinated, then who are we to argue?
Of course, the problem is that Netanyahu - and most certainly his successor Naftali Bennet, a faceless apparatchik if ever there was one - are no Ben Gurion or Golda Meir. These are cold, calculating politicians, not immune to grift and backdoor deals. Today, it looks like the international pharma giant Pfizer owns the country of Israel. If Pfizer says two shots - it’ll be two shots. If Pfizer says 10, it’ll be 10. I have no idea how this came to be and the world will probably not know until long after Netanyahu’s passing - but there was a deal made, turning the nation of Israel into Pfizer’s living, breathing laboratory. The experiment has gone awry. The data we’re getting is terribly discouraging - both politically for the state of Israel and medically for Israel and the wider world.
I am no medical expert. My aim in this piece is to illuminate the relationship between the citizens of the country and their government. It’s nothing like in the United States or the UK. The relationship is much closer, much more symbiotic. It’s one of Israel’s incredible paradoxes: on the one hand there are many independent thinkers, many members of the Knesset who will fight opposition party members like lions and won’t even shy away from fisticuffs. Israeli press is normally much more feisty, aggressive and oppositional than the press in the US. And yet, we now see this paradox, this reverting to the early Zionist faith in the leadership, this complete obedience. I don’t have the numbers handy but I believe that if in the US 40-50% of the population does not buy into the Covid hysteria, and perhaps up to 20% in Australia (a country totally bamboozled by its CCP-infected communist wannabe dictators), the number in Israel is perhaps 10%, possibly substantially less. Just a guess on my part, based on anecdotal family evidence. I have about ten cousins in Israel, ranging in age from 30 - 75. I have four friends in Tel Aviv, all close high school buddies. Every single one believes the government line. They may quibble with a detail here or there, but they all believe in the “bee sting” as they call it, and they all believe the government will lead them out of the mess…or at least they do not voice their doubts out loud.
It’s sad state of affairs for me to see Prime Minister Bennet use phrases Mussolini would have happily used and propaganda methods Stalin would have been proud of (I do not mention Nazi names on principle - a subject for a different piece) Even sadder that the population, including my friends and family, do not want to see the dictatorship in whose grip they find themselves. For our part, we in the US and across the world, must understand the data coming out of Israel for what it is, and adjust our policies accordingly. So far I see no evidence of it.