Only A Political Arrangement Will End The War And Return The Hostages

 The grim situation at the beginning of 2025 is that the government of sloppiness and maliciousness will complete its term and the elections will be held in 2026, on the 27th of October, hoping they will indeed happen. 15 months have past since the black Saturday of October 7th, and as things seem now the democracy seeking public finds it hard and will continue to struggle finding an alternative to the messianic-fascistic right.

The leaders of the opposition - Lapid, Ganz and Liberman, as well as the "Ahim Laneshek" (comrades in arms) movement, still refuse to commit themselves to a no compromise fight against the `legal revolution` which is gaining momentum, and that is while no one doubts that Netanyahu refuses to end the war. The accepted view is that his attempt to preserve the coalition is what governs his policy, as well as preventing the establishment of a State Commission of Inquiry. But there is no doubt that Netanyahu knows that the continuation of the war prevents protest movements and opposition parties to directly go against his government. In their public appearances they just do so verbally. They are content with the pols.

 The picture portrayed on the screens of the main TV channels clarifies that their main consideration is rating and in other words: avoiding aggravating their consumers. This is why they prefer to avoid a critical and impartial analysis of the military and political situation. According to the communication leaders showing true facts about the occurrences in Gaza will distance their viewers from them. At the same time, they pacify the costumers of the media by bringing heroic and legacy stories mixed in a well of tears.

 The assumption is that they reflect the public's views but actually they create them. The concept that ruled here before the 7th of October, which began with "There is no one to talk too" and continued with "it's better not to end the conflict but to manage it" is relevant and existent now as well. Added to that is the present view that Hamas must be eradicated, which is not only that of the government but of a significant part of the opposition.

  Along with the public denial of the need and the chance to reach a solution which will enable a peaceful co-existence between the two peoples, the takeover of the messianic-fascistic view on the public space is also evident. If we define its promoters - the rabbis, the cabinet members and senior army officers - as driven by 'ideology', a significant part of the crowd who follows them does not trouble itself with that but is content with demanding revenge.

 The failure of the opposition and the main stream of the protest movements enables aggressive moves at the occupied territories and Gaza which oppose human rights but not only there. The weakening of the `Green line` is evident in many aspects, and it's enough to see the nature of the Ben-Gvir police activity and the prosecutor's office against the government's opposers. Democracy does not exist here anymore.

 An example to this is the court proceedings against the four who shot two fire crackers in Casearia. It started with the investigation by the Shin Bet  (Israel Security Agency) as suspects in the attempted assassination of the Prime Minister even though he and his wife were not in Caesarea. It continued with an arrest lengthening, despite the four admitting the act, and culminated with their accusation in a terrorist act. We can clearly see that today the regime with the help of the prosecutor's office can abuse its opposers.

 The advocates of democracy - and it's important to remind again and again that "There is no democracy with occupation" - cannot ignore what is happening. When four Supreme Court judges do not cancel a law change which enables the minister of national security to decide the investigative policy of the police, it is clear that the 'fortress' (the Supreme Court) is on the brink of collapse after the police surrendered unconditionally. 

 On a daily or evening basis settlers rampage all over the occupied west bank. In the past they did not hesitate to attack Palestinians physically. Now they do not hesitate to beat up human rights activists including those from "Looking the occupation in the eye". They do so knowing that the army and the  police will not lift a finger. It is prudent to continue saying - what begins in the occupied territories trickles quickly here: To Gaza street in Jerusalem or to Kaplan street in Tel Aviv.

 Guy Hirschfeld-one of the founders of 'Looking' diagnosed these things while speaking at an award ceremony in which he was given a prize named after professor Yeshayahu Leibovitz: "We have to change our attitude, understand and internalize that a war was declared on us and our values, and I was taught that war should be treated as such. We are reaching a point when every Israeli citizen, a Jew or from the 48' Arabs will have to choose if he belongs to the pack of Ben Gvir, Smotrich, Levin, Goldknof and some more pure race fascists, or to understand we need to build here something new and real, of Jewish and Arab partnership. And although I am not a profit, I still believe the majority of the public is not of the `Judo Nazi` breed".

 So, in order for the move to destroy democracy will not be completed, a commitment to enlist for a no compromise struggle from its seekers is paramount. The public must not wait for the end of the war and should not be satisfied with protests to release the kidnapped. The campaign to expel the Netanyahu pack must be across the whole front, and it is a duty of all the comrades in arms, Benet, Lapid, Eizenkot & Yair Golan to remove their fears of the 'poison machine' and public opinion pols. They have and to offer a real alternative to the spirit of war which continues to blow through the broadcast channels.

 They had to say full heartedly that only a peace initiative, a recognition of a Palestinian entity and the division of the country between the two peoples will prevent the scaring of democracy as well as return our kidnapped civilians and soldiers. But this is a false hope. When Lapid and his entourage came for a visit at Kaplan street, and the head of the opposition saw the stand of "Looking the occupation in the eye", he did a significant detour, to prevent someone photographing him next to sign that says "Stop the occupation".

When we divide the public according to its public views, it is common to oppose the right with the left-center. That is a mistake if not a mislead. The liberal-national right of Menachem Begin has become under Netanyahu a nationalistic-fascistic one, and the center has taken the spot of the 'patriotic' right. The left side must understand that this is a trap without an exit. It must detach itself from what is referred to as the center. It must declare without fear its positions, and in their forefront the saying that the best chance of bringing back the kidnapped is by a political agreement. A willingness to march together, shoulder to shoulder, of peace, democracy and equality seekers, Jews & Arabs, Is worth 25 parliament seats at least.