Israel's Tony Soprano moment
If you want to know why so many Israelis are now supporting Netanyahu, consider the benefits of having a violent thug as your leader
I have been thinking a lot about Carmella Soprano.
I know what you’re gonna say: Why go to fictionalized television when real life is filled with its own creative array of nightmarish scenarios? Iranian rockets flying overhead taking out buildings and blowing through safe rooms and hospitals, airports closed indefinitely while desperate people scramble through deserts to get and out of places marked as “dangerous”, plus continued starvation in Gaza with dozens of people shot to death while hopelessly seeking food, the complete closure of the West Bank, and a nefarious, demented megalomaniacal US president suddenly being the potential lynchpin or savior (?!) in all of this with the entire world hanging on his every word because, well, nuclear arms are involved and there is apparently a real possibility of certain insane world leaders having access to nuclear codes — and I am NOT referring to Iran.
All of that is NOT a futuristic dystopian limited Netflix series. All of that is reality. Right now.
Nevertheless, putting all that aside, let’s talk about Carmella Soprano for a moment.
Have you ever asked yourself why she stayed?
Why would Carmella Soprano stay with the man who headed a massive crime organization responsible for an endless string of murders, violence, and the destruction of people’s lives and businesses — all for the sake of money? She knew about all this, never tried to stop him, and never really tried to leave. Of course, she never did any of that “bad” stuff herself. She kind of pretended not to be involved and lived her life. The bad stuff was all him — she could let him do his “dirty” thing while staying “clean” herself. But she knew. In fact, the only part of his lifestyle that bothered her was his “gumma”, the girlfriend on the side. She tried to stop THAT part. But otherwise, his stuff was just his stuff. She turned away and stayed.
Why did she do that? Obviously because she benefitted from it. She got the house, the lifestyle, the creature comforts. But it runs deeper than that: She got the social benefits of being protected. She was safe. She was looked after. She got respect. Nobody would ever touch her. Nobody would ever, ever dare to hurt her.
I thought about this the other day in a conversation about the war in Iran. (Yeah, I know.) It was this discovery that something like 83% of Israelis currently support Prime Minister Netanyahu since Israel began attacking Iran. Even Israelis who have been protesting against this government for nearly three years have now put aside their anti-Bibi ideas and postures and are now standing behind him. Almost the entire country is like that.
In fact, if you want to know what else is keeping me up at night right now (besides rockets and sirens and wondering where my children and grandchildren are), here is something: According to a Maariv poll this week, if elections were held today, Netanyahu would be prime minister again. His approval rating went up by the equivalent of 6 mandates, putting him exactly where he was when he got elected, before Oct 7, before the anti-democracy upheavals. All of that. Thanks to the war in Iran, King Bibi is back, baby!
No, seriously, this keeps me up at night.
You can sense this in everyday interactions, in real life and on social media. I can’t even count how many times I heard this week, “I don’t like Bibi but I completely support him right now.” By “right now”, people mean, “While Israel is at war with Iran.”
Just so we understand: The war in Iran is the best thing to happen to Bibi in, like, twenty years.
Why is this? Why are so many Israelis in support of Netanyahu right now?
Well, I think you know why.
Israelis have become Carmella Soprano. They really like having the mob boss take care of them right now. They like having a big, bad thug doing Whatever It Takes. While we look away. You know, don’t look too close. We just need things like this right now. That’s the moment we’re in. It’s Israel Chooses Tony Soprano for Prime Minister.
Let’s zoom in to this thought.
We have been completely indoctrinated into believing that Israel’s very existence is under threat of extinction from Iran at any given moment. Bibi has been screaming “existential threat” for 20 years. And nobody has ever challenged him on that. Even though Iran has never directly attacked Israel — until a few months ago, when Israel attacked first, and then Iran sent 400 missiles over, and then stopped, and Bibi vowed that this is not over, which is where we are today — even though Israel was never directly at war with Iran — Netanyahu has been saying Iran is out to destroy all of Israel for 20 years. He used that line to justify every single awful thing he has ever done, from attacking Palestinians to ignoring international law to destroying democracy. It’s all because “Iran, existential threat”. We have been hearing that, nobody has disproven it, nobody has challenged it, and so everyone believes it.
And if you think that you are all about to die, you go into that whole crisis mode and support Whatever It Takes. Israelis are supporting Netanyahu’s Whatever It Takes strategy. Because, you know, we have been told that otherwise we will all die.
This perception is, unfortunately seemingly supported by current events. Israel is under the worst collective attack in its history — in some ways worse than October 7. The bombs are bigger, more destructive, and more resistant to Iron Dome. We are looking at bombs taking out entire buildings. People have died this week in their safe rooms. So that doesn’t help with the thought that We Are All About to Die.
