Burning Bridges: Netanyahu’s Election Campaign Of Fear And Loathing - Haaretz

[WillyT]

Netanyahu’s election campaign of fear and loathing
Many analysts said that Israel's elections were superfluous from the outset, but no one predicted how ugly they would get.
By Chemi Shalev | Haaretz
Mar. 18, 2015 | 12:15 AM

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The term “to burn your bridges” comes from the days of Roman conquests, when generals such as Julius Caesar would burn the bridges and set fire to the boats on which their soldiers traveled, in order to prevent them from contemplating retreat. Without the bridges and boats, of course, it was very difficult to resupply the legions after the battle had been won. Today, if you burn your bridges, you are severing contacts that you might very well need somewhere down the line.

That’s what Benjamin Netanyahu did on the way to his surprise draw with Isaac Herzog on Tuesday, which he has already declared, perhaps prematurely, to be a victory.

Netanyahu burned his bridges with the Arab minority with racially tinged Election Day exhortations hitherto reserved for rabble rousers to his right. He set fire to the ships that carry the load of Israel’s ties to the international community, especially the Obama administration, when he suddenly reneged on his agreement in principle to a Palestinian state.

He set fire to the tent in which the half of Israel that didn’t vote for him resides, by depicting them as pawns in some vast and ludicrous conspiracy that involves malevolent anti-Semites, nasty-minded NGOs, cigar-chomping tycoons, greedy Citizen Kane-type publishers and, inexplicably, sly subversives from Scandinavia.

In recent days, Netanyahu even took a page from the GOP’s Southern Strategy, as enunciated in 1970 by Nixon aide Kevin Phillips: “The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans.”

That’s what Netanyahu did when he railed against the Arabs voting “in droves” on Tuesday, a statement that turned out to be false but potent nonetheless: Netanyahu’s message of fear and loathing may have indeed been the prod that shook right-wing voters out of their complacency and brought them to the polling booths.

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More: http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel-election-2015/.premium-1.647495

[RandySF]

1. Sounds like the 2004 election in America.

[geek tragedy]

3. George W Bush is like Kucinich compared

to Netanyahu.

[Renew Deal]

4. He was similar to Cheney in some ways, but worse

The part about "arabs" is overtly racist. He does not see them as equals.

[geek tragedy]

2. Israel showed its true face to the world.

They can't get enough of unfiltered Bibi. They like George Wallace, PW Botha Bibi.

Netsnyahu is Israel.

[WillyT]

5. Morning Kick !!!

[WillyT]

6. And Another...

[mountain grammy]

7. Netanyahu never even had to play the ebola card.