ISRAEL’S ELECTION AND NUANCE

Israel’s deadlocked election last Tuesday demands a more nuanced view regarding the nation’s security and a more stable future.

Disclosure: I’m a Zionist. I have family in Israel. Carolyn and I have loved our visits. Now for the nuance.

Neither large multi-party block won the 61 Knesset seats required to form a government. The block headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) won 53. That headed by former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar) won 48.

Could either go over the top? Yes, particularly if they bring in the Arab parties which won a record 19 seats. But both men have said they won’t include Arab parties in their governments.

Will Netanyahu or Eisenkot make deals with smaller outlying parties? Will Netanyahu attack Iran and call for a unity government? Will Israelis face another election? I don’t know.

But I fear that whatever happens, Israeli politics will remain unstable. Thus the situation with Iran, Gaza and the West Bank will remain unstable.

Instability creates danger.

There’s a better way to approach the situation. Here, I acknowledge that better is not a synonym for surefire.

No question, Israel faces a continuing threat from Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. These Islamist entities want to replace the Jewish state with a Palestine “from the river to the sea.” In Hitler’s Germany, this status was known as Judenrein—Jew-free. Unfortunately, many countries in the world have no problem with this. Neither does the far-left anywhere.

But is the threat existential? Militarily, no. This again was made clear post-October 7.

In reality, the Iran/Hamas/Hezbollah strategy does not seek a military conquest of Israel. Impossible. Rather, it wages a continual war of terrorism and attrition. The goal: Goad Israel to over-react, isolate Israel from the world community, erode Israelis’ morale and prompt more Israelis to leave the country for better prospects (chiefly in Europe and the U.S.).

Sadly, Israel has played into this scenario. It maintains a dual strategy. One: Strike fear in Gaza and Lebanon with military attacks while also pursuing civilian violence—often government-condoned—in the West Bank. Two: Disregard world opinion.

Ordinary people in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank have every reason to fear Israel. Hamas and Hezbollah do not. The latter recognize Israel’s strength but remain dedicated to martyring themselves—and, in even greater numbers, their people. This induces an Israeli “whack-a-mole shampoo” response: Bomb, kill, repeat.

Peace remains elusive. Relations with the world worsen.

A new Israeli government needs a nuanced perspective to maintain security while recognizing that military force requires restraint. That relations with the rest of the world matter. That Israel can make the case for its existence—after all, it’s a sovereign member of the United Nations—and thus its right to defend itself while pursuing peace with justice for all.

Ultimately, Jerusalem must concede that the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank aren’t going anywhere absent ethnic cleansing, which would increase violence, war weariness and geopolitical isolation.

Israelis are angry and exhausted. But Israel is powerful enough to change its approach.

If last Tuesday’s election means anything, fauda (Arabic for chaos) will continue to mark Israeli politics and roil Israeli lives. Israel can and must do better.

There’s an old saying: From your lips to God’s ears. Hopefully so. Sadly, God doesn’t vote.

Order my new novel THE DOUBLE from amazon, barnesandnoble.com, iuniverse.com/bookstore—or from your favorite book store.