All of this is what makes me think of The Sopranos. The reason why everyone around Tony Soprano was happy to be there — and why his wife Carmella would never consider leaving — is because people like being protected by the thug. They really wanted Tony Soprano on their side. They wanted to be the ones he looked after. Especially Carmella. Being married to the mob boss has great benefits. Especially when people start shooting. Nobody was ever going to shoot at her. Ever
That’s why people support Bibi Netanyahu right now.
At moments like this, people want to have the thug protecting them. The one who will Do Whatever It Takes to keep them safe.
We look away at the crimes. We look away at the loss of innocent lives. We look away at the complete absence of all moral conscience. There are rockets flying, and they are headed our way, so this is the time to call on our own personal Tony Soprano. Do Whatever it Takes while we look away.
“Okay, Tony, go ahead, do your thing. Thanks so much! I owe you one!
We’ll remember that at election time!”
As much as I commiserate with the fear — I am living through all this, too, along with the people I love most in the world — I don’t think this is a very smart position to be in. If you back a thug, prepare for the blowback. This particular thug is already wanted around the world for war crimes, and continues to dismantle democracy, plan for taking over Gaza, and call up more reservists for more war. Choose this side with caution.
The support for Netanyahu tells us one thing for sure: Most Israelis are still very happy overall with the Israeli identity of Military Fighter. That image has also been deeply entrenched into the Israeli psyche. Even many leaders on the new, emergent left are very emphatic in supporting Israel as a Mighty Warrior.
There are still no voices on the public leadership horizon who dare to challenge this, who are heard when they say that there are other ways for a country to be strong that don’t involve being the first to bomb the hell out of anyone who looks at us the wrong way. All four of the top potential condenders to replace Netanyahu come from the military war — Bennetz, Gallant, Gantz, and even Golan of the new Democratic party got to where they are because they were high ranked military men. No women on the horizon, no non-military candidates. None. This culture of Israel as Bearer of Brute Force is still beloved by most Israelis. That reality ALSO keeps me up at night.
There’s more to consider. This particular Thug-In-Chief continues to call for “sacrifice”. Whether that means we should be prepared for being indefinitely attacked by Iran, as 25 people have already died this week and thousands are injured and 30,000 are homelss. Or whether this means more reserve duty. Or more people being stuck here with indefintely airport closures. Or continued closures of schools and workplaces. Or the sacrifice of the hostages, as he has said many times, implying that the Gaza war will never be over, there will never be a ceasefire, and the hostages will never be returned. Sacrifices. This thug does what he wants and expects us all to “sacrifice”. The language of sacrifice is so intently etched into the public discourse that even this week, when discussing the death of 25 people, a friend outside of Israel invoked the term “sacrifice”.
I thought to myself, Who are we to decide whose lives should be sacrificed? Who is Netanyahu to decide such things? WHO IS HE to tell us all we should be willing to sacrifice ourselves or others? HOW DID WE GET HERE to this place where people around the world justify our sacrifice?
Meanwhile, as the Thug-in-Chief tells us all to prepare to “sacrifice”, his son sits all comfy in Miami with 24/7 bodyguards paid for by us taxpayers.
(And just for your amusement, the Thug=in-Chief said the other day, “I know what it feels like to lose your home. When I was forced to leave the Prime Minister’s residence [because he lost an election] I had to live in the Sheraton Plaza Hotel.” You can’t make this stuff up.)
While he calls on all of us to be prepared for “sacrifice”, he readily demonstrates an ongoing disregard for human life — not only Israelis who are all now caught in Iran’s line of fire, but also the Palestinians, the hostage families, soldiers with PTSD who do not want to be doing his dirty work anymore, and now add to the list the people of Iran. In the war with Iran, hundreds of innocent people have already been killed, and their stories don’t count at all.
I chatted briefly with my Iranian friend Faravaz Farvadini. (You may remember her — she is the singer who had to flee Iran after being sentenced to prison for singing. That is, for singing while Being A Woman. I interviewed her years ago, comparing our respective religions’ attitudes towards women’s voices and bodies…though the video seems to have disappeared from FB). Faravaz’s family is still there in Iran, in Israel’s line of fire. Just a reminder that her family does not deserve to be bombed any more than the people of Tel Aviv do. Or the people of Dir el Balah…..
The actions of the Thug-in-Chief put us all into danger. We are not “winning” — not in Iran, not in Gaza, not anywhere. Violence only brings more violence, and we are all far worse off than we were a week ago, than we were two years ago…. We are not safer or happier or more secure or more human because we have a mob boss in charge.
And don’t believe the rhetoric, either. Israel is not “controlling the skies of iran”. Iran is far bigger than Israel — 75 times as big. Their skies are fine. WE are the ones whose skies are closed, who are all trapped here and afraid of leaving our homes. We are already losing. And when the dust settles, who knows what else we will have lost.
Meanwhile, he does not know how to end it, nor does he have any plans to do so.
And now we have a whole new set of threats all around us.
So to all of you saying, “Well, I support Bibi Netanyahu right now,” just remember that when you back the thug, prepare for the consequences.
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