🤥 Netanyahu is the problem. Once he’s voted out, things will improve.

The current situation in Gaza and the West Bank is not a spontaneous reaction to October 7. A government, an army and the society they emerge from do not become genocidal in one day. From its inception, Zionism has exhibited a troubling trend of dehumanizing Palestinians. Recent videos of Israeli soldiers raiding homes of Palestinians and of Israelis on TikTok using “Arab face” to mock Palestinians killed in Gaza highlight the longstanding issue. Netanyahu’s leadership represents a symptom of the broader problem, rather than its singular cause.

Pinning Israel’s human rights abuses on Netanyahu alone is a coping mechanism used by Israel’s liberal supporters to absolve themselves of their complicity in Israel’s genocidal policies and ethnic cleansing. This narrative conveniently upholds the illusion that Israel was founded on progressive ideals, rather than on the ethnic cleansing, oppression and military occupation of the land’s indigenous Palestinian people.

A January 2024 poll revealed that just 15% of Israelis favored Netanyahu remaining in office once the military assault in Gaza ends. And yet a significant 56% of respondents still endorsed the continuation of the genocidal offensive. That same poll indicated that only 24% of Israelis viewed a prisoner swap and political agreement as the preferred method for securing the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

In a February 2024 poll, 68% of Israeli Jews opposed the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza by international bodies not linked to Hamas or UNRWA, while only 30% of Israeli Jews supported such transfers. Israeli Jews are also staging protests at entry points into Gaza to prevent aid from reaching the besieged strip. Let’s stop blaming Netanyahu for all of Zionism’s woes. All he did was lay them bare for the world to see.