NEW YORK (VINnews) — New York Times publicist Thomas Friedman published a rueful opinion piece about the results of the elections in Israel, in which he laments the right-wing government being established in Israel and makes an extreme comparison to US politics.
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“Imagine you woke up after the 2024 U.S. presidential election,” Friedman writes, “and found that Donald Trump had been re-elected and chose Rudy Giuliani for attorney general, Michael Flynn for defense secretary, Steve Bannon for commerce secretary, evangelical leader James Dobson for education secretary, Proud Boys former leader Enrique Tarrio for homeland security head and Marjorie Taylor Greene for the White House spokeswoman.”
According to Friedman, this is what the new Israeli government will look like, terming it “a rowdy alliance of ultra-Orthodox leaders and ultranationalist politicians, including some outright racist, anti-Arab Jewish extremists once deemed completely outside the norms and boundaries of Israeli politics.”
Friedman warned that the new government could rupture US-Israel relations. For example, Senator Bob Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat who leads the Foreign Relations Committee, told Netanyahu during a trip to Israel in September that if he formed a government after the Nov. 1 elections that included right-wing extremists, it could “seriously erode bipartisan support in Washington.”
Friedman quotes Moshe Halbertal, a Hebrew University philosopher, who said that “for decades members of the Israeli right, a vast majority of whom were “security hawks,” have believed that the Palestinians have never and will never accept a Jewish state next to them and therefore Israel needed to take whatever military means were necessary to protect itself from them.
“But Israeli hawkishness toward the Palestinians is now morphing into something new — a kind of ‘general ultranationalism’ that not only rejects any notion of a Palestinian state but also views every Israeli Arab — who make up about 21 percent of Israel’s population, nearly 20 percent of its doctors, about 25 percent of its nurses and almost half its pharmacists — as a potential terrorist.”
Friedman fails to note the turning point for many Israelis- the May 2021 violent riots instigated by Israeli Arabs against their Jewish neighbors which led to the Breaking Dawn campaign in Gaza. He also doesn’t present the violent rhetoric of the Arab Knesset members who unabashedly support terrorists who attack IDF soldiers, try to Arab incite policemen not to serve the state of Israel and do not recognize Israel’s sovereignty even in its pre-1967 borders. This rhetoric- supported by most of the Arab electorate – is probably the leading cause of the shift to the right in the Israeli political establishment.
NY Times Thomas Friedman Laments: ‘The Israel We Knew Is Gone’
In what sense? The guy hated Israel before and hates Israel now. What significant change was there?
This ocher yisroel has never known an Israel that he liked.
He has always been one of the worst biased critics of Eretz Yisroel.
His opinion = -0
Friedman never once spoke out against the riots launched by the Israeli-Arabs (a well organized online campaign), in mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhoods in Jaffa and other cities, where Jews were randomly attacked and beaten.
well….
If aint the return of armchair quarterback, safely ensconced here in the good “ol US of A.
When you move to Israel and live there for a couple of years and have to deal with the myriad of problems the average citizen deals with, not the least of which is daily terror attacks, your sleazy woke, opinion might carry more weight.
The shocking thing is that the NYT still publishes his articles. He hasn’t been right about anything ever.
this jerk has been bashing israel for 40 years- as well as frum yidden, remember after 9-11 he wrote that we must battle all extremists like those jews in bp pushing shopping carts- to him there is no difference ben gvir or meretz- for him to make believe that all of a sudden now he has problems with his fellow jews and israel is typical disingenuous nyt garbage
What an awesome scenario. Thomas Freedman like all leftist JINOs wants a weak Israel that surrenders to the arab terrorists because he like all leftists he hates Jews not being victims, he hates religious people except for Islamists and hates freedom.
Friedman has been at the forefront of Liberal lament since I can remember. Yet, I haven’t seen a single Republican death camp, a single Republican lynching, a single Republican riot or looting. I’m not that old, I may see Friedman do teshuvah, however I won’t see any of the aforementioned.
This is why we dont have a ny slimes subscription
It used to be mandatory in high school!
The new gvt is amazing
Trump worked well w bb.
Biden? Yad melachim byad H
No mr Friedman idreal isn’t home but your ghetto mentality and your anti isreal rants are. Democracy doesn’t start dying your mouth and the rag you work for but what the people want. Israelis want peace security and yes the same living conditions as other free nations. Please pedal your nonsense some done where else. Like North Korea or China as areas that could use your worldly views
Yes democracy works
And just watch Americans take back our country
Friedman is a useful lefty idiot.
This bum is still alive?
The weak Arab loving socialist mizrachi hating left is gone. So Friedman mourns. He would love to see more Oslo like capitulation as opposed to world economic and military super power. What a marroon!
He is a sad Rasha Merusha!
Nebach
Mr Friedman,
You don’t know what your talking about and you don’t (and unable) to speak for Israelis (and Jewish people).
Quit while your ahead and start following the NFL. You might be more productive.
The left kerosene on attacking the only democracy in the middle east. The people voted and decided
He never knew Israel in any positive light lest he anger his employer and get chucked like both should.
<em>“Imagine you woke up after the 2024 U.S. presidential election,” Friedman writes, “and found that Donald Trump had been re-elected and chose Rudy Giuliani for attorney general, Michael Flynn for defense secretary, Steve Bannon for commerce secretary, evangelical leader James Dobson for education secretary, Proud Boys former leader Enrique Tarrio for homeland security head and Marjorie Taylor Greene for the White House spokeswoman.”</em>
This is exactly what we are craving & praying for:- We would so much love this. From your text to G-d’s Ears.
Another proud member if the Erev Rav
As for Apartheid it exists like in S. Africa, when people are restricted to certain areas of a country based on their skin color ethnicity etc.
For all those who claim Israel is an apartheid state please come and visit the Malls that are full of Arabs the Universities ditto.
Did you know that almost every pharmacist in Israel is an Arab and most hospitals have Arab doctors.
Some apartheid
Tom you POS, years ago, when the Israel we knew was still intact, you NEVER STOPPED bashing her every chance you had, now you’re lamenting for the good old days of Israel. Well, you were POS then and NOTHING’S changed !!!
May headline speedily in our time, once and for all read instead, the T. Friedman we knew is gone.
Who is the ‘We’ of we knew? The world is no longer flat it is round, surprise!
Why even discuss this absolute insignificant creature
Who cares what he says other than himself? His audience is negligible and he influences nobody
Let’s move on from this anti Israel hater
Yea it’s true Israeli Arabs can’t be trusted either. And no it’s not apartheid when I hate or discriminate against a group the openly calls to kill us in the name of thier religion. Apartheid is when the other group is NOT trying to hurt us yet we discriminate bec of their skin color or ethnicity. I hope that clear Paulin