Originally published in Tikkun Daily
The historic accord reached Tuesday between Iran and a United-States-led coalition of world powers has inspired strong and varied reactions across the world. Among these, the initial reaction offered by Israel's Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has become a point of focus.
In particular, much attention is being given to his calling the Iran deal an "historic mistake."
Now, nobody is surprised by Netanyahu's position. Nor is anyone surprised by his bold pronouncement. Indeed, in an unprecedented breach of diplomatic protocol earlier this year, Israel's leader tried to undermine President Obama's foreign policy by speaking before Congress, an address
secretly orchestrated by John Boehner. This move –
having a foreign leader come before Congress to undermine a sitting President – was the height of chutzpah. And it was a move, his trying to scuttle the deal before Congress, which Netanyahu called an "
historic mission."
Despite all this, Netanyahu now calling the Iran deal an "historic mistake" demonstrates even greater chutzpah. Not because of how his words apply to the Iran deal, but how they reverberate given his own rule.
See, the real historic mistake is Netanyahu's continued embrace of Israel's decades-old occupation and oppression of the Palestinians.
The real historic mistake is his continued support for Israel's settlement enterprise and greater Israel aspirations, with construction rates in the West Bank at historic highs.
The real historic mistake is his explicit rejection of Palestinian statehood and a desire for perpetual occupation.
The real historic mistake is his blockading and brutal bombardment of Gaza, which killed over 2,200 Palestinians in 2014 alone and has left the territory in utter ruins.
The real historic mistake is his refusal to establish serious peace negotiations in deference to the politically-beneficial pursuit of perpetual conflict.
The real historic mistake is Netanyahu's continuous reliance upon racist incitement against minorities and Arabs, contributing to an overall societal shift in Israel in which 95 percent of citizens view racism as prevalent.
And finally, the real historic mistake was Netanyahu's arousing of extremist, right-wing entities in Israel against then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, which contributed significantly (and some say directly) to Rabin's assassination, which then led to Netanyahu's ascension.
In short, Netanyahu's entire political career has been an historic mistake. Which is what makes his pronouncement today regarding the Iran deal, which may end up bolstering Israel's security, to be such a preposterous one.
Nay, pure chutzpah.
--§--
David Harris-Gershon is author of the memoir What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?, recently published by Oneworld Publications.