Israel’s October Election Could Oust Netanyahu, But Brutal State Oppression of Palestinians Persists

Interview with Ofer Neiman, a Jewish-Israeli anti-apartheid activist living in Jerusalem, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

zionist settler violence

With almost daily missile and drone strikes, Israel has continued to ignore the so-called ceasefire in Gaza that was supposed to take effect last October. The government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken control over more and more of Gaza’s territory, expanding toward 70 percent of the enclave, which before the latest war was the most densely populated area in the world. Israel severely limits the supply of food allowed into Gaza, as it prevents construction materials from entering the territory.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, violent Israeli settlers, protected and sometimes abetted by members of the Israeli Defense Forces—what Palestinians call the Jewish Occupation Force—have killed 1,200 West Bank residents, arrested many more, and stolen Palestinian’s land and livestock. The stated aim of both the settlers and the Netanyahu government is to expand Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank and prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The government now permits small Jewish settlements to be set up across the territory, outposts even previous Netanyahu governments declared illegal.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Ofer Neiman, an anti-Zionist Jewish-Israeli citizen and a supporter of the international Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel founded by Palestinian civil society. Here he assesses the likely results in Israel’s upcoming October election amid the Gaza genocide, escalating settler violence in the West Bank and the corruption charges Netanyahu faces in Israeli courts.

OFER NEIMAN: We’re getting closer to the elections and it seems very likely that Netanyahu will lose. The opposition is sort of consolidating itself. The guy who will probably be prime minister is Naftali Bennett. He is atrocious. So there’s no hope in that sense, but we should prepare for a future here under centrist and even liberal Zionism. So, rather than having a right-wing and far right government, we’re going to have a centrist government with some liberal Zionists. It’s not really better for those who are opposed to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. And I know that there will be many attempts by senior Western politicians to legitimize the future centrist governments and basically say, “Okay, now we should not apply any sanctions. There’s a new government in Israel. Let’s give politics a chance.” Beyond the prospect of a change of Netanyahu moving out, we’re still facing the crisis.

Basically there is an ongoing war, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and an ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. An ongoing genocide of crimes against humanity by Israel in Lebanon. And in the West Bank, ongoing ethnic cleansing by groups of armed settlers and the IDF trying to uproot Palestinian communities, which Israel is looking to annex and they’re trying to forcibly remove as many Palestinians as possible.

MELINDA TUHUS: Ofer Neiman, I know that the majority of Jewish Israelis support what Netanyahu’s government is doing regarding its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. And a significant number think the treatment isn’t even harsh enough. At the same time, I know a lot of Israelis are opposed to Netanyahu and want to see him lose the next election. Can you flesh all that out a little bit?

OFER NEIMAN: Yeah. Opposition to Netanyahu does not mean opposition to Israel’s apartheid and genocide. And there are quite a few Israelis who are sick of Netanyahu because of his corruption. And even because there’s no future with Netanyahu from their perspective, he is constantly waging these wars and crimes of aggression in part because of his personal circumstances. He is on trial now for corruption and he’s also facing an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court in the Hague. And I think it has become quite clear to many Israelis that with Netanyahu the prospects are more war, including Lebanon and Syria. It’s also beyond his own legal problems regarding his own coalition. It’s a way for him to consolidate his far right coalition with people like (National Security Minister Itamar) Ben Gvir and (Finance Minister Bezalel) Smotrich, the Messianic right-wing, far right. And I think that many Israelis are tired of this. So it’s “never” for most Jewish-Israelis.
It’s not about sympathy, empathy or solidarity with Palestinians. For example, 82 percent of Israeli Jews support the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, basically violently deporting Palestinians elsewhere, 82 percent of Jewish Israelis. Fifty-six percent would like to see Israeli Arabs—that would be Palestinian citizens of Israel— being kicked out, 56 percent. And nearly half, 47 percent support killing all Palestinian Gazans in cities captured by the IDF. You don’t move on by simply removing Netanyahu. We’ll still have Israel occupying more than half of Gaza and committing atrocities in Gaza.

We’re still going to have … I mean, not so sure about that, but Israel will probably try to still remain in parts of Lebanon and definitely continue bombing Lebanon. So the problems run deeper than Netanyahu, but for many Israelis, especially the liberals. They want to move on and focus on rebuilding Israeli society and Israel after all that happened. They support the IDF Israeli military in its ongoing violence and this is unlikely to change unless America or international circumstances force Israelis into a reckoning.

And I think that’s coming, but it’s going to take time.

See more articles and opinion pieces in the related links section of this page. To subscribe to our podcasts, email newsletters, our Trump authoritarian playbook Substack or social media, subscribe here.

Subscribe to our Weekly Summary