Extreme right-wing politics are considered mainstream in Israel today


What’s the difference?

Naim Mousa writes in Mondoweiss:

With Election Day in Israel less than two months away, parties are feeling more pressure than ever to garner support for the third election in less than a year.

It has been clear for a long time that there is no distinction between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his main challenger, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party. Indeed, when it comes to issues and policies regarding Palestinian, either citizens of Israel or those in the occupied Palestinian territory, the two were in complete agreement with each other. Gantz not only echoed and supported Netanyahu’s promise to annex parts of the West Bank last fall but in fact took credit for it, stating “We’re glad Netanyahu came to his senses and adopted Blue and White’s plan for recognition of the Jordan Valley, ”reflecting an overt Israeli consensus on a one-state solution. It was undeniable that Gantz’s image as a leader who will bring change and progress to the country was a fallacy. Gantz is nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Furthermore, the recent merger of center-left party Meretz with Labor-Gesher signaled yet another change in the political map in the country. Meretz was the only Jewish party that took a position against the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, a position that will surely be dropped in the deal. However, in a trend over the past decade or so, Meretz has consistently shifted closer to the center, a process that has been echoed across the board in Israel. The merger of Meretz with Labor-Gesher marked the official end of progressive, Jewish left-wing politics in Israel, leaving the Joint List, an alliance of Palestinian Arab parties, led by the joint Arab-Jewish Hadash party, as the sole voice for the progressive, left-wing base in the country.

Still, a recent development has trumped all others in cementing the Joint List’s status as the sole progressive, left-wing voice in Israel. Netanyahu has grown increasingly desperate in his efforts to maintain support. While a narrow majority of Israelis surveyed by the Israeli Democracy Institute said they want him to resign in the wake of his corruption indictment, his base has not budged. He outlasted an internal Likud election and his support and popularity remained steady among voters according to January polls from Channel 12 and 13. But to do so, he engaged in constant incitement and hate-filled rhetoric against Palestinians.

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