While the world laughs at Trump’s Kahanist circus, Israel has become a cult that worships him
When the Jews were diagnosed as the “problem” in Europe, the Nazis decided that the solution was to get rid of them — first by a Transfer to the East and later by systematic extermination. Trump and Netanyahu have diagnosed that the problem is the Palestinians. And they decided that the solution was to get rid of them through a ‘Transfer’. For now.
By Rogel Alpher • Translated by Sol Salbe
For the Israeli Right, Donald Trump is like a strong wind blowing in a field of thistles that has caught on fire. A reincarnation of [Rabbi Meir] Kahane in the White House. And Israel is a field of thistles: it’s prickly, sticks into the flesh, tearing it apart. There were beautiful things in it, like Tel Aviv in the 1990s, but they withered away. Nothing good will sprout in this soil anymore. It is contaminated, drenched in fascism and an odour that marks Kahane’s territory, whose pungent aroma is carried in the air, and it also pierces the nostrils.
The Israeli Cabinet now officially supports “Trump’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza” — ethnic cleansing, the transfer of all Gazans. “Willingly.” The will of people whose homes were destroyed in order to allow the construction of a Riviera. Israel insists on being called the “state of the Jews,” even though more than 20 per cent of its citizens are Arabs. This, then, is the Jewish solution to the Gaza problem. When the Jews were diagnosed as the “problem” in Europe, the Nazis decided that the solution was to get rid of them — first by a Transfer to the East and later by systematic extermination. Trump and Netanyahu have diagnosed that the problem in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the Gazans. And they decided that the solution was to get rid of them through a Transfer. For now.
After all, the Gazans have already undergone complete dehumanisation of Israeli society since the October 7 massacre. Anti-Bibi kibbutzniks from the Gaza border region nonchalantly adopt a Kahanist ideology. As if this is the most natural and self-evident thing in the world. And if the Transfer doesn’t work, if the Gazans cling to their land, Israel has already proven its willingness and ability to indifferently kill tens of thousands of Gazans. And many in Israel will not hesitate to increase the killing quota in order to get rid of the problem.
Trump’s lengthy daily media conferences at the White House or Air Force One have overnight turned into a new global media ritual. This is a whimsical and improvised show in which the ruler of the world treats all the inhabitants of the planet like pawns on the chessboard. Since he does not know the rules of chess, and has no desire to learn, he mainly makes disruptive moves. When he smashes a castle with a hammer and paints the White Queen a fiery red, his acolytes cheer enthusiastically and praise his creative and ingenious thinking once again. Most of the world’s citizens, including Mexico and Canada, can enjoy the show for the time being. There’s a reason to enjoy: Trump is a TV genius, a brilliant showman.
Only the citizens of one country — including most of the media and the political arena — have become a cult that worships him and are devoted to him. They apply themselves to his delusional utterances and made their country available to him. And no, it’s not the United States, it’s Israel. His disturbed daily announcements are the most important and influential moment here. They are not like that in the USA. Over there, there are many centres of power (urban, cultural, media, demographic) that oppose the cult. It’s only Israel that is making history and revolutions with it. Through Netanyahu, Trump controls Israel. Netanyahu is a proxy. The head of the snake of the Israeli right sits in the White House. But he’s also a proxy — Kahane’s.
