Nearly two years have passed with them deteriorating in Hamas tunnels. Nearly two years have passed with an entire nation trapped in trauma. Nearly two years have passed without anyone in the government conducting discussions about "the day after," resembling someone fleeing from devastating news, while increasing numbers of families receive the most devastating news possible.

The moment has arrived for a courageous decision that will bring back all hostages in a single operation, terminate the war and end bloodshed on both sides. Hamas deserves no reward for the horrific October 7 assault, but what remained unaccomplished during two years of warfare will not be remedied through additional months of stagnation and casualties. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly declares Israel represents the region's strongest power, so what exactly does he fear?

His fear does not stem from possibilities that Israel might be compelled to return and fight again. The military possesses that capability. Netanyahu fears his government's collapse. Threats from his ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich that stopping the war would dissolve the Knesset Coalition frighten Netanyahu more than global escalation against us. This includes possibilities that during his visit to the UN General Assembly's annual conference, a resolution might pass recognizing a Palestinian state. The individual who spent years preventing Palestinian state establishment has prepared the foundation for that silver platter and will now impose it upon us under disadvantageous and uncontrolled circumstances.

Decades of bloodshed

Opponents of reaching a Gaza agreement argue it will produce future murderous attacks on our communities. According to their claims, October 7 resulted from the 2005 Gaza Disengagement. That 2005 unilateral withdrawal elevated Hamas to power and strengthened it through dollars flowing to it with Israeli consent and encouragement.

This week marks 20 years since the disengagement. Numerous assessments mostly suffered from excessive nostalgia. Perhaps through forgetfulness, they avoided tallying Gush Katif settlement casualties, which began in 1973 and concluded in 2005. Sixteen Jewish communities, 8,600 settlers plus 600 additional Bedouins. Some 5,904 mortar shells and Qassam rockets were launched, primarily from Khan Younis, targeting Gush Katif. The Kisufim corridor, serving as the sole entry and exit route for the Gush, transformed into a blood-soaked highway, particularly following the First Intifada and intensifying during the second one. 282 Israeli civilians were murdered there while dozens of soldiers perished. Among images permanently seared into collective memory, soldiers appear crawling along the Philadelphi Corridor, searching for human remains of comrades killed in an armored personnel carrier by roadside explosives.

On July 23, 2005, following Sabbath spent with family members in Ganei Tal, my friends Rachel and Dov'le Kol departed the Gush. Due to shooting in the corridor vicinity, access was blocked. When the attackers remained unfound, they reopened the corridor. Ten vehicles at a time. Dov'le and Rachel, Jerusalem residents parenting three children, stood no chance when gunfire opened toward them. They died instantly. The Gush's final victims. Two weeks later, Disengagement commenced.

Today, Tisha B'Av 5785, this must be stated – enough casualties. Bring Rom, Evyatar and their companions home. The time has arrived.

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Video: Netanyahu speaks with his aide Topaz Luk / Credit: https://www.facebook.com/Netanyahu

Unity? Where exactly does he find this, when he constantly attacks his opponents and labels them extreme left? What cohesion is he talking about when he says it's in contrast to what's seen in studios – again attacking the media? And he dares speak of unity and cohesion while persistently pushing to pass the exemption law for ultra-Orthodox.

But as we know, in movies anything goes, and they claim it's based on a true story but events and names were changed for artistic narrative. The same applies to the video he posted on Facebook Friday. Netanyahu, wearing heavy makeup and a polo shirt, is filmed in his office answering questions supposedly sent from the public. He projects calmness. Looking into the camera, his eyes trying to convey empathy. Before him, on the table, lies a book titled "Ancient Pearls." And of course, on the first page Netanyahu finds support for what he saw in the field when visiting staging areas before entering Gaza. "You won't believe it," he tells Topaz Look, "on the first page of the book it says – 'We are one people. We are brothers.' Simply unbelievable that this is the book I took with me today for the trip."

