To the non-Israelis who aren’t grasping the context of Bibi Netanyahu in 2024.
It’s day 331 since October 7. I still occasionally hear how some Americans revere Bibi as a security hero, the ultimate leader for this time, etc. And to be fair to some more self aware folks, I hear some putting it as: “I don’t understand what the problem is,” or “ah you liberals, c’mon.”
With all due respect – you. do. not. understand. the situation here on the ground.
(It starts with the way our parliamentary government is constructed each time we hold an election. It starts with the deals made to accrue power, the baskets our political leaders put their eggs in to gain power. There’s a lot to understand in depth about this topic. But today, I’m angry about a different aspect. The way our prime minister, the #1 post in the country, has severely lacked in true, historic-level leadership qualities since October 7th.)
To the non Israelis – it’s very human, but people have a tendency to compare to their own situations, or not leave space for different context, and fail to appreciate how much differing context matters when trying to understand what’s happening somewhere else.
America has become such a painfully partisan place; it’s eating the country from the inside. The wounds are festering and everyone is blaming the other side for the appearance of pus. Much of the world is experiencing dangerous partisanship – Israel included.
But… it’s not black and white since October 7th. In fact, even before. Please stop making it black and white when it’s simply not. Most things – everything – is not black and white.
To understand why a majority of the country is angry – even many many many Bibi voters – please try and understand how complex and context-based our national situation is. This is not strictly right vs left, a conservative vs liberal, a religious vs secular – those straight lines don’t apply here; they’re jagged, they’re messy, our political landscape is scribble since October (and honestly, even somewhat before).
What hurts on top of everything else today, is that Bibi is not behaving and certainly not role modeling the way people crave their leaders to during tragedy and endless heartbreak. He’s not putting himself out there, he’s not taking the lead. He hides behind social media accounts and self-owned cameras, avoids tough domestic interviews for glitzy international media covers, relies on the humility of army spokespeople, and most disgustingly, cowers before his own fringe and minority-backed ministers.
Imagine a leader at the helm of the most severe national tragedy, who never once expressed remorse for what we’re all together going through.
Our infrastructure and mechanisms of governments are different; but a narcissistic, uncomfortable truth should translate: There are elected leaders who put themselves first, and there are elected leaders who put themselves first in the worst possible tragedies a nation can endure. They’ll do everything in their power – even if it means unworthy levels of domestic damage – to stay in power. Before war, that is despicable and protest worthy. During war – it is dangerous. People die.
That is not valid leadership during wartime. That is not acceptable leadership in a nation where our sons and daughters are called and willingly go to serve, where every decision in this country has a butterfly effect across society. Read up on the complexities of security here from more insiders than just Bibi’s glamorous interviews. Read more history and culture to understand how personal our leadership is here. Everything here is personal. It makes the pain of having a leader like this much worse.
To be absolutely clear, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lubnov, Carmel Gat and Almog Sarusi were murdered by Hamas, days ago in cold blood. Bibi pulls no triggers in that sense.
But Bibi kills conversation, chokes debate, sleeps with devils after the sale of his soul, puts himself first above a nation he purports to offer redemption, holds us hostage to his own neck-saving, tears apart the values we fairly expect as for-granted… and these days crave: accountability, empathy, one ‘I’m sorry’ at any point in 331 days, true leadership our children can look up to; leadership earned from the people, not grasped in a fist of toxic stubbornness and narcissism.
Bibi doesn’t shed a tear; he doesn’t show us he cares, that he has a human capability for empathy or being a part of a mourning nation. He isn’t sitting with us in pain. That is his biggest crime, today.
Look out for the report of Bibi making one shiva call over the next week.
Keep looking.
To simplify it all as “Bibi is the right kind of strong, security leader for Israel” is not only factually incorrect but an insult to those of us living here, paying taxes, sending kids to the army. Nothing is simple, nothing is black and white. Surely my fellow mainstream Americans have started to sense that after years of domestic turbulence; or at minimum, our own nightmare on and after September 11th.
But something tells me many of us are too far gone to understand life is very, very grey.
Another six hostages that Hamas has murdered, may their neshamot have an aliyah: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lubnov, and Carmel Gat
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