1/ Many Israelis are expressing displeasure at the behavior of our leaders, saying that if we only had "competent" people in charge we would have returned the hostages by now and would have also defeated Hamas and Hizballah. They are surprised at the level of ineptitude. --->
2/ Their surprise and chagrin are the best demonstrations of how wrong they are. Israel's failure and defeat, as well as its murderous dehumanization of the Palestinians, developed systemically over decades. This isn't a plan; this is who we are, lethal and inept. --->
3/ The chaos and the slaughter, the lack of humanity and the destructive self-victimization, they are the hallmarks of Israeliness. We seperate Netanyahu's personal failings from his policies to avoid looking at ourselves in the mirror. He is us. We are us. --->
4/ Most of us are displeased. Why is there no hostage deal? But our protest is personal ("imagine if it was your daughter down there in the tunnels!"). Not only is it personal, but it denies any personhood to the Palestinians ("it's their fault; why don't they rebel?"). --->
5/ We think Netanyahu is right not because he kills Palestinians but because he tells us a story of necessity, a narrative of no choice. That is our basic stance with regard to ourselves. That is why we ultimately support Netanyahu. What choice do we have? --->
6/ So our protests reflect our displeasure but not our choice. We've never made one. Israel was created as an expression of national revival (no choice; the nation was always there) and as a haven for world Jewry (no choice; the world was out for our blood). We don't choose. --->
7/ Stop expecting us to take to the streets. We won't. Our entire sense of being is based on denying choices. Like Netanyahu (who is us), we engage in lethal procrastination. We pay the highest price for the lowest return at the worst time. Our helplessness is our superpower.
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