I wasn't impressed, because with Netanyahu nothing is coincidental. Including the questions his spokesperson chose from those sent – or simply made up – to provide Netanyahu a comfortable platform to express his simplistic thoughts. Like the question asked in a previous video, how does he sleep at night? His answer is infuriating, "I sleep little, not much, but with a clear conscience." Having decided to answer the question, his response demonstrates insensitivity and callousness – not only toward the nation, which hasn't slept peacefully for over a year and a half, but toward the 59 families whose loved ones have been languishing in Gaza for 583 days and nights.

Is Trump bypassing Netanyahu?

It's no surprise, as Netanyahu has tied himself to an extremist, messianic coalition. He does the bidding of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, including their demand to conquer Gaza and hold it – hostages be damned. Due to his surrender to these two, he has become a secondary player in the drama unfolding under President Donald Trump's direction. If in the past it was promised that any deal with Saudi Arabia would include Israel as a continuation of the Abraham Accords, now Trump is bypassing us. He reaches an agreement with the Houthis, with Iran, and now with Saudi Arabia – leaving Netanyahu to fend for himself. Trump sees his weakness. This is already a danger to our security.

And in no video does Netanyahu address this, nor does he attack as he would have done had Joe Biden and Kamala Harris been in the White House. He fears Trump to the same degree he fears the ultra-Orthodox parties withdrawing if he doesn't pass the exemption law. And he fears them more than the anger of the majority of the people he is supposed to faithfully represent. He doesn't care how his citizens sleep at night or how they make ends meet. From his perspective, they are merely a reservoir from which reservists and regular soldiers come, and from which taxes are collected to sustain the draft dodgers.

In the movie we would produce, we would urge the ultra-Orthodox to withdraw and bring down the government – because according to every poll, Netanyahu will not be the next prime minister. And that, unlike Topaz Look's videos, is not science fiction. Even Trump understands this.

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But when you look beyond the Tel Aviv bubble, there are days when it becomes hard to breathe. Like earlier this week, when the annual poverty report from Latet organization was released alongside data from ELEM Youth in Distress. The findings show that 40% of children – about 1.25 million – live in poverty. Nearly a quarter of Israeli families are classified as poor, with approximately 700,000 families – about 30% of the population – living below the poverty line.

The report's figures mirror last year's data, which is even more concerning. This means that even before the severe impact of the war, which has led to price increases across all sectors, these families were already struggling. This is even before the VAT increase from 17% to 18%, which will have dramatic consequences for these families, taking a significant portion of their already meager income. The data suggests that this year too, the state won't find resources to assist these impoverished families.

Alongside the data about spreading poverty across growing segments of society, this week also saw the release of findings from Elem, based on 3,000 youth under their care.

The statistics from the months following the October 2023 massacre are deeply troubling. We're losing an entire generation. Some 45% of these young people, both girls and boys, consume alcohol, 26% reported using illegal substances, and 47% of girls experience feelings of loneliness and anxiety. Additionally, 35% of boys reported depression. About 12,000 of them are at risk of dropping out of school.

Alongside these disturbing statistics, the impact of general tension affecting the entire population is evident. The direct result – a rise in violence. Some 20% of youth reported experiencing violence in public spaces.

Yet instead of addressing these fundamental issues, our ministers are declaring war on the justice system, threatening to revive the controversial judicial reform, pushing out the attorney general, raising taxes, fighting to exempt significant portions of the population from military service, and seeking budgets for the wrong priorities at the expense of addressing our precious youth who continue to spiral downward.

These threats have an impact, as Israeli judges don't exist in a vacuum. They hear these voices, and even if they won't admit it, they're concerned and may unconsciously act according to the prevailing political winds. Take the case of the flare launchers at the protest near the prime minister's residence in Caesarea. It was an unnecessary, illegal, and foolish act. On Monday, the Haifa District Court held a hearing regarding three suspects, including a reserve brigadier general, who have been detained for a month. They were indicted on charges of reckless acts, terrorism, and attempted arson. The day before that, MK Gilad Kariv visited them. After the visit, they were required to strip and undergo a body search. On Monday, the judge decided to keep them in custody until Dec. 26, when he will decide whether to release them to house arrest or detain them until the end of proceedings.

