Israel: The Looming Tragedy

Against overwhelming public opposition, the extreme right-wing officials who control Israeli policy are poised to strip the judiciary of its authority, thereby fixing in place long-term one-party rule. In a letter to President Biden, reproduced in yesterday’s New York Times, Tom Friedman, who knows as much about the situation as anyone, pleaded to Biden to bring the full persuasive power of the U.S. Government to bear on prime minister Netanyahu and his political allies to desist in converting Israel into an authoritarian state.

For decades, I’ve heard that generous support of Israel by the U.S. was important, among other reasons, because “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.” It will be a great tragedy, if commentators are soon saying, “Now there are none.”