Efraim Shamir's miserable remarks hoping that Sara Netanyahu would die was vicious, but fit in well with the general way things are going. It seems that over the past decade, most of the Left's creative resources have been devoted to demonizing the prime minister and fleshing out their repertoire of curses for the Netanyahus.
I think about the Israeli Left and wonder, could it be that all its emotional and intellectual resources have been wasted on hating Netanyahu? What remains of the current Left's economic, social, or defense and security agenda?
Let's start with security. In the election, the center-left Blue and White party was headed by a candidate who included a counter in one of his campaign videos. The numbers, which constantly went up, were counting the number of Arabs killed in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge. I don't remember any right-wing candidate who boasted about the number of casualties the other side sustained as an achievement – and certainly not in a campaign video. A month ago, that same Left was also pressing Netanyahu to launch a full-scale war in Gaza, while calling the Qatari funds that Netanyahu agreed to transfer to Gaza "protection money" and ignoring the wretched humanitarian situation that afflicted most Gazans ahead of the Ramadan holy month. Then Avigdor Lieberman showed up. "The war minister," as they used to call him fearfully, until he took a stand against Netanyahu and miraculously became a viable, desirable candidate for them in the upcoming election. Is that how the "peace camp," whose people preach coexistence unity among the people, works?
Let's look at the social side of things. A demographic breakdown of the last election left no room for doubt: the Israeli Left lives in the socioeconomically strongest, most in-demand cities. Anyone who examines left-wing responses on social media will spot an interesting trend: many people on the Left admit that they live in very good financial circumstances, but take care to express concern for the old lady in a hallway hospital bed; the rate of unemployment (which is at an all-time low, by the way); and pity for residents of the periphery whose lives have, of course, been ruined because of Netanyahu. Their concern for the "vulnerable" is touching, but every time that one of these "vulnerable" people from the periphery describes the notable improvement to their quality of life that resulted from Netanyahu's socio-economic policies, the empathy dries up and the "vulnerable" person instantly becomes part of the "blind herd" or just a baboon. After the election, empathy turned to denunciation, which included hopes that the "vulnerable" would die from Gaza rockets. Is that how the "social camp," which is so concerned about the weaker sectors that are supposedly being trampled by the Netanyahu government, conducts itself?
The most interesting picture becomes clear when we review the economy. Socialist democracy doesn't really exist in Israel. The Left likes to brag about its socialist conscience, but a shiny capitalist SUV is parked in a private space next to their private homes. Netanyahu's "piggish capitalism" is doing well by them, and all the rest is nothing more than a worn-out pose with nothing true behind it.
All the Israeli Left has now is a chaotic pile of agenda items that often contradict each other, and a stockpile of curses for the Netanyahu family. Lots and lots of curses. Devoting so much hatred to the prime minister has used up all the Left's intellectual resources, and made it into the unattractive camp it is today.
