I can't help but think that Bibi and his far-right party were inspired by Trump and the Republicans. And if Bibi is successful in remaking Israeli governance in his own image, Trump, should he retake the White House, will be inspired by Bibi to remake America's.
"An act of madness" is how a former Netanyahu ally and opposition member framed the hard right's legislative push to subvert the Israeli Supreme Court's power of judicial review. The prime minister, said the lawmaker, "is determined to drive Israel into the abyss" — by which he meant a ruthless break from democracy to authoritarianism.
Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Saturday that "the rift within our society" and over the Supreme Court bill "is widening and penetrating the Israel Defense Forces," which is "a clear and immediate and tangible danger to the security of the state." Sunday, Netanyahu fired Gallant for his honesty.
Popular reaction to that prime ministerial act of madness may have pushed Bibi over the edge of reconsideration. Although parliament is proceeding with plans for a final vote on the Court bill today, and though the NY Times reports that Netanyahu's decision to fire Gallant "appeared an unmistakable signal" that he, too, intends to proceed, he's expected to deliver another speech today; he is "considering ... whether to delay."
Gallant's sacking set off merely the latest of mass protests. In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked a highway and set fire to major roads. In Jerusalem, they marched to Netanyahu's private residence — having broken through police barricades — and then angrily gathered at Parliament. Israel's top universities have announced they're closing down "for the immediate future." In New York, Israel’s consul-general resigned. The country's largest union might announce a general strike today in cooperation with businesses. And the Biden administration has just about had it with Bibi, as have several European governments.
"There comes a time in the history of a people or a person or an organization when you have to stand up and be counted," said Daniel Chamovitz, president of Ben-Gurion University. "With what’s happened in Israel over the past three months, and definitely over the past three hours, we decided that the time had come for us to make a stand." Aviv Bushinsky, who was chief of staff for Bibi when he was finance minister, said his "view is that he lost control. He didn’t perceive that there would be such objection in the streets and the world."
And so Netanyahu may back down. Would the same popular pressure arise in the U.S. should Trump retake the presidency and recommence his authoritarian maneuverings — in large part, like Bibi, to evade accountability for past criminal acts? Both men are in legal trouble and looking for ways out, with the conspiring aid of their parties.
Israelis seem determined to prohibit such a power grab. About Americans, I'm not so sure. As E.J. Dionne wrote in his latest column: "There is a madness running through our nation’s public life [and] our country seems nearly powerless to counteract it" (italics mine). Our greatest danger is not only severe polarization, but one in which the hard-right minority is muscular, risk-taking and shameless while the vast middle appears indifferent, ambivalent or cowered.