Israel’s problem…
…is Benjamin Netanyahu. Old Ben is the autocratic Trump of the Middle East, right up there with Assad, the Ayatollah, Erdogan, and MBS. The Middle East has always had more of its fair share of murderous demagogues, of course, and they’re often entrenched in their power with support from religious extremists—old Ben’s is derived from religious fanatics just like the fascists here in the US.
Extreme? Hardly! Anyone who denies this reality today is part of the problem. Old Ben and his ilk aren’t even fascist capitalists like President-for-Life Xi in China. They’re just old-fashioned despots who violently strike out when their power is threatened. Loser Trump’s January 6 debacle was no exception; that was typical fascist behavior. Netanyahu is lashing out by employing the parallel technique, making someone else the enemy and murderously attacking them to preserve power and distract from all the corruption charges against him that would normally cause him to resign in a truly democratic state. I suppose one could argue he’s only following Trump’s lead, but I think Netanyahu is a lot smarter than that “stable genius” who lost the election in a landslide to end his four-year reign. God knows what it will take to get rid of Netanyahu. Maybe God doesn’t even know because, like Trump, Netanyahu is the Devil’s minion.
Autocrats can be very efficient at governing even as they become murderers in their attempts to hold on to power. The dictator Rojas Pinilla in Colombia built a new airport and hospital in Bogotá, the capital, that were still the best in the country last time I was there, but he and his daughter (channeling Mao and Mrs. Mao) killed many. In one case, Colombia’s secret police rounded up dissidents, put them in a soccer stadium, and mowed them down with machinegun fire. This happens a lot in Third World countries like Arab nations and Israel as tyrants struggle to maintain power. More democratic countries usually offer a smoother transition of power (Trump and Netanyahu are exceptions), but that fails miserably when voters stupidly elect tyrants (like Trump and Netanyahu).
Humanity seems to never learn. How are we going to solve the worlds’ problems that plague human existence when stupid humans support tyrants like Netanyahu and Trump? Trump tried to turn the US into an apartheid state; and Netanyahu just might succeed doing that in Israel, which was much farther along to begin with. Because both countries are assumed to be democracies, voters share some of the blame by voting for these fascist personalities. We reap what we sow.
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Comments are always welcome.
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Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
