Lefties around the world have found a new demon: Russia. Russia is responsible for all the world's ills, they say. It's as if the Left will never forgive the Russians for turning their backs on the gift of communism.
U.S. President Donald Trump, the narrative goes, is a Russian spy and would have never won without Moscow's help. The Left is also gearing up for its loss in the upcoming April 9 election in Israel with a great excuse: "It was Russia's fault."
In fact, even if a left-winger spills his or her coffee accidentally, it's because of Russia. The Left's unrequited love of Russia has turned into burning hatred, with the media cheering from the sidelines.
I am not saying the other side of the political divide is free from delusions or has never harbored an ambition to overturn an election. Yes, in 1995, a prime minister was assassinated in Israel. But back then the media and law enforcement agencies never supported that murder.
Yes, some on the Right propagated lies about former U.S. President Barack Obama's birth certificate, or about how is bodyguards were aliens and how his wife used to be a man. But – and this is a big but – this nonsense was never taken seriously and was never endorsed by the mainstream media. People expect the large media outlets to act like a responsible adult that can filter out rumors rather than spread conspiracy theories.
The Israeli Left is not as deranged as the American Left, which has gone mad and turned university campuses to totalitarian Orwellian bastions and supports Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who recently said of Trump that she would "impeach the motherfu****."
But the Israeli Left is clearly showing signs that it wants to emulate its big brother in America. The Left believes that the only threat to Israel's democracy is Russian President Vladimir Putin, not the fact that law enforcement officials are joining forces with the media against an elected prime minister, not the fact that foreign governments are funding NGOs on the Left, and so forth.
For the Left, election interference is wrong only when the Right benefits from it. Just recently the provost of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said that the Supreme Court should have the authority to force the Knesset to hold a no-confidence vote against a prime minister. He added that if the Knesset refused to follow such a ruling, a civil war could ensue.
It is no secret that strong foreign governments meddle in other countries' affairs. The U.S. is the meddler-in-chief. Its invasion of Iraq and its efforts to influence the 2015 election in Israel serve as a good example.
Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, Turkey, and yes – even Israel – all promote their interests abroad. But it would be a stretch to claim that Russians will taint the election (and of course, they say, Netanyahu can't win without them…).
It's like concluding that just because there are speed cameras on our roads, police also install secret chips in our bedrooms. Seriously, folks - chill out.
How can the Russians change the outcome of an election in the U.S. or in Israel? Or turn the U.S. president into a spy without anyone noticing until he fires the head of the FBI? And what exactly did Trump do as a spy until the election, spy on his wife? Did he secretly film his children and send the footage to the Kremlin?
Just look at who the challengers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are. Do you really think Netanyahu can't win without Putin's help? And why has the media tried to foment more madness rather than serve as a grownup and stick to the facts?
