It appears the moment Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer Israel's prime minister is closer than ever. There are those who are still waiting for the magician to pull some rabbit out of a hat and succeed in forming a government at the last minute. We've grown used to something unexpected happening, but this time, nothing's working. Nothing. It suddenly turns out that the man who brought us coronavirus vaccines has no vaccine for the end of his reign.
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Many, many people are worried about the moment the words "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu" are no longer heard. What will be? How will his supporters react? What will they do? These concerns aren't coming out of a vacuum. For years, those who don't support Netanyahu have been subjected to attack, both online and in person. Netanyahu's greatest success was making the discussion not just emotional but personal. It's all about him, for him, and in his name.
Netanyahu is the master of the "you're either for us or against us" discourse. With him, it's black and white, the children of light versus the children of darkness. What began with the remark that "the leftists have forgotten what it means to be Jewish" gained traction and become an ideology. Propagandists in the guise of journalists help him spread this separation theory. Lawmakers and ministers use it to garner ever more political power.
For a while now, there's been no point in even trying to give the appearance of false unity. As a small country of many peoples, there hasn't been anything to unite us for years. There are rifts that are too deep to heal. There is a sense of burning hatred, and clear lines delineate each camp.
Yet despite these warning signals and the writing on the wall, Israel will not erupt into a civil war the moment Netanyahu becomes our outgoing prime minister. They'll prepare us for riots, mass rallies, drama, pain, and violence, and yet none of that will happen.-
It's not because we don't like to fight or because our differences of opinion aren't significant, or the abyss between us isn't deep. It's simply because, in Israel, we are a majority, and the power is in our hands. Those in the majority can't really fume. The majority is comfortable. It's is safe and protected.
This security creates a sense of belonging, and the belonging is like glue, precisely because we move around as masters in this space. Language, culture, humor, associations, military, and mentality will defeat the hatred, the insult, and the anger.
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