Friends, we've lost all sense of proportion.

Address the real problems before it's too late.

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If the rule of law and national interest were truly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's priorities, the embarrassment of arrest warrants issued by the Hague tribunal against him and former Defense Minister Gallant could have been avoided. The prime minister could have prevented Israel from finding itself on the same level as countries like Russia and Sudan. But our interests apparently don't concern him.

Netanyahu could have acted differently across multiple fronts. But instead of focusing on life itself – working tirelessly to draft the ultra-Orthodox, addressing the cost of living crisis, returning evacuees to their homes, securing the release of 101 hostages – Netanyahu is fixated on the arrest of former aide Eli Feldstein and worried about potential damage to himself.

He should spend his nights before falling asleep thinking about the 804 soldiers who have fallen since the catastrophe that befell us. He's right about one thing – the public isn't foolish. The people, including his right-wing voters, believe this war continues for his personal needs rather than national interests. Perhaps, as poet Haim Gouri wrote, all the fallen – from October 7 until today, soldiers and civilians – stand before him in an endless line, saying: "Here lie our bodies. Enough."

When the prime minister pounded his fist on the Knesset lectern and dramatically declared that young lives were being destroyed, I thought he was finally addressing the dozens of hostages' parents present in the chamber. I thought he might announce his full backing for the negotiating team without restricting their mandate, understanding that after more than a year in Hamas dungeons, it was time for bold diplomatic action. But when he added, "The people aren't stupid," it became clear he was referring to Feldstein, whose existence his office staff had denied and who became their darling only out of fear he might turn against them. Those protesting don't address the actual offense and the serious indictment filed against him. For them, what matters most is what Netanyahu's advisor Jonatan Urich told Feldstein: "The boss is pleased." And if the boss is happy – they can stop bothering with facts and proceed with attacking the prosecution.

On Friday, in a highly unusual move, the State Attorney's Office issued a statement responding to allegations made against them in this case. This time, the prosecution decided not to simply wipe the mud from their faces but to remove their gloves and respond to claims fueled by lies, amplified by the propaganda machine, and directed at the prosecutors, the attorney general, and the head of the Shin Bet. One by one, they dismantled all allegations that Feldstein had been treated differently from other cases due to his proximity to the prime minister.

The Likud and prime minister's response to the prosecution's statement was hysterical and revealed only one thing – they are afraid. When a prime minister attacks the rule of law instead of defending it – calling Feldstein "an Israeli patriot, ardent Zionist who would never harm the state" – he is effectively saying Feldstein did nothing wrong. In doing so, he also incites the right wing against prosecution officials by claiming they're trying to harm everyone who voted for him. It's a dangerous path that Netanyahu keeps stumbling down.

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"If you want peace, prepare for war," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted the Roman writer Vegetius in an interview with TIME Magazine. The writer continues in that same passage, "He who aspires to victory, should spare no pains to form his soldiers… No one dares to offend or insult a power of known superiority in action. Well, it seems we weren't prepared for war, and the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations aren't exactly intimidated by our might. For ten months now, we've been dancing to the tune of their war drums.

The prime minister is neither pursuing peace nor using the tools of war and its casualties to achieve the desired goal. In the same interview, he talks about continuing the war, doesn't commit to a date for a deal to return the hostages or for northern residents to return to their homes, and says he's committed to destroying Hamas so it can't rebuild itself. To ensure this, "I insist on control, continued control of the Philadelphi corridor between Egypt, between the Sinai and Gaza." Four months ago, Netanyahu said we were a step away from total victory. Meanwhile, the numbers keep piling up. In the 309 days of war, 689 soldiers have been killed, and 4,252 fighters have been wounded. Some 115 Israeli civilians are still held captive by Hamas with no prospect of release. This isn't collateral or necessary damage. It's unnecessary damage.

