Many people have asked me for my perspective on this latest war between  American/Israel and Iran under the “leadership” of Trumpenyahu  (the name for the two “leaders” who have been cooking up plans for this war craftily for a long time). So here it is:

The Israeli media and large segments of the Israeli population are absolutely salivating with excitement and messianic fervor. Haman and Amalek will be defeated again! The forces of good will triumph over the forces of evil, as in the book of Esther on Purim, once again! Yipee. Let’s go. Regime change! Let’s kill the leaders. Yaalah!  Let’s finish them off, like we did the Hezbollah in Lebanon (who by now have already entered the war) and Hamas in Gaza.

Everything appears to be black and white, very neat and simple. This war will end the threat of Iran to our very existence and it will also put an end to terrorism from Hezbollah and Hamas! Wow. A major solution for our survival. Hooray!

Yet, we all know that war is not so simple. There are often complications and things don’t always go our way. In addition, there needs to be a diplomatic horizon as part of the plan. What do Israel and the US have in mind after they succeed in toppling the leadership of Iran? Who will rule this country of 90 million people? Will it be Trumpian or Bibi-ist version of “democracy”? Or will chaos set it? What does Bibi want? Who knows? What does his wife, Sara, and his son, Yair, want, and are they influencing him, as usual?

It seems very clear that the Bibi/Ben Gvir/Smotrich government only knows war and more war. But this war will not solve our basic problems. It will not end the Occupation, nor will it bring peace. (Trump is lying or wildly exaggerating about this, as usual.) On the contrary, it will probably make our problems worse. It will increase militarism in Israeli society and “prove” that diplomacy doesn’t work.

Moreover, this war will not help the Palestinians in any way, and the daily pogroms (sanctioned by this government) against them on the West Bank will continue to go on every day.  By ignoring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once again, this war will only exacerbate it and bring more terrorism or “resistance” in the future.

In addition, this war will cause more trauma and post-trauma in Israel. It will put off the search for peace, which most Israelis have abandoned anyway. And if “we win”, it will strengthen Bibi and his buddies and the nationalist right will win the elections again, God forbid.

Furthermore, Bibi and his pals don’t really accept the Trump 20 point “peace plan”  for Gaza. They just faked and said yes to Trump to please their boss. Rather, they want to renew the war in Gaza, since only “we”  can disarm Hamas. So, we are in a state of perpetual/forever war. This does not offer any hope for either Israelis or Palestinians for the long run (or the short one).

The war may make some Israelis feel good, but the majority are stuck in shelters and home safe rooms, suffering from anxiety and trauma, and really not loving this war as much as the media and the government and the far right does.

Instead of perpetual war, perhaps there is another way, the path of diplomacy towards meaningful agreements between nations in the region. Yes, this is a concept in the international community. But not for Donny and Bibi. They are machismo men of power who don’t really believe in peace. (Contrary to all his bombast, Donny is not really a peacemaker! That’s why he didn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize!)

Like all the other wars, this war will end too, hopefully sooner rather than later. And then what? Will there be any real effort to create peaceful coexistence between  Israelis and Palestinians? Will there be a genuine peace plan? Not the fake one created by Donny and Jared, with hotels on the Gaza Riviera and promises to rebuild Gaza which will never happen!

This war, like all wars, is causing lots of destruction and death, lots of pain and suffering. Does anyone in Israel care about how much pain and suffering we inflict on “the other side”? Can all this death and destruction, as well as fear and anxiety, really be worth it? Will it solve our existential problems? Or perpetuate them?

While many in Israel have focused on the external enemy of Iran, the focus on our internal enemy has suddenly disappeared. Our internal enemies are Bibi, Ben Gvir, Smotrich and the rest of them, who are destroying Israeli democracy and bringing us only despair. Maybe this is one of the reasons that Trumpenyahu launched their latest little war, to get our minds off of THEM  (and the Epstein files!) and how they are destroying Israel and America. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is part of their motivations.

As I finish this post, a siren may sound any minute. Then I and millions of Israeli citizens will go back to our shelters and safe rooms, where we can hide from reality and avoid the real questions that confront us.

But in a few days (or weeks!?) we will emerge from our shelters and go back to reality and then we will be no closer to solving our basic problems than we were before this war. The only way we can return to sanity and civility will be to un-elect Trump in the midterms and Bibi in the fall elections. This will be useful “regime change”!  Otherwise, both America and Israel will continue fighting expensive and dangerous wars, with no end in sight.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)