The Damage Netanyahu has wrought on Israel

The damage Netanyahu has wrought on Israel
Akiva Eldar • www.haaretz.com

There was a time when Israel would be up in arms whenever some junior country would threaten to recognize a Palestinian state. Since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, hardly a week goes by without some European nation announcing its intention to consider recognizing Palestine.

After the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Slovenia and Malta, now Spain says it intends to accomplish this by July.

Madrid seemed hardly fazed by the Knesset’s pathetic response, which decided to object to any sort of unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, as if there was a majority in the Knesset for bilateral recognition.

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In a Facebook post promoting a book by right-wing activist Akiva Bigman, “How Netanyahu Turned Israel into An Empire” (Sella Meir, 2019), Netanyahu wrote: “Since there is no chance of you hearing about it from the media, I will give you its concluding paragraph.” Here is a bit of that quote: “With the passage of time and as the political dust and petty doings settle, Netanyahu will take his place in history as one of the three greatest Jewish leaders in modern times, alongside [Theodor] Herzl and [David] Ben-Gurion.” Netanyahu wants us to realize that he “navigated Israel through complex situations with its enemies, and also built bridges and agreements, marching it toward a grand future.”

Here is a (partial) list of bridges that this would-be emperor has already destroyed and agreements that the heir to Herzl and Ben-Gurion has succeeded in taking apart. In six months, he had achieved what the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement couldn’t in over 20 years. And there’s no chance of you hearing about this from Channel 14 News. Even the “panic channels” aren’t eager to report such boring items:

* European Union foreign ministers have decided to impose sanctions on violent settlers, including freezing assets and a ban on entering EU states. EU citizens will be forbidden from conducting business deals with these settlers.

* Bolivia suspended diplomatic relations with Israel. Chile, Colombia, Chad, Honduras, Turkey, and Jordan, among others, have downgraded diplomatic relations.

* The African Union practically suspended Israel’s observer status, while Colombia suspended weapons purchases from Israel. Israeli companies were absent from arms fairs in Colombia and Chile.

* The regional government in Wallonia, Belgium, suspended two licenses for exporting arms to Israel.

* Spain’s ruling party, as well as others, suspended Spain’s arms trade with Israel. The Spanish parliament’s foreign affairs committee voted to stop arms sales to Israel.

* Jordan’s government announced its rejection of the water-for-energy deal with Israel.

* Several Danish pension funds have excluded Israeli companies, including banks, involved in West Bank settlements, and began to divest from them.

* The Canadian parliament voted for a ban on arms sales to Israel.

* Over 130 British MPs called for a ban on all arms sales to Israel.

* The city of Barcelona cut all ties with Israel.

* The city council in Ghent, Belgium, announced it would not make purchases from companies that profit from the occupation and subjugation of Palestinians.

* The city of Hayward, California, voted to divest from four companies who are party to Israeli human rights abuses and violations of international law.

* Over 120 city councils in the U.S. passed resolutions calling for a cease-fire.

* Two large Japanese companies, Nippon Aircraft Supply and the Itochu Corporation, severed relations with arms producers Elbit Systems.

* The investment council of Wisconsin sold all of its 8,083 Elbit shares. Bank of America got rid of half of the company’s shares.

* Between the third and fourth quarter of 2023, Scotia Bank, Elbit’s biggest foreign investor, reduced its holdings in the company by 16 percent.

* Trade unions in ports in Belgium, India, Catalonia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, California and South Africa have taken steps against Israeli ships or arms shipping to Israel. The government of Malaysia banned Israeli-owned ships from docking in Malaysian harbors.

* Five Norwegian universities suspended their cooperation agreements with Israeli universities.

* The council of University of Antwerp’s law school decided to put an end to the cooperation agreement with Bar-Ilan University.

* The University of Turin decided to cut contacts with Israeli research institutes “complicit in genocide.”

* The Federal University of Ceará in Brazil cancelled its Innovation Challenge Brazil – Israel program.

* The University of Montreal’s faculty association, representing almost 1,400 faculty members, voted unanimously to boycott Israeli universities.

* The University of Michigan’s faculty senate voted for divestment from Israel.

* German sportswear manufacturer Puma announced it wouldn’t renew its contract with the Israel Football Association.

* The Irish government decided to divest millions of euros from major Israeli companies, to the tune of 2.95 million euros.

* McDonald’s Corp. bought back its 225 restaurants in Israel from the local franchise owner.

And how does Israel respond to such deep chasms in relations with the entire world, and strive to bring back the hostages? It boycotts Al Jazeera, the TV channel with a connection to Hamas