His memory is failing, and he refuses not only to take responsibility but even to apologize. He merely expressed regret for what happened on the day of the massacre. As if he were from the United Nations and not the architect of the concept that advocated transferring millions of dollars to Gaza, which found their way into the hands of Hamas as it grew stronger. Netanyahu understands that the moment he takes responsibility, he'll have to go along with the IDF chief of staff and others responsible for the failure.

His memory isn't what it used to be either. When asked about the coalition partnership with Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu replied, "All Israeli governments have been based in parliamentary systems [and] are based on coalitions. Everyone's done it. Previous governments even made a coalition with a party that is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and rejects the very survival of Israel. I didn't hear any criticism about that."

He was referring, for those who didn't get it, to Ra'am party chairman Mansour Abbas. The same Abbas who testified that Netanyahu met with him several times at the residence in Balfour to gain his support for his government. The same MK who publicly recognized Israel's right to exist and expressed a desire to integrate for the benefit of future generations. And exactly the same party that cooperates with the current coalition in passing laws. But this isn't surprising, especially when reading the response of his spokesperson, Jonathan Urich, to Shikma Bressler, who tweeted the other day, "Netanyahu can't be expected to tell the truth about anything. He can't be expected to take responsibility for anything. The same goes for the group of Kahanists he's put at the wheel. We need to create a situation that leaves them no choice but to go." Urich responded: "Hi Shikma, an idea can't 'go'. It will lead and remain long after you."

With a stroke of the keyboard, Netanyahu and his rule have become an idea. No less. And we know of several appalling ideas in human history, and this is where it starts to get scary.

And if he's an idea, he's allowed to change the law so he can appoint the next Civil Service commissioner, who will essentially be Netanyahu's service commissioner. And it's okay to sneak his son onto the prime minister's plane. And also not to instruct the justice minister to appoint a president to the Supreme Court, and a host of other examples. But when you're an idea, you're omnipotent. And the idea, as Urich said, isn't going anywhere. Get used to it.

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Come next month, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition will likely breathe a collective sigh of relief. With the Knesset's summer recess on the horizon, they'll enjoy a three-month respite from parliamentary scrutiny, lasting well past the High Holidays until the winter session begins on October 27.

This period of relative calm coincides with a somber milestone: the first anniversary of the October 7 disaster. Nearly a year has passed without substantial investigations or any acknowledgment of responsibility from the political leadership, including Netanyahu himself. Calls for a state commission of inquiry are consistently deflected with vague promises of post-war action – a war with no end in sight.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, July is expected to pass without major political upheavals. Even Netanyahu's planned address to the US Congress on July 24 – strategically scheduled for the Knesset's final day before recess – seems unlikely to face significant obstacles.

The opposition's attempts to force early elections or a change in leadership before the recess appear doomed to fail. Within the coalition, there's a striking lack of voices acknowledging the catastrophic state of affairs or pushing for meaningful change. Even more disturbing is how the mounting human toll of the ongoing conflict seems to have little impact on their decision-making, particularly when it comes to questionable budgetary allocations.

Case in point: Sunday's cabinet meeting agenda includes a proposal to funnel an additional 40 million shekels ($15 million) into planning a new permanent residence for the prime minister. This comes on top of tens of millions already invested in the project, with no concrete timeline for completion. Simultaneously, another 40 million shekels have been earmarked for renovating the vacant official residence on Balfour Street.

While the concept of a secure, purpose-built prime ministerial residence has merit, the timing of this focus is tone-deaf at best. Is this truly a priority while the nation is at war?

This misalignment of priorities was further highlighted in last week's Finance Committee meeting. Hundreds of millions of shekels from the 2023 budget surplus were distributed among ministries for a variety of purposes, many seemingly unrelated to wartime needs, support for reservists, or aid for displaced citizens. Remarkably, funds were even allocated for a Baba Sali celebration.

