Israel is in Moral Meltdown

Conflicts Forum’s compilation tracking strategic developments in Israel, 17 May 2025

‘The War to establish a Fascist State’ -- “The Chariots of Genocide are Warming their Engines” /

Israeli Law Professor Orit Kamir: 'Israel is flooded with evil, a lack of empathy … and an addiction to hatred and bloodlust' /

The line between Likud and Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit is increasingly blurred /

Netanyahu marked the families of the kidnapped for the poison machine as early as Oct 2023

[These compilations are drawn from analysis & commentary by Israeli political and security commentators, predominantly published in Hebrew — as reports in Hebrew often provide a different window on Israeli internal discourse].

‘The Chariots of Genocide are warming their engines’ (Gideon Levy, Haaretz):

Operation Gideon's Chariots has yet to begin, and the chariots of genocide are already warming their engines. How will we call this massacre, so indiscriminate and pointless, even before the big operation has begun? 23 killed in the bombing of a hospital – one of the most serious war crimes – just to try and kill Mohammed Sinwar, the latest devil, with nine bunker buster bombs – everything to provide Yedioth Ahronoth in their lust for the main headline: "In his brother's footsteps". The readers loved it, Israelis loved it, no one came out against it … Is there anything left we can do in Gaza that will be seen in Israel as morally and legally unacceptable? 100 dead children? A thousand women for Sinwar the brother? It was necessary to eliminate him, they explained, because he was an "obstacle to a hostage deal." We've even lost our shame. The sole obstacle to a hostage deal sits in Jerusalem, his name is Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his fascist partners, and no one can even conceive that it's legitimate to harm them to remove the obstacle. What happened on Wednesday in Gaza is just a promo for what will occur in the coming months, if no one stops Israel.

Netanyahu's government has lost control, (Haaretz Editorial, 6 May 2025):

The decision by the security cabinet this week to expand the fighting in the Gaza Strip has a clear meaning: a conscious decision to give up on the hostages, to deepen the humanitarian disaster Israel has brought down on two million unprotected civilians in the false hope that it is possible to "relocate" them – in other words a criminal population transfer – and to make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict disapper from the face of the earth. Netanyahu's government has lost control, and it is dragging an entire country into ruin.

New IDF attack on Gaza; War crimes will intensify (Yossi Melman):

Defence Minister Katz says the IDF has launched the attack in Gaza … The IDF is preparing for an attack with a force of 5 divisions, about 60,000 soldiers. Most of them are regulars. [IDF Chief] Zamir is afraid of bringing reservists into Gaza for fear of "white" refusal and desertion, [so is] sending them to other fronts. The humanitarian disaster and destruction and war crimes will intensify, and with them the danger to the hostages.

Image from Haaretz: “A row of eclairs, oozing cream lined up in a bakery refrigerator, their sweet surface glazed with blue writing: "Allow the Israeli army to hit them hard!" or, literally, "Let the IDF mow them down!”".

Assassinating its way to a ceasefire (Ronen Bergman):

Israeli fighter jets bombarded the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Tuesday evening in an attempt to kill Muhammad Sinwar, one of Hamas’s remaining top leaders in the enclave. He is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar ... If the younger Sinwar has been killed, past experiences suggest that Hamas may be less willing to compromise in the short term, while potentially more malleable in the longer term. Muhammad Sinwar is considered one of the main obstacles to a new temporary truce, and his killing could eventually give other Hamas leaders greater leeway to strike a deal. Two of the Israeli defense officials said that by eliminating Sinwar, they hoped to remove a particularly intransigent opponent of their conditions for a cease-fire.

(Yossi Melman): It is clear that if Muhammad Sinwar is eliminated, Hamas will not rush to confirm, if at all, in order to leave Israel in uncertainty and prepare to choose a replacement. But the truth is that even if he is killed, it will be a limited practical achievement. A replacement will be appointed quickly.

‘1948 was a war to establish a Jewish state; This is a war to establish a fascist state’ (Gideon Levy, Haaretz):

The State of Kahane has risen in Israel. Netanyahu's criminal spinelessness made it possible. It wasn't only the neo-Nazi right-wing parties: It was, above all, the prime minister's own Likud party that brought Kahanism to power. The profound change that has occurred in Israel is best exemplified by the war in Gaza. Almost everything about it was meant to appease the fascist, racist, pro-population-transfer far right; and the spirit of Kahanism seized control of its goals and conduct.

