Political Spinner

Signs of stress are showing recently at the core of Israel ’s political class: Israeli politicians are starting to internalize America ’s changing attitude toward the Jewish state. The pleasant self-denial time is gradually fading away, and a prickly sense of reality is visiting Jerusalem . Israel ’s leaders, for their part, are trying to relieve some of the pressure by attempting to remove some of the smaller, less significant “illegal posts” on the West Bank, and in doing so provide a good demonstration of one simple fact that all of us should start internalizing – Israel is no longer governable.

I know that it sounds harsh, and I know that on the face of it the country appears to have all the artifacts of a working, functioning democracy. But those of us who have been watching the establishing, running and execution style of the current government will have to admit that the signs of ungovernability are all over, and they are difficult to ignore.

The first signs of a systemic problem showed up a while back, when Netanyahu was assembling his government. Essentially, the process, which is always chaotic and full of emotions, appeared on the surface to be organized, even calm (in as much as you can use this term in a Middle East context). But the truth is that the process was anything but organized and calm; in reality, the process included Netanyahu accepting the near-blackmail terms of every potential coalition member, resulting in the construction of a monstrous government, the largest in Israeli history, including six (6) ministers without portfolio, and without (I repeat, without) a minister of health. Anybody with eyes in her/his head should have known right then and there that this is a national joke, not a government; but denial is a national sport in Israel, and most observers managed to close their eyes to this signal as well.

Then came the fantastically delusional period where Israeli politicians managed to pretend (and convince the country) that nothing changed in the relations between the US and its client state. Since most people here view George W. Bush as Israel ’s biggest fan and friend (despite the fact that he brought Iran to where it is now), a continuation of the status quo was seen as a good thing here. That was despite persistent signs from Washington that things are changing, that Israel’s little sly games of lying to the world and to America about the settlements, and continuing to do whatever it wants in the West Bank, will not go unnoticed, uncommented and without response any more.

Netanyahu flew to Washington , had the riot act read to him personally by President Obama, and still did not internalize anything. His (Netanyahu’s) spokespersons and spin doctors (he has a whole hospital of them, despite having no Minister of Health) told us that America loves Israel, that America understands Israel, and the America will not get upset when Israel continues to spit in its foreign policy face. Israeli President, Mr. Peres, cruised the world’s capitals telling everybody that Netanyahu is actually a peace dove, in a hawk’s camouflage, and that any minute now we’ll see him launching himself and his country on a sure course of reconciliation. How endearing (and delusional).

But this time America refuses to buy Israel ’s clichés, platitudes and lies. Gradually, and consistently, America keeps telling Israel to wake up and face the music. Still, reality has not been sinking in. So Israeli politicians decided to throw Uncle Sam a bon, remove a few “illegal outpost” (what’s the difference between them and legal outposts?). Well, they have been trying for the last two weeks. I say trying, because that’s what it boils down to – mostly unsuccessful attempts to demonstrate control, highlighted by the fact that each “removed” post gets reconstructed and re-established within days, sometimes hours after its “removal”. Not only that, settlers are embarking on a policy of retaliation against Palestinians, the Israeli army and Israeli police, in an attempt to demonstrate the “price tag” that each attempt to change the status quo ante carries with it.

And all this, before the real show even started. The inability of the Israel ’s government to impose its authority on its settlers constituency is the beginning of a new reality show that is going to visit the Middle East and the rest of the world. Before long, the delusional talk about a “two state solution” will meet the reality of two elements: the inability to revise the situation in the West Bank , and the fact that what we have here is a theological conflict. Once the world’s and the region’s politicians internalize these facts (and a few essential others), there will be a chance for a realistic thinking and acting toward some solution in the Middle East . Unfortunately, as we know, this awakening usually comes in the aftermath of a huge bloodbath. That one’s apparently coming too.