> > w this email in your browser > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=be1a1578fc&e=dab5c3fd19> > > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=a0a072a907&e=dab5c3fd19> > July > 3, 2024 > [image: Orly Noy] > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=a6c0049068&e=dab5c3fd19> > Orly Noy > > Toward an anti-fascist front in Israel > > “What’s happening to you?” That’s the question Yoana Gonen posed, in her > recent column > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=a97ce77b7f&e=dab5c3fd19> > for Haaretz, to the so-called “leftists” vowing to vote for Israel’s > right-wing former prime minister, Naftali Bennett. The fact that such a > trend exists is bewildering, but the answer to Gonen’s question is clear. > What is happening to these “leftists” is the same thing that’s happening to > all of Israeli society: a profound and accelerating slide toward fascism. > > Nine months into a war with no end in sight, the Israeli revenge campaign > in the besieged, starved, and devastated Gaza Strip continues apace. This > is despite the unprecedented number of casualties, the significant > diplomatic cost, and the genocidal war crimes > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=d3e7da956a&e=dab5c3fd19> > in Gaza, for which arrest warrants hover > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=d4a9a526b6&e=dab5c3fd19> > over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. > > It’s very difficult for a society stuck in a continuous state of trauma to > evaluate or even notice the transformations it is undergoing in real time. > The Israeli public is still recovering from the shock of October 7, and > while the world keeps its eyes on Gaza — and rightly so — Israelis’ > attention remains focused elsewhere: on the hostages still trapped in Gaza > and soldiers killed there; those evacuated from their homes in the north > and the south; the shattered economy; and a war in the north that could > break out at any moment. > > But it’s impossible to ignore how Israel has adopted a new national ethos > under the auspices of this war — one that completely abandons any lip > service to the idea of democracy in favor of fascist values. > > Since the start of the war, the Knesset has exploited the chaos and > confusion among the public to advance a series of extreme anti-democratic > laws > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=2441b179df&e=dab5c3fd19>. > “The IDF and Shin Bet Certification Law” makes it easier for these bodies > to penetrate private computers used to operate CCTV cameras and to erase, > alter, or disrupt materials on them, without the knowledge of the > computer’s owner and without permission from a court. A recent amendment to > the “Fighting Terrorism Law” criminalizes the prolonged consumption of > content produced by Hamas or ISIS, punishable by one year in prison. > > The “Likes Law” bill seeks to penalize the mere act of “liking” social > media posts that “incite terror”, while another proposed law would expand > the Shin Bet’s surveillance of teachers > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=d869e35dc0&e=dab5c3fd19>. > And to these we must add the forced closure of Al Jazeera’s offices, which > only increased the appetite of Israeli ministers to promote a law > permitting them to shut down Israeli media outlets without any limitations. > > Another particularly alarming manifestation of this slide toward fascism > is the transformation of the police into a body of henchmen that almost > exclusively serves the interests of the government and its worldview. > Instead of protecting Israeli citizens, police are cracking down on those > who protest the government and the war — even those demanding to bring the > hostages home — while also inflicting horrifying violence on demonstrators > during detention and imprisonment. > > The police have arrested hundreds of Palestinian citizens of Israel > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=4c191366d6&e=dab5c3fd19> > for expressing solidarity with their people in Gaza, opposing the war, or > participating in nonviolent protests. And the appalling treatment of > Palestinian prisoners and detainees is a category unto itself, with > mounting, chilling evidence of what takes place inside the Sde Teiman > detention center > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=a15ca0b0f6&e=dab5c3fd19> > and other prison facilities > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=5da8c8389b&e=dab5c3fd19> > . > > An equally worrying transformation is occurring among ordinary citizens, > who are reporting to the authorities their colleagues, neighbors, > classmates, schoolteachers, and professors who have dared to deviate from > the monolithic national narrative. Teachers like Meir Baruchin > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=a41892a18a&e=dab5c3fd19> > have been fired; Dr. Anat Matar has faced a despicable campaign against her > for eulogizing > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=ce841c22b6&e=dab5c3fd19> > Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa; and the National Union of Israeli > Students is proposing a law to mandate the dismissal of any academic who > questions Israel’s character as a “Jewish and democratic state.” > > The examples