The Military attack on the Turkish flagged vessels carrying humanitarian aid this week is a disaster for Israel and its people. The killing of people on the ships by Israeli commandos was not only a mistake, the action took place in international waters and was therefore a violation of international law, but it is a gross and brutal demonstration of how far Israel has departed from the rule of law. Today even the attack ships used by Somali pirates cannot be boarded by military ships patrolling the India Ocean to prevent attacks on shipping. What is more troubling is that this ship comes from Turkey and by making this aggressive act Israel has sent a message to one of its few friends in the region that has been trying to resolve tensions. That message is, "We do not need your help, we like things as they are." But this comes not from the Israel people, it comes from a threatened elite that sees its control of Israel in jeopardy. This fall demonstrations and organizing by Israeli peace activists has shown dramatic strength. By March of this year, ported in the Financial Times (April 24, 2010),demonstrations were drawing nearly 5,000 people.
Centre-left parities like Labour and Meretaz are seeing more interest as a Israeli Left is energized in fighting Palestinian evictions and new settlements. The way to fight this, the powerful elite has always found, is to invade a neighbor, or create some other "crisis."This elite, called, Israel Inc, by the Financial Times, (May 14, 2020) controls most of Israel's industry, including the media and banking. Led by a few families, at the top of which is Nochi Dankner controlling owner of IDB Holdings, CLal Insurance, mobile phone group Cellcom, and large holdings in Makhtshim-Agan Industries. Also Yitzhak Tshuva controls the Delek Group, the Ofer Family control Israel Corp, Lev Leviev controls Africa-Israel and is the world's largest cutter and polisher of diamonds. Rounding the top group out is Shari Arison, Israel's richest woman with a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $3.4 bn.
In a recent report by the Bank of Israel it was concluded that, "...in terms of dispersion of control, Israel is one of the most concentrated developed countries and even resembles a developing country in this respect." Israel, founded on egalitarian principles and socialist ideals is run and its policies controls and directed by a powerful few who see the only way to stay in power is war, oppression and brutality. The stakes are high. IISS data show that Israeli defense expenditures are now twice the per capita amount expended by Saudi Arabia and more than 10 times that of the next Middle Eastern country, Jordan (http://www.iiss.org/publications/armed-conflict-database).
Over the period of the Bush administrations money from U.S supporters of Israeli right wing politics increased dramatically with Sharon receiving over $1million in secret payments, reported by Jeffry Smith in the Washington Post in 2003. The payments from U.S. charities was supposed to be for academic studies and cultural exchanges. Increased involvement of U.S. radical right evangelical groups with the right wing Likud party also took place at the same time. as reported in the Financial Times (July 16, 2005).
The mode and tempo of lawlessness in the international arena has continued to pattern on the domestic scene with tit for tat by the Israeli assassins both inside the country and abroad. Assassinations like that of Abu Jihad in 2006 area as frequent and have become as accepted and expected as those supposedly between mob bosses and business competitors like the car bombing of Yaakov Alperon reported by the Los Angeles Times reporter Richard Boudreaux, on Nov. 18, 2008.
The experience of Maj. Noam Ziv who found a 4 year old child prepared for assassination by an Israeli intelligence team in 2002 (reported by Suzanne Zima for the S.F. Chronicle ) have increased in recent years especially after the savage destruction of Lebanese cities and towns and the recent attacks on Gaza. The upshot of the elite control of Israeli media and business is a state that is rapidly falling into the chaos of oligarchic terror. Peace and justice can only flourish in a democracy which Israel is daily seeing collapse.
Israel needs a new tax structure to reduce the concentration of wealth and it needs to have the interlocking companies that control its business broken up to promote economic democracy. This will be hard to take place in an environment where any criticism of the status quo is characterized as treason. It is time for change.