Israel is flooded with evil and lack of empathy. “I never knew people were capable of being so evil” (Professor Orit Kamir, Haaretz Hebrew):

I have never seen so much evil; so many people eager to express wickedness; competing with each other in demonstrating their closeness and lack of empathy. I never knew people were capable of being so evil. To rejoice in the pain of others. To rejoice when people suffer, starve, die, lose everything they have and die. That is why I have never been so afraid. The feeling is that a mighty dam has been breached and masses of Israelis are removing all restraints of humanity from themselves and racing to wallow together in toxic hatred, joy in the ego, dehumanization, and violence. As if they were just waiting for the moment when they could free themselves from the rules of etiquette that obliged them to maintain a semblance of morality. With shouts of age, they are shedding the conventions and norms that human society has been building for thousands of years to curb the rampage of the ego. They are giving freedom a new meaning: freedom from the shackles of culture. Equality has been erased from their lexicon, not to mention human dignity. Compassion, empathy, loving your neighbor as yourself — have been abolished … The new Israeli togetherness is based on an addiction to hatred and bloodlust …

None of this happened in an instant, nor on its own. There was someone who had been inciting and poisoning for years, and had built a sophisticated machine to do so systematically ... In the list of Netanyahu’s crimes against humanity and against Israeli society, stripping many Israelis of all moral inhibitions is one of the most serious. And the highlight: he managed to turn his most terrible failure, the October 7 massacre, into the ultimate excuse that justifies and encourages the new evil Israeliness. Like a Pavlovian response implanted through hypnosis: People only need to remember that day, and they immediately desire the destruction of Palestinians. And along the way, they are also eager to alienate the kidnapped, attack their families … Netanyahu does not alone bear public responsibility for the horrific disintegration that is taking place before our eyes. He, the members of his government, and the coalition MKs are all openly leading this terrible process. Their fault is complete. And the media that serves them with sickening obedience, and performs the mass hypnosis process for them, and anyone who fills or aspires to a leadership position, who does not set moral boundaries and does not present an alternative, bears responsibility along with them.

In times when a society is losing its moral backbone, as is happening to us now, positive leadership is needed. One whose moral compass is clear, and which is not afraid to call evil evil and demand moral behavior … [one]that does not adapt itself to the murky public mood, but rather points to the human path, the object of life, and calls out "after." Without such leadership, it is hard to believe that a society can extricate itself from the quagmire into which it has sunk … I'm not talking about the Gantz and the Lapidim, who are incapable of stammering a word of moral leadership — there are no expectations from them. Their moral emptiness is obvious. But even the Eisenkot, on whom desperate Israelis are throwing their love, are filling their mouths with water … Even Yair Golan, who correctly identified the processes a decade ago — refuses to cry out against them today ... For political reasons? Like Netanyahu? Even judges, military personnel, and former gatekeepers who fill platforms and panels and stand firm against the coup d'état — are silent in the face of the moral horror. They too are blinded by the two million Gazans who are being expelled, starved, and slaughtered by us incessantly; in the face of organized pogroms backed by the authorities and under the auspices of the security forces in the West Bank. Yehudit Karp, who was the Deputy Attorney General and is crying out against the horror, is an exception that proves the rule. And so are the leaders of the protest, whom we hoped would emerge as an alternative leadership … Despite the loudness of the Israelis who are racing to the bottom, I am sure that most of us desire life and peace; That we have not renounced humanity. We have been silenced in the face of violence and ugliness, but we are still here.

(Orit Kamir is Professor of Law and Gender at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a Visiting Professor at University of Michigan Law School).

Ten Days Left Until Famine in Gaza, (Amos Harel, Haaretz Hebrew):

In internal discussions within the defense establishment, officials from the Coordination of Operations in the Territories and the Southern Command admit that there are only about ten days left until a serious crisis erupts, to the point of famine in some areas. Last night, it was reported that US Secretary of State Rubio spoke with Netanyahu and expressed the administration's concern about the situation. This is the background to Israel's willingness to relax its stance somewhat, in order to allow a partial entry of goods. But the government continues to be under pressure from far-right ministers to avoid this … Over the past few weeks, the cabinet and the defense establishment have been feverishly working on a plan to distribute food through civilian subcontractors, ostensibly American companies. In practice, it appears that the plan is full of loopholes, especially since behind the scenes Israeli businessmen are involved, who are more interested in potential economic profits than in preventing a mass disaster.

German investigative program exposes Bild’s lies and confirms Hamas’ desire for a ceasefire dating back to Spring 2024: Ronen Bergman:

New details about the connection between the Prime Minister's Office and the German newspaper that was at the center of the secret document leak: [On Thursday], the "Panorama" investigation, the leading investigative program on German public television (ARD) that is watched by many millions, aired, and included a special report dealing with the affair of the secret connections between the Prime Minister's Office, the newspaper "Bild", the publishing house "Axel Springer" to which it belongs, and the leak of the secret document. The Panorama investigation determined that the manner in which the document was presented and its content were seriously distorted. Contrary to the claim that it was a document by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar or something approved by him, it is actually a position paper by Hamas' "Military Intelligence Service", written by an unknown operative of the terrorist organization in the spring of 2024. The German broadcasting network stated in the investigation that it had reviewed the original text of the document. In complete contrast to what was written in Bild, "from the transcript that Panorama was able to review, it can also be concluded that Hamas is ultimately interested in an agreement with Israel. The document states that 'flexibility' must be shown in the negotiations. The text also shows Hamas' desire for a ceasefire that is as long as possible. The document states that they wanted an 84-day ceasefire, which could be a step towards a complete end to the war. These aspects of the document were not mentioned at all in the Bild article."

