The Enthusiastic Response
to Trump's Transfer Plan
Promotes the Destruction of Democracy
Israel is heartily welcoming President Trump's proposal to transfer and ethnically cleanse two million Palestinians that reside in the Gaza Strip. A poll conducted by the Jewish People's Policy Institute and published in Ma’ariv, found that an overwhelming majority of Israelis (82%) support the idea that Gaza's Arabs might be transferred to another Arab state, and most of them (63%) even believe it is a practical plan. Similarly, a Channel 13 poll revealed that 72% of the Israeli public supports Trump's proposal. It is no surprise that the coalition’s spoke-people gave their blessing. Unfortunately, even the "No-Opposition,” that portrays itself as liberal, finds merit in the plan and does not oppose it.
Lapid and Gantz, both sons of Holocaust survivors, have often spoken about the legacy of their parents and family members who perished in Nazi Europe. Disregarding the fact that the Jewish People were victims of the persecution 80 years ago, they are now ready to perpetrate a massive, forced transfer of the Palestinian people.
Both camps ignore the fact that Trump’s proposal has zero chance of ever being realized. The Palestinian people oppose it, all Arab countries say no, and sane leaders in Europe state that this move, besides being unfeasible, violates human rights and international law. Experience shows that Trump's initiative will evaporate, just as the idea of establishing a riviera in North Korea sank into the abyss.
Even though the plan has no chance of materializing, it does revive the worst coalition government we have ever known. Smotrich climbed down from the proverbial fence and shelved his resignation threats, while Ben-Gvir had already dusted off his suits with an intention of returning to the government. The good news, this whole episode may bring, is that it is likely that the Israeli government will continue with the deal to return all the hostages since Netanyahu is less likely to blow it up in the absence of a threat to his coalition. In the meantime, the “safety net” that Lapid and Gantz offered him to Netanyahu, so his government will endure, remains folded and of no use to him.
But, the results of the polls, the shameful stance of the leaders of the "No-Opposition," and the desire for avenging the crimes of October 7 that has gripped the lion's share of the Israeli public, raise deep concerns for the character and future of Israeli society, whose Declaration of Independence, proclaimed that "State of Israel will be founded on the foundations of freedom, justice and peace, will uphold equal social and political rights for all its citizens regardless of religion, race and gender, and will guarantee freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, language, education and culture."
More and more Israelis, especially younger ones, who have not been taught about fascism and where it leads, express fascist positions that contradict the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Those are not just the messianic visionaries who value land over people, but also the viewers of Channel 14 and even those who get their news from Channel 12. They ignore the fact that the Israeli army is committing war crimes, they are not bothered by the videos and pictures of children killed in Gaza or the West Bank and are equally indifferent to the Judicial coup. Additionally, the growing suspicion and racist attitude towards the Arab-Palestinian minority within Israel constitute a recipe for the destruction of a society that had in the past approximated democracy.
The government composed of worthless incompetents, people who covet the public coffers, and criminals is a manifestation of the rapid deterioration. So is the IDF, that is no longer the people's army. It is easy to be impressed by the operational success of the “uniform donning” high-tech – the pager operation, the elimination of Hezbollah's leadership, and the crushing of Iran's air defense system. However, this is the same high-tech that contributed, with no hesitation, to the killing of tens of thousands of residents of the Gaza Strip, with a significant percentage of the dead being women and children.
Worse still, the army is slowly being taken over by a messianic cult rooted and cultivated by the extremist rabbis who preach ethnic cleansing as a necessary step to realize their vision of the third temple and a Jewish reign from the river to the sea. To this end, they are legitimizing all means that will help realize this delusional plan. The fact that the army and the police in the occupied West Bank were entrusted to the ministers of the "Zionut Datit" and "Otsma Yehudit" political parties proves that this is the government policy.
The result is that ethnic cleansing is being carried out in the territories of Judea and Samaria. Palestinian communities are being driven out by terror activities, some carried out by settlers and some by the security forces. According to international law, the state is supposed to protect the residents of the occupied area (this is the status of the West Bank). Instead, the army turns a blind eye to the terrorist harassment of the Palestinians by settlers from legal and illegal outposts and in some cases also actively collaborates with them.
All these acts would not be possible if Israeli society was aware of the price it would pay because of them. Israeli society must internalize the fact that the supporters of transfer and ethnic cleansing are the same people who are behind the judicial coup created by "Kohelet" and Yariv Levin. Those that aspire to live in a democracy must wake up, understand that between the river and the sea there are two peoples, and both are entitled to self-determination even and despite October 7.
The public should not be afraid of the statement "There is no democracy with occupation" because subjugation of other people or forcing a “transfer”, promote the destruction of the democratic society.
