I had intended to entitle this rant ‘Nowhere Man’ – taken from the song of the same name by the Beatles.
I’ll articulate later in this rant why. From now let me focus on the refrain ‘Democracy or Rebellion’.
It reminded me of the cries from the American Revolution:
"Taxation without representation is tyranny”
"Give me liberty, or give me death!"
I appreciate that the word ‘Freedom’ means something different to liberals and conservatives.
As Thomas Paine wrote in his first The American Crisis pamphlet published on December 23, 1776 “These are the times that try men's souls”.
Indeed, the escalating situation in Israel is sorely trying the souls of Israelis across the spectrum of its citizens.
So yes, the war cry Democracy or Rebellion must continue to be heard across the land until such times as we rid ourselves of the reprobates who claim to have our best interests at heart.
Indeed, for this Netanyahu government, his sixth, the good of the coalition far outweighs the importance and health of the country. The justice minister said as much recently.
And as I have written several times in recent weeks: For the fallen of Israel not to be forgotten, we MUST be their voice.
Back to the song ‘Nowhere Man’.
Nowhere Man written principally by John Lennon, was released by the Beatles in December 1965 on their album Rubber Soul.
Nowhere Man describes a man with no direction in his life and with no genuine worldview.
Pounding the sidewalks of Kfar Saba this morning and listening to the lyrics, WOW, I thought Lennon had described many of the loonies in Jerusalem. ‘Nowhere men and women’, unable or unwilling to focus on a unifying direction for the good of the whole country, and lacking an understanding of the world around them. In other words, like horses, they are blinkered to the reality around them.
Two examples from the Likud ranks:
Tali Gottlieb criticizes the Governor of the Bank of Israel, telling him to back away from things he does not understand, following his comments concerning Israel’s economy. This nitwit obviously missed the memo confirming Amir Yaron as the Governor of the Bank of Israel, and as a world-renowned economist has an in-depth understanding of the financial world. Can the same be said of Gottlieb or our esteemed finance minister Smotrich? One of many of Netanyahu’s fuck-ups, was not making Nir Barkat finance minister. Of course, he could not, getting Smotrich and his band of loonies into his government was far more critical than having a finance minister who understood finance/economies, and the world at large.
And what about the halfwit Amichai Chikli who claims that US President Joe Biden is coordinating his overhaul criticism with Yair Lapid and Ehud Barak? Chikli is evidently in urgent need of treatment. He is living in La La Land. Poor man.
Chikli, Smotrich, and Ben Gvir count among the many coalition MKs who are happy to tell the US – regardless of who is president – to take a running jump, mind their own business.
As Mr. T often remarked, “Pity the fool”.
According to numbers I have found on the internet with the close of 2022, the US gave the State of Israel – in various forms – either $3.5 or $3.8BN.
Think long and hard you loonies.
We have other ‘Nowhere men and women’ in the form of Smotrich, Ben Gvir, and their mob of ultra-rightwing miscreants. And of course, we have the ‘holy trinity’ of the felonious Ayre Deri, Moshe Gafni, and Yitzhak Goldknopf. I have always found it challenging to understand how Gafni, who seems reasonably intelligent can get himself mixed up with the likes of Deri and Goldknopf. Maybe opposites do attract.
So what do these two groups have in common? The answer is the incapability to think for themselves.
They are genuine ‘nowhere men’ relying as they do on instructions and commands given to them by a cluster of rabbis, many of whom have close to zero knowledge or understanding of the world around them, living as they do in their ghettos and clinging to a European lifestyle from 250+ years ago.
What a load of crock.
And tell me yet again, Israel is not on a slippery slope to mirroring Iran and Afaganstein. BS.
As Barry McGuire, informed us in his 1965 song, we stand on the ‘Eve of Destruction’.
Are all in the Likud blind?
Are they sticking to the "too dumb to know better" defense?
Netanyahu has been hijacked, and kidnapped and has reemerged as a puppet manipulated by Smotrich, Ben Gvir, and the Haridim.
I, and millions of other Israelis, who did not vote for these loonies are nevertheless under their control in our daily life.
It is no wonder we scream ‘Democracy or Rebellion’.
In the past, I often referred to Netanyahu as a ‘benevolent dictator.
I’ve come to understand in recent weeks, notwithstanding my above puppet comments, Netanyahu is looking to emulate Putin, Orban, Erdoğan, and of course the despot Kim Jong Un.
Shortly will we be required to hail our Supreme Leader, Kim Jong BiBi.
I get zero pleasure in referring to various ministers and MKs with a range of pronouns. But their antics, loud gutter mouths, and lack of a moral compass demand abuse.
Allow me to recommend an excellent opinion piece by Yuval Diskin, former head of the Shin Bet.
“Suspending reserve duty isn't mutiny, it's patriotism at its finest” “Opinion: The battle for Israel's character and values rages on, and in order to prevent the slide towards a hollow democracy led by a government tainted with racism, misogyny, and criminal entanglements, it is imperative that we take this necessary step” https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h111kdhkth
Having recommended the above opinion piece by Yuval Disskin and following a recent message from an acquaintance, I further suggest reading Thomas L. Friedman’s ‘From Beirut to Jerusalem’.
Originally published in 1989 the book chronicles Freiedman’s time in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War and in Jerusalem through the first year of the first Intifada.
In 1990, Friedman wrote a 17-page epilogue for the first paperback edition concerning the potential for peaceful resolution in Israel and Palestine.
There is an interesting follow-up from Dr. Joseph Freedman published in 2020.
"Revisiting ‘From Beirut to Jerusalem’ by Friedman”
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/revisiting-from-beirut-to-jerusalem-by-friedman/
And today’s lead article from The Times of Israel
“NY Times’s Friedman: Netanyahu gov’t is making rethink of US-Israel ties ‘inevitable’” “Columnist says Biden administration believes Israeli coalition is using judicial overhaul as cover for ‘unprecedented radical behavior… that is undermining our shared interests’” https://www.timesofisrael.com/ny-timess-friedman-netanyahu-coalition-making-rethink-of-us-israel-ties-inevitable/
Writing in the Haaretz newspaper today, former Israeli Consul General to New York Alon Pinkus boldly stated the truth, namely that:
“Netanyahu Has Declared War on His Own Country. He Will Lose It”. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reign has seen a deliberate deconstruction of the Zionist project, eroding principles and straining the delicate seam lines that have held the nation together since 1948.” https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-07-11/ty-article/.highlight/netanyahus-legacy-being-israels-first-post-zionist-prime-minister/00000189-4503-dc58-adcd-fda7ff980000
As an increasing number of air office reserve pilots and other reservists have remarked “We pledged to serve the kingdom, not the king”.
For the fallen of Israel not to be forgotten, we MUST be their voice and stop this government from plundering the wealth of the country.