TEL AVIV Hadar and Nadav Scali have come to the square of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Yellow birds and ribbons have been painted on the square. The place is called Panttivankanie aukio.
Yellow refers to the hostages taken by the terrorist organization Hamas, of which there are still more than a hundred in Gaza. There are pictures of the hostages here and there.
The most impressive detail in the square is the cave built on its edge. It reminds of the conditions of the hostages in the underground tunnels of Hamas.
An interview with a couple from Tel Aviv reveals that they hope the same as all other Israelis, namely to get the hostages home. In their opinion, that is the government’s main concern.
In addition, they fully support the actions of the Israeli right-wing government and the war in Gaza.
– Israel must also destroy Hamas, says Nadav Scali.
Nadav and Hadar got married last week. The matter is so recent that Hadar first introduces himself with his old surname.
– Israel must protect itself at any cost. Not everyone may agree with me, says Hadar Scali.
The new husband next door agrees. In the early stages of marriage, you don’t argue about politics.
The sand in the hourglass has run out
The view of the art museum’s square is a kind of still image. There is a big hourglass in the square. The sand in the hourglass has run out.
There is also a clock in the square that tells how long the hostages have been in Hamas custody. The clock started ticking on October 7 last year.
At that time, according to many Israelis, the prime minister also started Benjamin Netanyahu countdown.
– I don’t trust Netanyahu. We hope things change soon. We need a new prime minister, a Telavivian playing with his child in the park Peleg of Sivan inches.
Netanyahu’s downfall has been talked about many times before. No political crisis just seems to bring him down. He is a master of political survival.
It is mind-boggling to think that he has been in court for three corruption charges throughout his ongoing premiership. In addition, Israel has also waged a war against Hamas.
– Netanyahu is like a magician of disappearing tricks, a researcher of politics Dahlia Scheindlin says.
According to Scheindlin, Netanyahu believes that Israel will only succeed under his leadership. In Netanyahu’s thinking, his own survival is the same as the survival of the whole country.
The people have noticed this too. In opinion polls, the majority of Israelis say that Netanyahu’s decision-making is guided more by his own political goals than by the national interest.
– It reduces the legitimacy of his actions, says Dahlia Scheindlin.
Netanyahu – devil and idol
Israel is a very divided society with regard to Netanyahu and the entire political life.
Editor of the Haaretz newspaper, which is critical of the right-wing government Gideon Levy estimates that Netanyahu is both the most hated and the most loved person in his home country.
– Supporters follow him blindly and enemies see him as a devil. There isn’t, and can’t be, any dialogue in between, says Gideon Levy.
The possibility of dialogue has become even more remote in recent weeks after Israel’s so-called war cabinet ran aground. First, the centre-right Benny Gantz left the cabinet and then Netanyahu dismantled it.
Now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gathered around him a group of like-minded people, from whom he asks for advice on waging war.
The connections of the actual government are also creaking. The government, which relies on ultra-religious and ultra-nationalist parties, still has a majority of 64 MPs in the 120-member parliament, the Knesset.
Extremist groups would like a stronger position and access to define Israel’s military actions against Hamas. Netanyahu is in a difficult position – he needs the support of the extremist groups, but cannot completely give in to them.
Extremist and nationalist parties do not agree to any kind of ceasefire with Hamas.
– They have made it clear that they want the complete destruction of both Hamas and all of Gaza. They want to annex Gaza to Israel and build settlements there again, says Dahlia Scheindlin.
You can see that the pressure from the extreme parties has been effective. Netanyahu has not been able to say what kind of Gaza he is aiming for with the war and what position the Palestinians would be there after the war ends.
According to veteran journalist Gideon Levy, Israel entered the war without thinking about what would happen afterwards. And Israel still has no idea what it will look like after the war. He sees the situation as very dark.
– Israel is in Gaza. It kills and gets killed without a goal. Nothing has been achieved.
Pressure from all fronts
Israel has now drifted into a state where the government can fall at any moment. For example, the eternal issue of conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews can bring down the government.
There is widespread dissatisfaction among the nation fighting Hamas that young ultra-Orthodox men are privileged and can avoid military service.
They are once again trying to squeeze the law out of the Knesset. The idea would be that the burden of national defense would be distributed more evenly and conscription would expand to cover the ever-growing ultra-Orthodox population.
If the law finally receives support from outside the government and passes, then the extremist religious parties may very well leave the government.
The pressure grew even more on Tuesday, when the Supreme Court ruled that ultra-Orthodox men must go into the service. The extreme parties in the government are now facing a tough spot because they do not accept this.
The people’s pressure on the government is also fierce. In the demonstrations, the resignation of this and that government is demanded, because it is not capable of a ceasefire and getting the hostages home.
According to Dahlia Scheindlin, Benny Gantz calculated his departure with this in mind. He hoped that even more people would take to the streets to demonstrate against the government.
– This pressure could cause the ranks of Netanyahu’s Likud party to crack and the necessary five MPs to support the opposition would be lost.
With the help of Likud defectors, the government would then fall in the Knesset vote of confidence.
This could lead to new elections or at least through new government negotiations to a new government without Benjamin Netanyahu and the extreme parties.
– On the other hand, it could also happen that Netanyahu’s government just continues to be weakened and we won’t go to elections for a long time, says Dahlia Scheindlin.
Sami Elkanaev says that when he watches Israeli political competition, he sees a bunch of kids fighting in a sandbox. He would miss adult behavior.
– Politics is just a game. Just a game, says Sami Elkanaev.
Sevan Peleg, who is watching over his own child on the playground next to him, puts it succinctly.
– We have a government, but no leadership.