Yair Netanyahu’s “Screw You!” response to Macron portrays the Regime
Coverage of Yair Netanyahu’s response to French President Emmanuel Macron ■ Netanyahu’s toxic response to Macron was deleted a day later, but it was not just the whim of a man who has no boundaries and no education.
By Yoana Gonen • Translated by Sol Salbe
Life under the Netanyahu regime is tumultuous and chaotic, and amid all the spin and yelling, it is sometimes difficult to figure out the government’s position in all sorts of spheres. Anyone looking for a concise coherent policy statement can finally find it in the response that Yair Netanyahu wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron. “Screw you!” is just two words and one exclamation point, portraying the essence of a regime that has turned bullying into an ideology and flipping the bird into a guideline. Macron’s remarks were rather anodyne. “Yes to peace, yes to Israel’s security, yes to a Palestinian state without Hamas.” Not a word about war crimes, ethnic cleansing, or bombed hospitals and the bodies of children. But it was enough to incur the wrath of the little prince of Miami — an expert in the art of diplomacy and an emissary of personal charm.
The news programs at the end of the holiday fluctuated uncomfortably between the desire to deal with the blatant attack and the vulgar and esoteric nature of the event. The original phrase was softened on the slides to “go to hell” and “S***w you”,” and the panel members explained why Yair Netanyahu is “not worth mentioning” and “there is no point in investing a second in him” — just before they devoted a lot of seconds to him. True, Netanyahu Jr does not hold an official position, but he has tremendous influence over his father, and the line he frames on Twitter shapes the prime minister’s statements.
His toxic response to Macron was deleted a day later, but it was not just the whim of a man who has no boundaries and no education. This is not an exception to Israel’s political discourse, but rather part-and-parcel expression of its onward deterioration. From Bezalel (“We heard you, Now get out”) Smotrich, to Shlomo (“Go to Hell”) Karhi, from Yitzhak (“Who’s got it bad here”) Goldknopf to Tali (“yells and shouts”) Gotliv — the “screw you!” policy is the government’s substitute for vision, values and responsibility.
When there is nothing to say, the volume is turned up. When there is nothing to offer, childish swearing is substituted. The world is horrified by Israel’s crimes in Gaza — damned antisemites; Reservists call for an end to the war — a handful of incoherent anarchist retirees; Doctors are abandoning Israel en masse — get out of here, ungrateful so-and-sos; Needy people are flooding the lines to receive food baskets — go to work; Families of abductees are begging for some attention — Yalla, Yalla, go away. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu and Yair Netanyahu is detaching itself not only from its allies in the West, but also from its trampled citizery.
“If it’s on the prime minister’s mind, then the prime minister has lost it. And if it’s not the prime minister’s opinion, then the prime minister has lost control,” argued lawyer Gail Shoresh on Channel 11. But the truth is that the crown prince’s post portrays the ruling party’s visage so well that it can easily be imagined as the next election campaign. Vote Likud — and screw you.
