Israel’s fanatics prefer a religious kingdom to a democratic state.
Diss the fanatics who run Israel all you want, but pay attention to what they have to say. They are open about their racial and ideological bigotry, unlike their coalition partner, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
These blunt-speaking maniacs speak their minds and carry them out. Their candor is refreshing in the way it dispels the myth of a secular, liberal, and enlightened Israel, even though their vision may be disastrous, if not catastrophic.
Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionism party and Israel’s new finance minister, is one of the country’s most prominent fanatics. He responded sarcastically in response to a recording of him confessing to being a fascist recently going public:
“My word is my bond, whether I’m a far-right individual, a homophobe, a racist, or a fascist.”
Yes, that is true. and even more.
He and other zealots hold the following beliefs: First and foremost, Israel cannot and should not be both democratic and Jewish. Second, Israel owns all of what they refer to as “the Land of Israel,” also known as historic Palestine; thirdly, Israel ought to steer clear of the liberal West’s practices and reject American directives and offers.
Let’s take each of these treasures one by one.
Today’s fanatics regret that the early Zionists failed to eliminate all Palestinians from the “Jewish State.” They think it was wrong for their ancestors to expel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1947-1949, but they were right to let a small minority stay behind or grow in numbers and power.
So, what should I do?
In a book published in 1980 with the apt title “They Must Go,” Rabbi Meir Kahane, the departed guru of many of today’s fanatics, argued that the Palestinians are a “cancer” in the body of the “Jewish State” that must be removed by any means necessary.
His followers today, like Itamar Ben-Gvir, the minister of national security, also think that Israel would be better off without its Palestinian citizens. However, they think that if the Palestinians have to stay, they will only be second- or third-class citizens who will swear to be completely loyal to their Jewish masters.
Kahane’s supporters boast of Jewish supremacy in the “Jewish State,” in contrast to their political and ideological partner, Netanyahu, who helped pass the racist law “Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People” in 2018 but continues to promote the debunked phrase.
In point of fact, according to Kahane himself, “Those who refuse to give the Arab that right but tell him he is equal think he is a fool.” It is not so. He is not, in fact.
The Palestinian Arab is aware that Israel must be a true democracy in order to be at peace with itself and its neighbors, in contrast to the Jewish fanatic who believes Israel must be a theocracy or the foolish and delusional liberal who believes Israel could be Jewish and democratic.
The second point comes from this. When it comes to fighting for the Almighty, Israel’s fanatics, like those of every other religious group, hold that “the end justifies the means.” This includes the forced reconsecration or Judaization of Jerusalem and its holy sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, despite its catastrophic consequences and disregard for peace and coexistence.
