jordan pulse -
Thomas Friedman lamented the hard-line religious alliance that is likely to come to power in Israel after last week's elections.
Friedman wrote in the "New York Times" an article entitled "The Israel we knew is over", in which he tried to explain to American readers the repercussions of the return of Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his allies in the far-right Religious Zionism party, likening them to American figures known to American readers.
Friedman began his article by saying: “Imagine that you woke up after the US presidential election in 2024, and if Donald Trump was re-elected, and he chose Rudy Giuliani as attorney general, Michael Flynn as Secretary of Defense, Steve Bannon as Secretary of Commerce, evangelical leader James Dobson as Secretary of Education, and Enrique Tarrio, the leader "Former Right-Wing Proud Boys Secretary of Homeland Security, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, White House Spokesperson. You're bound to think that's impossible. Well, reconsider that."
Friedman added: As I mentioned earlier, Israeli political trends are often indicative of broader trends in Western democracies, and often represent an external theater of events on our political scene. I had hoped that the national unity government that came to power in Israel in June 2021 might also have been a harbinger of more bipartisanship here. Unfortunately, the government has now collapsed, and is being replaced by one of the most extreme right-wing coalitions in Israel's history. May the Lord save us if this is a harbinger of what will happen in our country!
A struggle over the future of the State of Israel
At the same time, these elections are not only a struggle over the future of Israel, but also “a struggle over the future of Judaism in Israel. The Torah upholds the equality of all human beings and the idea that we are all made in the image of God. Of all people, Israelis must respect the rights of minorities, Because as Jews we know very well the feelings of minorities.” "And this is a deep Jewish ethic that is now being challenged by Israel itself," Halbertal added. "But, when you have all these grave security threats in the street every day, it becomes much easier to entrench those same hideous ideologies."
This will have a profound impact on US-Israel relations, says Friedman. However, do not take my words as irrefutable evidence. On October 1, the US Axios website published a story citing sources that cited what Bob Menendez, the Democratic senator from New Jersey who leads the Foreign Relations Committee, told Netanyahu during Menendez's trip to Israel in September. In the words of one of the sources, the senator warned Netanyahu that if he formed a government after the November 1 elections that included right-wing extremists, it "could lead to a massive decline in bipartisan support in Washington."
This is what is about to happen, according to the author, adding: I have been a correspondent from Israel for this newspaper (The New York Times) for nearly 40 years, and I have often traveled with my dear friend Nahum Barnea, who is considered one of the most prominent, prudent, poised, and caring journalists in the country. And his telling me a few minutes ago over the phone that “we now have a different Israel” suggests that we are on the cusp of a truly dark tunnel.