Netanyahu Is on the Wrong Side of History
Intensified persecution of Arabs at home and alliances with white supremacists abroad are risky investments in Israel’s future.
Israel’s actions haven’t softened growing prejudice against the country.
Photographer: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
Israel, which elects a new government next week, has rarely enjoyed such economic and diplomatic success. The Trump administration continues to exceed all previous U.S. governments in its support for the country, recognizing last week Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, seized during the Six-Day War of 1967. Relations are flourishing with China, India and Russia — three major countries that in the past were strongly critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian Arabs — and have even improved with Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
But things look less rosy when closely examined — and not only because Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who takes credit for his nation’s enviable position, may be indicted for fraud and bribery. Israel’s traditional support base in the U.S. is showing signs of weakness as a more outspoken left seeks to reshape the country’s foreign policy and many more minorities — Hispanics, Asian Americans, Arab Americans — make their opinions count as well as heard.