Heading into black hole
Hope fading, fears grow as government marks first year in office
This had been a tough week for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, but also a tough week for anyone having a tough time understanding what’s going on around here; all those people who are asking themselves time and again – where are we going, and who is leading us there?
This was a week that started with a major crisis and ended with an even greater crisis; a week where we discovered that the rumors of our deteriorating ties with Washington were not premature, and apparently also not greatly exaggerated. It doesn’t even matter whether we deserve it, or whether the Americans overreacted and exploited the mishap in order to pressure us. If our ties are at such state, then we are the ones who need to be overly cautious.
This was a week where, for the first time, our ally claimed that Israel is turning from an asset into a burden, and on the other side of the equation, the prime minister’s brother-in-law referred to the US president as an anti-Semite.
It was the kind of week where it doesn’t matter whether you’re a leftist or rightist in order to feel ashamed, and understand that something bad is happening to us; in order to understand that something here is not working as it should, and that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, and vice versa; in order to realize that we have no leader or a guiding hand.
A year of deep concern
In about two weeks, the Netanyahu government will mark a year in office. Even those who were never among his supporters will admit that they nonetheless had hope; that despite the great doubts left over from his first term in office, deep inside they prayed that this time it will be different; that he changed, matured, and learned; that the pledges he made on the eve of elections in respect to not repeating past mistakes, and doing everything to form a unity government, will be realized.
They spoke of pragmatism and of rationality. Such an intelligent man will not squander a second opportunity, they said.
Yet even the naysayers did not imagine that Israel’s global status will hit such nadir within a year; that representatives and spokespeople on its behalf will be humiliated and disparaged even in places that once were considered friendly strongholds; that a year would pass without anything happening; that time would stand still: The diplomatic process will go into deep freeze and we’ll see disturbing indications for the start of a third Intifada.
It’s been a year of deep concern; a year of unease and major anxiety; a year of uncertainty, and of fading hope. People are asking each other with concern: What’s in store? What will happen around here? What will happen should the Netanyahu government continue, and what if it doesn’t? What alternative do we even have?
They say that a government’s first year in office is the most significant; that what a government fails to do in the first year will not be done later on. If that’s true, we are heading into a black hole.
