As I write this, I have sitting on my desk my birth registration from the Republic of South Africa. I was born in July 1985, and according to this registration document, I was classified at the time “AS A WHITE PERSON.”
This needed to be set out on my birth registration because at the time in South Africa, your race very much determined your place in society. In 1948, apartheid became the law of the land in South Africa. An Afrikaans word meaning “setting apart”, apartheid was a policy of formalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 until 1994. Whites were on top, Blacks were at the bottom. A few different “races” were in between.
Under apartheid, mixed marriage between races was prohibited. Blacks could not access specific jobs or unions, could not live in certain areas, could not sit on the same public benches as Whites, ride the same buses, or even access the same bathrooms. They were classified separately under the law, and treated horrendously.
That was, until world pressure finally came to bear on South Africa. Early on, when South Africa’s apartheid policies came to light, popular movements were established worldwide to boycott the country until this shameful policy was abolished. Beginning in 1962, the UN sought significant economic sanctions against South Africa. There was soon an academic boycott, a diplomatic boycott, an economic boycott, and the pressure got to the government. By the late 1980s, President de Klerk saw the writing on the wall.
The pressure was strong. There was something tangible that South Africa could do to re-enter the community of nations and end their status as a pariah state: end apartheid.
In February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years. In 1994, he became President. Apartheid was over.
What about Israel?
I have been thinking about this a lot in recent months as it relates to Israel.
For those of us who care about Israel, it sure feels today like Israel is THE pariah state. Not North Korea, that starves its citizens. Not Iran, that kills women who don’t cover up. Not Sudan, killings its Christians. Not Syria, whose President (with no arrest warrants!) has killed hundreds of thousands of his own people (including at least 3,500 Palestinians). And the attention is off Russia, waging a foreign invasion and murdering its opposition leader.
The world’s attention is on Israel. Israel’s leaders are being threatened with ICC arrest warrants. It is the subject of condemnation at the UN General Assembly and Security Council. Its military’s and government’s actions are splashed across headlines worldwide, and its motivations are questioned by talking-heads on every nightly news channel.
The question then is: what can Israel do to change that perception and be re-accepted into the community of nations?
This is not an easy question to answer. Why? Because much of what the world holds against Israel is fiction. It is a series of lies that the world has told itself to demonize and delegitimize Israel, that forces Israel into an impossible situation, where they are being asked to fix something that isn’t broken.
What is Israel being asked to do?
End Israeli apartheid
End the genocide of the Palestinians
End the ethnic cleansing of Palestine
End the Occupation of Gaza
Declare a unilateral ceasefire now
Fight the war in Gaza more justly, prioritizing caution for Palestinian civilian
Allow six million Palestinian refugees to return to their pre-1948 homes
Recognize the State of Palestine, with no final terms agreed on
But, how do we address these criticisms to make the world love us? We can’t end a genocide or ethnic cleansing that is just not happening. We can’t in any good conscience unilaterally declare a ceasefire when there are 130 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. Also, a ceasefire is two-sided, and Hamas has rebuffed countless ceasefire offers. We can’t end the occupation of Gaza that we already ended 19 years ago. We can’t fight a war more justly than what many are calling the cleanest case of urban warfare in modern history. We can’t stop bombing hospitals that we have never bombed, or stop targeting World Central Kitchen convoys that we never targeted. We cannot acknowledge the existence of a Palestinian state that has undefined borders, with an unknown border, that still wants Israeli land, and that does not take into account Israel’s security interests, not to mention the history of conflict between the parties.
And if Israel did listen to the voices of its detractors, it would be no more. It would turn off its Iron Dome rocket shield to “even the playing field” and allow more Palestinian rockets to kill Israeli civilians, to be a more “proportionate” war. It would cede control of the entire West Bank, which would likely fall under the rule of an extremist Palestinian government, that would use the territory to attack every corner of Israel. It would give citizenship to 6 million Palestinian “refugees” seeking to return, only to turn Israel into another Arab state with a minority Jewish community (if the Jews would even be allowed to stay. Syria, where are your Jews? What about you Jordan? Egypt? Lebanon?).
If Israel did do what so many of its critics insisted it do, in order to be accepted into the international community with open arms, Israel would simply no longer exist.
So herein lies the problem: Israel cannot undo something that it is not doing, nor can it do something about a situation that does not exist except in the minds of its detractors. Unlike apartheid in South Africa, there is very little tangibly that Israel can do to change it’s pariah status on the world stage.
Except maybe one small thing: Pardon Bibi
Hear me out.
I’ve tried hard over the last few months to stay apolitical, but I would argue that this recommendation is not so much about Bibi, as it is about supporting a strong Israel. Moreover, though I don’t think pardoning Bibi is going to fix all of Israel’s problems, it can certainly help Israel’s optics. Here’s how.
Bibi is a remarkable person. Love him or hate him, there is no doubt he has spent his entire life in service to Israel. He’s a brilliant politician. Whether in the army, as ambassador at the United Nations, on US college campuses as a student advocate, as a pundit on US cable news from Israel, as a politician, as Israel’s Prime Minister, Bibi has given his life to Israel. He is now 74 years old.