Yet the residential planning isn't even the most eyebrow-raising item on today's agenda. Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter is proposing to rename his department the "Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security." This linguistic sleight of hand, inserting the word "security" into his portfolio, smacks of political posturing from a man widely known to covet the defense minister position.

The overall atmosphere is reminiscent of the last days of a training course, where the chief instructor has lost the will to maintain order. Ironically, it may not be contentious issues like the rabbinical or conscription laws that ultimately bring down this government. Instead, it could be this accumulation of seemingly minor missteps and misplaced priorities that finally exhausts the public's patience.

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In another week, a somber atmosphere will descend upon us as we commemorate the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day.  The Holocaust, in which 6 million of our people were murdered. Immediately after the October 7 massacre, people rightly said that since the Holocaust there had not been an event as difficult for the Jewish people as what happened that day, when more than 1200 children, women, and men were coldbloodedly murdered, raped, and seriously maimed. Along with the innocent murdered for being Jewish or Israeli, 240 babies, women and men, elderly and infirm were kidnapped to Gaza. More than 130 are still there.

Some of them are no longer among the living. The lives of those remaining are in real and present danger and the negotiations are faltering. A week after Holocaust Remembrance Day, we will again be enveloped in a black cloud and commemorate the Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers, to which, unfortunately, many more names have been added since October. We will mourn our finest, who went to fight a just war over the future of the state and never returned. This quintessential Israeli transition between Memorial Day and Independence Day will be particularly difficult this year.

It will be different because of the delirious political system in which a minister in Israel, who was involved in an accident on the weekend, tells his colleagues that Israeli forces should shoot at those who raise their hands and surrender without the prime minister immediately condemning the remarks. It will be different because of the incomprehensible arrogance of our leaders, which raises concern that they do not really know where they are going.

It will be different because there is a feeling that there is no steady hand on the wheel. We are under pressure and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is rubbing his hands with glee. The return to the rhetoric of October 6 has invigorated him and let him once again harbor horrific intentions and actions, allowing him to up his demands for the release of the abductees every day. Just two months ago they spoke of 40 abductees, and now 20. He is playing and teasing us. Making outrageous demands, which are slowly all being accepted. The erosion is worrying.

On our side, they are pinning their hopes on an operation in Rafah. The plans were prepared, and approved by the senior minister and are waiting for the prime minister to give the go-ahead. I find it hard to see this happening in the coming two weeks, which will be dominated by Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. Netanyahu fears that there will be more fatalities precisely on these sacred days for Israeli society. So he will postpone, and say that he is negotiating for the release of the abductees, and will do everything possible so that the Rafah operation commences only after Independence Day.

The resignation of IDF Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva, who admitted his share of responsibility for what happened, and the resignation of GO Central Command Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs, who apparently had enough of the sticks being put in his wheels, will also serve as a lever to postpone any decision. We will follow the conduct of the prime minister and especially listen carefully to the speeches he will give at the Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day events, and hope for at least less arrogance and more mea culpa. 

If we are disappointed, we will have to shout loudly that he who spoiled cannot be the one to fix. The time has come to take responsibility and set a quick date for elections, and until then not to approve any senior appointments. And it is expected of the prime minister and the government do everything to bring all the abductees home. Only then, as happened to the Jewish people after the Holocaust, will the process of healing and regrowth begin.

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On Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to go to the hospital for a routine check-up. Who doesn't go to the hospital for routine check-ups on Saturdays?

During that check-up, which his people stressed was routine – meaning it is done from time to time without any special reason – it turned out that Netanyahu suffers from a hernia. They did not specify whether it was a recurring umbilical hernia where he was previously operated on in 2013, or a new hernia in the lower abdomen. They only informed the concerned citizens that a hernia was found and that it required surgery. 