The line between Likud and Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit is becoming increasingly blurred (Noa Shpigel, Haaretz (Hebrew & English)):

Under Netanyahu's leadership, moderate Likud figures have been pushed out, replaced by nationalist, racist or inflammatory figures. The competition with Kahane's Kach ideological heir, Otzma Yehudit, only reinforced the shift, adopting the ideas and tactics of radical populist right-wing parties. Otzma Yehudit, headed by Ben-Gvir, is an ideological heir to Meir Kahane's outlawed Kach movement, once shunned across the political spectrum, has seen its views increasingly legitimized in public discourse. By 2025, the differences between the two parties have become difficult to identify – from shared candidates and extreme rhetoric to joint support for racist legislation. Dr. Liran Harsgor of the University of Haifa's School of Political Science agrees that "the ideological and rhetorical boundaries between Likud and Otzma Yehudit have blurred significantly in recent years” … Netanyahu's leadership has accelerated this radicalization, Harsgor argues, by prioritizing personal loyalty over ideological moderation. "Moderate figures were sidelined, and increasingly radical politicians took their place. Candidates who didn't align with Netanyahu's new populist agenda were pushed out, replaced by nationalist, sometimes racist or inflammatory figures", she said … Likud MK Nissim Vaturi declared last year that "Gaza should be burned down – there are no innocents left." Likud MK Tally Gotliv recently added that "there are no uninvolved civilians in Gaza – we must starve them." These remarks echo Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer, who said Gaza should be "flattened," and Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, who suggested using a nuclear bomb on the Strip. "The Kahanist ideology has replaced the teachings of Jabotinsky," said Labor MK Gilad Kariv [in the Knesset]. "Netanyahu's last government is really Ben-Gvir's first." Former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon, once a senior Likud figure, added that Netanyahu is now aligned with "the worldview of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir … They are acting according to the ideology of Rabbi Dov Lior – a kind of 'Mein Kampf' of Jewish supremacy".

The evil Bibi-ist right is unable to forgive Edan Alexander: (Yossi Verter, Haaretz Hebrew):

The evil Bibi-ist right is unable to forgive Alexander – a moral and kind-hearted Golani Brigade soldier who came to Israel on his own to enlist and fight – because his freedom involved humiliating their king. They take out their anger on the soldier and his family. Ugliness and evil were not confined to social media. One bully defamed Alexander for the circumstances in which he was taken prisoner, and his mother for not kneeling and thanking Netanyahu; another commentator, on a seemingly more respectable channel, chided the prime minister for not sabotaging the government's negotiations with Hamas. In a pathetic attempt to prevent the released hostage from traveling to Qatar, to be photographed with Trump and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, [Netanyahu] arranged a phone call with Edan in which he "instructed" him to obey the doctors' orders. Then he dispatched his humiliated negotiating team to Qatar, with their mouths gagged and their hands tied.

Witkoff’s embrace of Israeli hostage families (Ben Caspit):

At Witkoff’s highly publicized visit to [released hostage Edan] Alexander in the hospital, he gifted him a Star of David necklace that had belonged to his son Andrew, who died in 2011 at about Alexander's age … [It was the] necklace worn by his son who became addicted to painkillers and died in a rehab facility at the age of 22. Those present in the room reported that Witkoff had tears in his eyes. The tragedy of his son's death in his prime had left him with severe personal trauma. He probably saw the coming of Alexander, Andrew's age, as a kind of closing of the circle … “There wasn't a dry eye over this sensitive gesture and Witkoff’s sustained embrace of all the hostage families,” a source close to Netanyahu told [me], “especially given the indifference attributed to Netanyahu himself”.

Netanyahu’s poison machine targeted families of the hostages as early as October 2023 (Dr Rina Anati, Israeli human rights lawyer):

During his long years in power, Netanyahu has established a poison machine that has one and only one purpose: to identify risks to Netanyahu's rule and to dismantle them. Once a risk is identified, it becomes the ultimate goal of the poison machine and all means are available to dismantle it, with the means including a violent media attack, the imposition of false accusations of serious criminal offenses …false accusations of sexual offenses, continued physical harassment of the person and harassment of his family members, publication of personal details of the risk factor and harassment in his home; they do not hesitate to harass family members, including terrorist acts that have escalated to physical threats and the sending of rifle bullets by soldiers of the criminal organization in power.

