Israeli Shake-Up Prompts ‘Seeds of Fascism’ Warning

A military affairs commentator interrupted his broadcast to deliver a monologue: I’m alarmed by what’s happening in Israel, he said, I think my children should leave. 

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak warned of “the seeds of fascism.” Moshe Arens, who served as defense minister three times, saw it as a turning point in Israeli politics and expected it to cause a “political earthquake,” according to Reuters.

Lieberman, an occupied West Bank settler, wants to be defense minister. So Friday, Netanyahu’s former ally and confidant, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, resigned and quit Netanyahu’s Likud party in disgust.

After a weekend to digest the developments, which are expected to be finalized in an agreement between Netanyahu and Lieberman early this week to form the most right-wing cabinet in Israel, commentators have tried to put it in perspective and found themselves alarmed.

Arens, who has served as defense minister, foreign minister and ambassador to the United States, and is one of Netanyahu’s early political mentors, said the machinations would have far-reaching repercussions.

“Yaalon’s ouster is likely to be a turning point in Israel’s political history,” he said. “A political earthquake is in the offing. It may take a little time, but it is coming. The law of unforeseen consequences is at work.”

The decision to jettison Yaalon in favor of Lieberman was all too much for Roni Daniel, a veteran military affairs commentator on Channel 2.

“I cannot urge my children to stay here, because it is a place that is not nice to be in,” he said in his monologue, going on to name a number of far-right politicians.

By bringing the Yisrael Beitenu party into the fold, Netanyahu strengthens his coalition from 61 to 67 seats in the 120-member parliament.

Lieberman’s brand of politics – pro-settlement, wary of peace negotiations, tough on the Palestinians – sits far more comfortably with Netanyahu and his right-wing partners than the center-left does.

At a time when the command of the Israeli army is already at odds with Netanyahu's cabinet over policies it feels are too hard-line, Lieberman’s appointment risks creating more tension between the political leadership and the military.

“What has happened is a hostile takeover of the Israeli government by dangerous elements,” Ehud Barak, Israel’s former defense minister following his spell as head of government, told Channel 10 TV.

Israel has been “infected by the seeds of fascism,” he said, adding that it should be “a red light for all of us regarding what’s going on in the government.”