Today however, he is a terribly divisive figure. He is now Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, in power for almost 17 years total. He has suffered personal and family scandals, but most significantly, lately, he has cobbled together the most right-wing governing coalition in Israel’s history. In doing so, he has empowered many unsavoury characters who are turning Israeli politics into an embarrassing farce.
Bibi is also facing criminal indictments on three separate cases:
Case 1000: Bibi is accused of accepting $300,000 in gifts from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer. Prosecutors claim he pressured the Finance Ministry to extend a tax exemption for expatriate Israelis like Milchan.
Case 2000: Bibi allegedly discussed a deal in 2014 with Arnon Mozes, publisher of Yediot Aharonot, to receive supportive coverage in exchange for considering legislation to weaken rival newspaper Israel Hayom.
Case 4000: Prosecutors allege that from 2012 to 2017, a telecom mogul and his wife granted favors to Bibi and his family in hopes that Bibi would not obstruct their business interests, and allowed him to shape the coverage of their news website, Walla.
Though he is defending himself against these corruption allegations in each case, he is clinging to power primarily to somehow seek immunity from prosecution. As Prime Minister, with a majority, he has sought immunity bids, and is trying his darndest to remain Prime Minister to avoid criminal sanctions.
Why a pardon?
What I recommend, is that Israel’s President Isaac Herzog pardons Bibi immediately. Drop all these criminal cases, and allow Bibi to free himself from these Swords of Damocles hanging over his head. I am not the first to make this argument, as Yaakov Katz of the Jerusalem Post previously argued for something similar about two years ago.
But, by pardoning Bibi, I believe that he will be more likely to either resign, or not seek office during the next elections. Without the risk of criminal sanction, he will be free to step away from political leadership.
With Bibi no longer Prime Minister, a lot can change.
In Israel’s government, there many MKs with personal animosity towards Bibi. They do not trust him, and will not sit in a government with him. This is the reason why there was no national unity government before 10/7, and why Bibi was forced to carve out a government coalition with political pariahs like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir. With Bibi gone, a different governing coalition is possible.
With Smotrich and Ben Gvir out of the government,
so
much
national
embarrassment
will
be
avoided.
No longer will we have a Finance Minister (Smotrich) who does not know that Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, and we won’t have a common thug (Ben Gvir) in charge of Israel’s police. How the Minister of National Security still has a job after 10/7 is beyond comprehension. Their irresponsible statements have set Israel back tremendously.
Sadly, Bibi has become diplomatic poison. His policies and actions have complicated the relationship with the United States (though of course the US has itself taken steps to complicate its relationship with Israel), and he is persona non grata in many diplomatic circles. Further, he has isolated himself from Diaspora Jewish communities. His rush to push through a judicial overhaul, no doubt partially on account of the criminal charges hanging over him, has pushed the country to the brink of civil war, and threatened Diaspora ties with Israel too. His name is now, at times unfairly, thrown around with those of autocrats like Putin and Orban, and he is mentioned with scorn among many in the news media.
He is also clearly at odds with critical elements of Israel’s wartime leadership. In recent weeks, Minister Benny Gantz, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, have all criticized Bibi for failing to plan a post-war strategy for Gaza. These failures only serve to lengthen the war, and continue to put IDF soldiers in harm’s way. (This should also not be taken as a full-throated endorsement of these three gentlemen, who are also responsible for their failures).
At the very least, the 10/7 attack happened on Bibi’s watch. Whether or not he is directly to blame, the buck stops with the Prime Minister. 10/7 was a catastrophic failure of Israeli leadership, intelligence, and decision making, and Bibi should be the first - but not the last - to go.
For all of these reasons, I submit that Israel in 2024 would be better off without Bibi. I predict he would leave if pardoned.
Not the solution to all problems
We are Jews. We know that no matter what we do, it will never be enough. We may never truly be accepted into the community of nations, and Israel may always, from this point forward, be considered a pariah state. Maybe this is the new normal. Maybe public opinion will from now on always be against us, or we will always have demands made against us that we can simply never fulfill.
But, there are some things that can be done. I think the first thing, is to pardon Bibi, and give him an opportunity to gracefully bow out of Israeli politics. His legacy, as a fighter, an advocate, in some ways the father of Israel as a start up nation, is already forever tarnished. 2023’s judicial overhaul movement and 10/7 were likely the final nails in the coffin of Bibi’s legacy. So let’s give him a way out.
Pardoning Bibi is not a display of weakness, but rather one of strength. If President Herzog were to do it, it would show the world that Israel has opted to pick its battles, it has listened to some public opinion, and that it wants to do better. It is one thing that can actually be done, that could fix some of the issues Israel currently faces.
Pardoning Bibi is also not a slippery slope. It doesn’t invite further criticism, and does not show that Israel will simply relent to public pressure. But it shows that Israel will engage in a cost/benefit analysis about its future, and that Israel will always do what is best for Israel.
Pardoning Bibi will not end all of Israel’s problems. Far from it. The hostages are still missing, many likely dead. The war is still waging in Gaza and the Northern Border is heating up. Who knows whether there will be an all-out war with Iran. Diplomatic pressure is turned way up, and anyone would be forgiven for having a bleak outlook at the moment. But, the situation can always change.
In this case, Israel can take an important step. It can pardon Bibi, lessen the pressure on him to stay in politics, separate from him as amicably as possible, and go on to fight the next battle. We have always done best when we are looking forward.