of genocidal statements from elected officials are too > numerous to tally, but plenty of them were presented by South Africa > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=9f7785b709&e=dab5c3fd19> > in its genocide case against Israel in The Hague in January. More recently, > Rabbi Eliyahu Mali — the head of a religious school in Jaffa — suggested in > March that Judaism dictates that all the residents of Gaza should be killed > (the police have recommended closing the case > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=e06b56cb50&e=dab5c3fd19>). > And just last month, former Likud MK Moshe Feiglin argued > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=76da0ad042&e=dab5c3fd19> > that, just as Hitler said that he couldn’t sleep so long as even a single > Jew remained in the world, so too can Israelis “not live in this country if > a single Islamo-Nazi remains in Gaza.” > > Then there is the explicitly fascist language that has become part of most > Israelis’ everyday parlance: calls for genocidal violence flood social > media networks in Hebrew, and the Israeli authorities don’t object or even > lift a finger to try to stop it. > > One day — and who knows how much more destruction and death will be > wrought before this day comes — the war will end. Israeli society will > emerge more violent, more nationalist, more militaristic, and more openly > fascist. But right now, we must begin preparing for this day by building a > broad anti-fascist front that can curb the worst impulses of this new > society and chart a different path forward. > > The Jewish center-left must understand that what was can no longer be. The > camp that paid lip service to the idea of democracy only to more firmly > establish > Jewish supremacy > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=fdbe26c163&e=dab5c3fd19> > between the river and the sea has almost entirely disappeared > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=c935463e19&e=dab5c3fd19> > from the political map. It is certainly not up to the task of leading an > anti-fascist front. > > It cannot be led by Benny Gantz, the bellicose general > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=1c62360632&e=dab5c3fd19> > who time and time again has saved Netanyahu’s political career, and who > joined the prime minister’s war cabinet in October only to leave it > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=ecd44cd308&e=dab5c3fd19> > criminally late and without any serious rebuke. Nor will it be led by Yair > Golan, the new chair of the Labor-Meretz merger known as “The Democrats” > and a rising star on the Zionist left, who hastened to clarify that he is > ready > to sit down and talk > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=d5e7320d89&e=dab5c3fd19> > with Likud and Mansour Abbas > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=1efdf0fa69&e=dab5c3fd19> > but not with other Arab parties. And it won’t be led by Yair Lapid > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=b979c5fc64&e=dab5c3fd19>, > for whom even Abbas is not good enough to serve as minister, and who > dismisses all Palestinian parties in one fell swoop. > > The anti-fascist front that must arise here can only be led by Palestinian > citizens — not only because no other political camp comes close to matching > their record of struggle against Israeli fascism, but because no one else > has a coherent political vision, based on the values substantive democracy > and full equality, as Palestinian citizens have articulated in various > party platforms and civil society statements > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=ffd38be1d2&e=dab5c3fd19> > . > > Today, after the shock of October 7 that has convulsed Israeli society, > decent citizens are faced with an existential choice. They can continue to > cling to the idea of “Jewish and democratic” Israel, a dangerous deception > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=766b4dc2d2&e=dab5c3fd19> > that masks an increasingly fascist ethnocratic state. Or they can strive > for a substantial democracy, without which Israeli society will irrevocably > plunge into the abyss. > > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=fd1eeb7cb8&e=dab5c3fd19> > [image: > facebook.png] > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=bcc29b68e4&e=dab5c3fd19> > [image: > twitter.png] > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=a9c3e66142&e=dab5c3fd19> > [image: > instagram.png] > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=f6a7b25a34&e=dab5c3fd19> > > About > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=f377c4a449&e=dab5c3fd19> > | Privacy Policy > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=b7a435829b&e=dab5c3fd19> > | Unsubscribe > <https://972mag.us2.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=0bd5641159488ecfed79ba6ca&id=f1fe821d25&t=b&e=dab5c3fd19&c=73947768b6> > +972 Magazine is an independent, non-profit media initiative, supported > largely by our readers. > © 2024 +972 Magazine. All Rights Reserved. >
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#30996): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/30996 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/107036880/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