Let's ignore the fact that a routine hernia, which apparently did not cause pain, should not require someone to be rushed into surgery. This is not the first time Netanyahu has gone to the hospital on a Saturday. The previous time, about a year ago, it was reported that he had been vacationing at the Sea of Galilee without a hat, felt unwell, was then had to be rushed to the hospital, and had a device implanted in his body to monitor his heart. Later, the device beeped, and in another procedure, he was fitted with a pacemaker. Also, in recent years, his office published that he underwent a colonoscopy, and polyps were removed from the intestine and sent for examination. To the best of my recollection, it was not reported to the public that the test came back normal. Again, I emphasize – I wish him an abundance of health and a speedy recovery.

I would not have needed the prime minister's medical record if we behaved like the advanced countries we so want to emulate. In the US, the medical condition of the presidential candidate and the president is routinely published, and likewise in the UK – including which pills they take, if any, and what their blood work shows.

For example: Following President Joe Biden's latest checkup in February 2024 at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, six pages were published detailing the various tests he had undergone, including vision, hearing, neurology, orthopedics, radiology, skin, cardiology, dentistry, and physiotherapy.

In each area, he was examined by a specialist, and the result was published. The detailed report stated that Biden is receiving treatment for several issues, such as obstructive sleep apnea, reflux, seasonal allergies, and sinusitis. It was also reported that due to the president's slow gait, a team of experts was assembled to examine the president and determined that it all stemmed from degenerative changes in the spine, consistent with his age. They even reported his blood pressure readings: 132/78. We also wish him good health.

And us? Nothing. What do we know about the health of the prime minister, who is celebrating his 75th birthday this year, other than what his office releases? Does he routinely take pills, and if so – for what? His personal physician examines him, and the office reports that his condition is excellent. But then, in a routine check-up, it is found that he needs a pacemaker and hernia surgery. This, in my opinion, is the reason there are rumors surrounding his health. In the absence of information, the imagination works overtime.

Therefore, and since our prime ministers do not volunteer to publicly release a detailed report, the Knesset would be smart to make it a requirement. The times when a prime minister would seclude himself at home and others would run the country, as in the case of Menachem Begin; or like in the case of Golda Meir, who underwent cancer treatments and no one knew, are over.  

We want to know, because all of us, each one of us, knows how much our state of health affects our lives. This impact is that much greater when this health pertains to the man in charge

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American actress Emma Stone won an Oscar for her performance in the film "La La Land". She acted brilliantly because she is simply an excellent actress – but at the end of the shooting day, she returned to life itself because life is not a movie. 

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For us, on the other hand, we do live in La La Land, and it seems that in the movie of our lives, the mother ship has disconnected from the launch pad, and it doesn't look like it will return to its place anytime soon.

In what movie can you write such an imaginary script, in which a tiny country, that speaks a cryptic language used by only about 10 million people in the world, whose population is about 7.5 million Jews and another 2 million Arabs, and is surrounded by hostile countries, gives the middle finger to the superpower that has stood by its side for the last 75 years, and gives it money as a gift, military aid, planes, bombs, ammunition and most importantly – international backing and vetoing any decision that could harm it, and not just during wartime. 

A crazy thing is taking place on full display, which could inflict damage on Israel that could take years to repair, if at all. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preaching morality and clashing with the one whose hand we eat from. My late father used to say: "If two people tell you you're drunk – go to sleep." In other words, if more than one person points out to you that you are going the wrong way – don't argue just check if all the decisions you have made are leading to the place you intend to reach. 

In our case, it is much more serious, because the Prime Minister is responsible for the lives of 9.5 million Israeli citizens, and indirectly - also for the well-being and lives of millions of Jews around the world, who could be harmed by his actions or inactions.

As the military correspondent for this newspaper, Lilach Shoval, pointed out, since the beginning of the war, shipments of weapons have arrived in Israel on 300 planes and 50 ships, most of them from the US. President Joe Biden was the first to stand by Israel after the massacre and declare that Israel would not walk alone. But even the best friend, without whom we have no safe existence in the neighborhood we live in, thinks he has the right to express an opinion, make remarks, make requests, and even outline the contours of a future solution in the region.