The Real Time program revealed that the poison machine identified the families of the kidnapped as a primary risk factor for the regime, for several reasons: This was an event that Israel had never experienced … and the country's citizens were united in the opinion that all the kidnapped must be returned immediately and at all costs. In fact, it was not the families of the kidnapped that posed a risk to the government, but rather the immediate solidarity between the citizens of the country and the victims of the massacre and the families of the kidnapped. Therefore, in order to harm this solidarity, the poison machine targeted the families of the kidnapped as early as October 2023, when most of the public was in shock from the massacre … Netanyahu marked them for the poison machine … And the operators of the poison machine did not need too many clues to understand who the target was and how to dismantle it … [They] began a campaign against them. The violent thugs on the ground began to come to the abductees' camp to dance/rejoice/blaspheme/curse and rejoice for the sake of others. "Senior commentators" from the right, of course, have already begun to claim that the families of the abductees are weakening Israel and contributing to strengthening Hamas's position and in fact harming the return of the abductees …

There is no doubt that what was done to the family members of the kidnapped breaks all the poison records, it is a serious crime in itself. When we bring the gang members to justice for their responsibility for the massacre and its desolation, one of the most serious charges is the way they turned the families of the kidnapped into enemies. The poison machine was already operating at full capacity in October 2023, and the criminals in power who operated it must be held accountable.

Netanyahu's on-going corruption trial is a farce (Baruch Kara, Walla):

Instead of a proper legal process that uncovers the truth, there is a loose spectacle, in which an accused prime minister runs the courtroom and judges hesitate to enforce the rules. Extraordinary privileges, political speeches and turning a blind eye make the Netanyahu trial a painful example of the erosion of the foundations of equality before the law It's better to say it clearly, simply, without too many dirty words: Netanyahu's trial is a farce. It is not a trial that upholds the principle of equality before the law, it is a circus, it is a stage for speeches instead of a stage for clarifying the truth, it is an embarrassing demonstration of judges who are conducting this trial with a weak hand, with stuttering, with lack of confidence, with volatility.

‘The media coup is reaching the implementation stage’: Israeli Channels Forum’s Joint Emergency Declaration:

PM Netanyahu and Minister of Communications, Kerei, are promoting a legislative process to take over the media in Israel. Contrary to declarations and under the guise of “transferring power to the consumer,” power is being transferred to the government. The Israeli Channels Forum – Kan 11, Keshet 12 and Reshet 13 – is publishing a joint emergency declaration this evening, following the publication of the "reform" by Minister Kerei, which will be brought to a vote in the Knesset in the current session. "The moment we warned about has arrived. This coming Sunday, Netanyahu and Communications Minister Kerei intend to pass a rapid legislative measure aimed at taking control of the media in Israel." Kerei's plan to take over the free media … consists of a series of dangerous components: the cancellation of public broadcasting (IDF Radio and the Kan Broadcasting Corporation), legislation that gives the government political control, sanctions and fines in order to deter criticism or lead to the closure of investigative media outlets. The plan will be promoted in parallel with private legislation, which has already been launched in the Knesset … a draconian law that seeks to undermine the economic foundation of free television and transfer it to political control ... We call on the gatekeepers – the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice and all the parties involved – to stand firm and stop the dangerous move that threatens to crush the foundations of free media and harm democracy in Israel.

Citizens Abandon Israel:

Since October 7, 2023, many Israeli citizens have left. Not for a trip, not for relocation with a tempting contract, but out of despair, fear, a sense of alienation and distrust in a country that has ceased to function as a safe haven for the Jewish people and a home for its citizens. The hard data leaves no room for doubt: We are in the midst of an exceptional wave of immigration, unprecedented in its scale and timing … According to CBS data and analyses published in Ynet, Mako and The Marker: In 2023, 55,300 Israelis left Israel, while only 27,800 returned – a negative balance of about 27,500 people. In October 2023 alone – the month the war broke out – 12,350 people left, an increase of 285% compared to October 2022. In 2024 (according to current projections), 82,700 residents left and only 23,800 returned – a negative migration balance of about 58,900. These numbers don’t just dance in the red – they scream. The migration cannot be attributed solely to the security situation. Many of those leaving cite radicalization as a key factor. The political, the violation of the rule of law, the internal divisions, and the government’s failure to provide personal and economic security. Under a government that races along ideologically blindly and abandons the public, many Israelis have simply thrown up their hands. These are not lazy or cowardly people – but educated people, high-tech people, doctors, teachers, students, young couples and families. Those who were supposed to hold Israeli society together – are fleeing it … Immigration is a profound measure of a sense of belonging. When Israelis leave – not just because of physical danger, but because they feel they no longer have a place here – the country needs to stop everything and ask itself: What went wrong?