The “Two Israels” Paradox: A Cruel War With No End In Sight

-Analysis-

PARIS — The state of Israel has a very peculiar calendar of commemorations this week: May 13 was Memorial Day, dedicated to remembering the victims of war and terrorism; while May 14 is Independence Day. Sadness followed by joy, in short. This year the festivities take place in amid the war in Gaza, while 132 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas and the trauma of Oct. 7 haunts all Israelis.

The result was a divisive Memorial Day, revealing a fractured society. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to task by family members of the hostages as he delivered his speech on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem yesterday, and some of the audience ostensibly left the site when he spoke. Other ministers, particularly those from the far right, have been strongly attacked at other events.

The gap is so wide that liberal daily Haaretz‘s yesterday published the headline “Israel has split into two incompatible Jewish states.” This diagnosis is all the more brutal when we consider that tensions have characterized the throughout 2023, with an endless series of demonstrations against the prime minister’s plans. The upheavals of recent months have certainly not improved matters.

Israel’s paradox

Israel faces an immense paradox. The majority of Israelis, in shock after the Oct. 7 attack, approve of the merciless retaliation against the people of Gaza. But at the same time, they no longer have confidence in the man leading this war, Netanyahu. Demonstrations calling for early elections have resumed and are held every Saturday.

The climate raises questions about the future

The explanation for this is twofold. First is the responsibility for the Oct. 7 security failures. The military has made mea culpa, as has the chief of staff, who said he was haunted by the thought of 1,200 deaths that could have been avoided. Netanyahu, reluctantly, did the same.

The other reason is the conduct of the war, the lack of priority given to freeing the hostages, the absence of a vision for the aftermath, and the permanent one-upmanship by the far right, which Netanyahu depends on to retain power.

A sad anniversary

This mistrust weighs heavily in the current climate. According to press rumors, some Israeli officials are now openly denouncing Netanyahu’s lack of strategy. They hold him responsible for forcing the army back to the north of Gaza, where Hamas was reorganizing in the vacuum left by Israel.

But beyond that, this climate raises questions about the future. Everything is pitting the “two Israels” referred to in Haaretz against each other. How can they build a common future, both in terms of institutions, but also in terms of relations with the Palestinians, religion, settlements, democracy?

At a time when the fate of civilians in Gaza is undermining their country’s image in the world, Israelis face the dilemmas of a cruel war — that has no end in sight and is approaching a dangerous escalation in Rafah — and of a lack of a common plan for the future.

As for their prime minister, he offered no clarity on the sad 76th anniversary of Israel’s independence.