Fascism in Israel is back in vogue again
It seems that the creators of the fashion brand’s advertisement have applied themselves well, studying the principles of fascism formulated by Umberto Eco. Their target audience are no longer civilians — they are all soldiers first and foremost
By Rogel Alpher • Translated by Sol Salbe
The new advertisement by the leading Israeli clothing chain Fox is further evidence of the deepening fascism here. The presenter is Eden Golan: the contemporary version of Hannah Szenes. But instead of being parachuted into wartime Hungary, the contemporary hero fought the Nazis in Malmö in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. She is considered a proud national symbol of a strong patriotic stand in the face of an evil antisemitic world. Around her are the exemplary representatives of the post October 7 Israeliness: an ultra-Orthodox man wearing an orange United Hatzalah emergency medical services vest, a balding reservist in battle fatigues, a policewoman of Ethiopian descent in the Border Police, another policeman, a secular-Ashkenazi-looking paramedic, an air force pilot with a helmet and a flight overalls. And a young soldier sporting a mechanical prosthetic arm, a kitbag on his back, also reporting for service. They are all examples of militaristic Israeliness, enlisted in the war. There are no civilians among them. This is precisely the ideological message of the ad to its customers: There are no civilians in Israel. Everyone is a soldier.
Golan sings: “Everyone will drop everything in a second / If they get called to the flag… This is our story / the people of Israel… True, everyone looks ordinary, but / We’re a nation of superheroes / There’s always a soldier embedded inside each one of us/ Ready to save the world.” All the alarm bells of fascism are ringing at full volume in the face of this advertisement. This is not how an advertisement for clothes in a democratic-capitalist consumer society sounds like. This is a fascist propaganda ad sponsored by Fox.
First of all, all Israelis are superheroes. Item11 on Umberto Eco’s famous list of 14 Signs of Fascism discusses educating the entire population to be heroes. Heroism is the norm, and the cult of heroism feeds the cult of death. After all, some of the heroes are dead, and all the dead are heroes. Second, “there is always a soldier embedded in each one of us.” During the commercial, against the backdrop of Eden Golan’s singing, the characters take off their national-enlisted uniforms and line up dressed in a uniform: a white T-shirt and blue jeans, the kind you can buy at Fox. The fear of being different is striking either everyone is “soldier”, or everyone is dressed in the same clothes, in the colours of the national flag, as in the Memorial Day ceremony. They are all the same thing. Actually, the same person. The same soldier. The uniformity in the clothing reflects uniformity in behaviour and values.
This heroic uniformity corresponds with many items on Eco’s list, including hatred of pacifism, contempt for the weak, and loathing of critical thinking (item 3 on Eco’s list). According to the advertisement, the Israeli situation is deterministic (“this is our story”), and in times of crisis, it’s forbidden to think: “Everyone will drop everything in a second.” Including the soldier who has already lost an arm. Even he is forbidden to be weak. Once you’re on the track to heroism, only death can liberate you. And there is also a Jewish twist peppered with the delusions of grandeur of being a light unto the nations, with “saving the world.”
The uniformity in the clothing reflects uniformity in behaviour and values.
There is no more chilling evidence of the depth of fascism taking root here than an advertisement that uses it to sell a fashion brand. Because it’s business. It tries to draw customers in, and that’s what Israeli customers love to hear.
Translated from Hebrew by Sol Salbe, Middle East News Service
Haaretz Hebrew original:
