Il suicidio di Israele

Israel was already going through a period of dramatic crisis before the criminal attack of 7 October 2023. Large demonstrations were calling for the resignation of Netanyahu and his government, and the country was practically paralysed. However, Israel’s response to Hamas’ terrorist act with the Gaza war risks being tantamount to suicide. On the one hand, we have the regression of Zionism, or rather Zionisms: from the original form at the end of the 19th century, through the liberal form favourable to peace with the Arabs, to the growth of the extremist settler movement and the assassination of Rabin. On the other hand, the rest of the Jewish world – the American and European diasporas – is today confronted with growing anti-Semitism which, contrary to Netanyahu’s propaganda, is not the same thing as anti-Zionism, but which certainly draws inspiration and fuel from the events of the Gaza war. To save Israel, it is necessary to counter the Jewish supremacism of the current Netanyahu government with the idea that the State of Israel must exercise equal rights for all its citizens and must end the occupation by promoting the creation of a Palestinian state. Any support for Israel’s rights – existence, security – cannot be separated from that of the Palestinians. Without a different policy towards the Palestinians, Hamas cannot be defeated but will continue to rise from its ashes. It will not be weapons that defeat Hamas, but politics.