Maariv: Netanyahu has lost control... and a state of madness threatens to bring down the State of Israel
Under the headline “Netanyahu Has Lost Control – Madness Threatens to Topple the State of Israel,” Avi Ashkenazi, the military affairs analyst for the newspaper Ma’ariv, wrote that Israel is currently being run by a prime minister who “has lost his brakes, which are supposed to limit his power.”
He added, “If the State of Israel were a flesh-and-blood human being, rather than a state entity, it would likely have been rushed to the intensive care unit of one of the largest medical centers. Doctors would have been asked to fight to save his life by administering resuscitation drugs, detoxifying agents, and antidotes for hostile foreign substances damaging his immune system, while isolating him from his surroundings to prevent further injuries that could determine the fate of a man standing on the brink of systemic collapse.”
He emphasized that the State of Israel “is not a sick person, but a state entity facing systemic collapse, home to 10 million citizens. For nearly 80 years, it has been managed as a thriving democracy, thanks, among other things, to several fundamental pillars: mutual commitment among all segments of society, official institutions such as the army, police, Shin Bet, Mossad, the Prison Service, an independent judiciary, and professional, responsible, and reliable media.”
He noted that the Israeli government is currently being run by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “who has not only lost his moral compass but also his brakes, which were supposed to limit the unchecked power vested in him when he assumed office nearly four years ago. What has been happening in the Knesset in recent days, prior to its dissolution, is nothing less than a liquidation of state institutions, security, and values. Here is a selection of manifestations of the moral bankruptcy of government members within a single day.”
He continued, “It began with the law equating Torah scholars with Israeli Defense Forces soldiers. It continued when the government ignored Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir’s warnings. In response, Knesset member Tally Gotliv announced that Netanyahu was maneuvering to remove her from the Likud list because he knew she caused repeated embarrassment and could harm the party’s image in elections. She, for her part, decided to respond to the Chief of Staff’s warning by attacking him and demanding his dismissal.”
Ashkenazi added, “It continued when Defense Minister Israel Katz dug up the case of soldier Elor Azaria from the archives. This case had nearly shattered public trust in military leadership and damaged the ethical values of IDF soldiers. Contrary to the positions of the Chief of Staff, the Military Advocate General, and the head of the Manpower Directorate, Katz turned to the President of the State and recommended granting Azaria a pardon and expunging his criminal record, despite Azaria having taken no responsibility and shown no remorse.”
Then came what the author described as Transportation Minister Miri Regev’s media maneuver, “who decided to exploit the US Air Force by preventing refueling planes from landing at Ben Gurion Airport. Fortunately, the Americans were somewhat more serious than the group of weak ministers sitting in Jerusalem. They showed resolve, and after about two hours, the airport was reopened to refueling planes participating in combat operations against Iran.”
Ashkenazi believes that “the aircraft saga embodies all the emptiness and failure that characterize the current government. True, these planes occupy spaces in the airport’s aprons, and the current security situation is not normal. The Ministry of Transportation, the Civil Aviation Authority, and the Airports Authority were expected to think outside the box. It would have been possible, under temporary directives for the next two months, to open Ben Gurion Airport for takeoffs and landings around the clock, even during the late-night hours, by offering economic incentives to airlines to shift their flight schedules to the airport’s off-peak hours. It would also have been possible to encourage arrivals and departures via Ramon Airport, and even via Haifa Airport.”
He wrote, “But what is easier? Launching a media maneuver in the morning and harvesting a headline that serves the Likud primary elections. And before evening fell, the Defense Minister was attacking the Finance Minister and the Ministry of Finance for refusing to allocate the state budget’s most valuable portion—the budget for rehabilitating wounded soldiers.”
Following all that, the government led a “anti-Zionist” vote, according to the author, granting immunity from arrest to those who had failed to perform military service.
Ashkenazi concluded, “The problem with this serious deterioration that the State of Israel is experiencing is that the 25th Knesset will continue its work until Friday. The second problem is that the Likud primary elections are still ahead of us, and no one knows how far the competitors will push Israel into further deterioration, both in terms of security and morality, and perhaps even cause serious damage to the military and other security agencies.”
