Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 14.Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
In the annals of history, Benjamin Netanyahu’s name will be a cursed one. The Israeli Prime Minister is razing his way to a dark and shameful legacy, as events even just this week demonstrate.
One development was positive: the release, after more than 19 months in captivity, of 21-year-old Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who was kept underground in a cage, his hands and feet tied, reports said.
But his freedom was reportedly secured through American pressure, rather than by Mr. Netanyahu – as the U.S. President travels to the region. While Donald Trump tries to bully-broker some kind of resolution, he is not scheduled to visit Israel or meet with Mr. Netanyahu. Some observers are reading a lot into the decision.
This, as war continues in Gaza, with casualties almost beyond comprehension. More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Hamas officials. And about 23 living Israeli hostages remain in captivity, Israel says.
Families of the hostages – and many other Israelis – are protesting Mr. Netanyahu’s handling of this nightmare. Imagine being the parent of a son held hostage for more than a year-and-a-half and witnessing your government not doing everything in its power to rescue him. You would go crazy, right?
The Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University found that 69 per cent of Israelis support ending the war for an agreement to return all the hostages – but nearly 74 per cent believe the government has no endgame.
The Israeli army has once again called up thousands of reservists; more and more are refusing to serve. “It’s legitimate to refuse a war that is our moral low point as a country,” wrote one of them, Eran Tamir, in an open letter.
But Mr. Netanyahu, already presiding over Israel’s longest war, isn’t just digging in his heels; his government is talking about re-occupying Gaza and forcing its population into one small corner of the already tiny territory.
On Monday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned that famine was imminent in Gaza. “The entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people (one in five) facing starvation,” its summary report stated.
Israel began blocking all aid supplies to Gaza in March. Its reason: to stop Hamas from accessing and profiting from food and fuel meant for civilians.
But people are starving. Children.
Not that some of Mr. Netanyahu’s cronies seem to care. “I don’t understand why we need to give them anything – they have enough food there. We should bomb Hamas’s food reserves,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said during a recent cabinet meeting. For his own political survival – facing plummeting popularity and corruption charges – Mr. Netanyahu has joined forces with repulsive, far-right radicals like Mr. Ben-Gvir.
Writing in the New York Times, Thomas Friedman calls the current Israeli government “ultranationalist” and “messianic,” and accuses Mr. Netanyahu of putting his personal interests ahead of Israel’s. Mr. Friedman is right.
Mr. Netanyahu is a stain on Israel. I write this as someone who cares deeply about the country, but despises how it has been operating, especially under this leadership. The killing – by bombs or starvation – must stop.
We know how this war started: the brutal Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed more than 1,200 people – including whole families, sometimes with their pets – and took more than 250 people hostage, including children.
But how will it end under this kind of leadership? Hamas, a terrorist group, wants Israel destroyed. Israel is destroying Gaza, which is run by Hamas.
Less gravely – but still very seriously – the repercussions of this war are being felt globally. Mr. Netanyahu is not to blame for the antisemitism that has exploded in Canada and elsewhere, but it has burst forth in the shadow of the war he will not stop waging. Recent reported examples include a swastika graffitied outside Anne Frank Public School north of Toronto and prospective doctors in a large Quebec Discord group spewing antisemitism (and misogyny and racism) with abandon.
This week, an anonymous parent on a Vancouver public school‘s Facebook group suggested it might be a bad idea for students to visit the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre because they won’t be talking about Palestine there. Anonymous parent: There are many things they won’t be discussing at the Holocaust centre. Would you ask this about any other museum dedicated to any other human catastrophe?
In Gaza, the killing continues. At least 70 more victims on Wednesday have been reported. Even if numbers from Hamas aren’t trustworthy, we know that many, many thousands have died. I could scream I’m so angry.
I’m writing these words instead.