The US also hoped that the Israeli leadership would understand that the president is in a not-so-simple election year and that he too sees polls indicating a drop in support for him because of his support for Israel.

So maybe Chuck Schumer's words that elections need to be held and Netanyahu is endangering Israel were not politically smart – but he was just saying what tens of thousands of Israelis say every week in their demonstrations on Kaplan St. every Saturday night. Will Netanyahu also turn his back on them and accuse them of forgetting October 7? After all, some of them paid with the lives of their children, while other protesters' children and grandchildren are fighting in the south and north, not vacationing in a hotel in Miami.

So yes, Netanyahu, More than one person – including Donald Trump, who you may be hoping will return to power – is telling you that you are going the wrong way. You should check before we all stand on the edge of the cliff and you call on us to take one step forward.

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There are years we would be happy to see come to an end. The year 2023 is one we would be happy to forget, to erase it forever as if it never came into being. A wicked, difficult, unnecessary year. The price Israeli society paid for it is so heavy, it will take years to recover – more than it will take to dismantle Hamas.

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There are almost no bright spots to hold on to, except for the mobilization of civil society after the October 2023 fiasco, and the judicial reform protests that prevented the judicial coup.

At the end of the vote count in the elections on November 1, 2022, we received a fully right-wing government, sworn in on December 31st. Two weeks before the government was sworn in and before the judicial coup began, I wrote in this newspaper: "Are we facing the point of no return where the State of Israel will transform, in some cases become unfixable?" I noted that Netanyahu stumbled into a weakness that would be expressed in the huge financial pork-barrel spending to help keep his Coalition partners in line. 

Unfortunately, in the nine months that followed the swearing-in, Israel was swept into a storm. Instead of leadership, we received incitement and division, an attempt by the prime minister to avoid trial, and persecution of the attorney general. We received a plan to take over the judicial system presented by Minister of Justice Yariv Levin, which he called a "legal reform", which received the backing of the prime minister. We received a radical national security minister with a troubled past. 

We received a dark and gluttonous government. We received a campaign of hatred and evil against large parts of the nation, who went out into the streets, week after week, rain or shine, to tell the prime minister and his delusional government: We will stop the regime change with our bodies and we will not allow Israel to undergo a transformation. Netanyahu did not try to calm, appease, or contain. On the contrary – he continued to incite and defame, while trust in him and his government continued to erode.

And society continued to disintegrate: Displays of refusal to volunteer for the reserves; warnings from the minister of defense that we are in dire straits;  hundreds of thousands in the streets, from the Left and a little from the Right too; while Netanyahu thought about himself and about financing his homes. He continued to say that he was strong against Hamas and that only he would safeguard Israel's security, showing arrogance that cost us dearly on October 7.

It is unsurprising that Netanyahu's Coalition of nonsense lost confidence and is polling at 45-47 seats. Likud is crashing. Once being the most qualified to be prime minister, he is now ranked as least qualified. And yet, he continues to incite and divide. He gives his concessions to his far-Right allies and backs them. He maintains the Coalition at any price while giving Benny Gantz a beating despite the latter coming to his aid when hostilities broke out.

This is the most traumatic year in the history of the state and Netanyahu is not the man to repair and heal. Another government must arise, which will regain the people's trust as soon as possible so that it can make decisions about the day after the war. a government that speaks – and not in threatening language – with our Arab neighbors and the United States; a government that will make difficult decisions about the price that will be required to bring all the captives home; a government that will reach solutions either diplomatically, or alternatively militarily, vis-à-vis Hezbollah; a government that will implement plans to rehabilitate the communities in the Gaza border and the northern border and restore security to all citizens.

Netanyahu still believes he is the right man for the job. He is not. He and his government must go. A government that has lost the people's trust will not be able to rebuild a corner grocery store.

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