THE LIKUD IS DYING. NETANYAHU TURNED IT INTO A CONTRACTOR OF RELIGIOUS FIGURES FOR A JEWISH RACIST THEOCRACY PROJECT.
In December 2009, when Israel's Labor Party (Avoda) was still considered a
significant force in Israeli politics, I stated in an article: “With profound
sorrow and great grief, the people of Israel must acknowledge that the
legendary and celebrated Labor Party has ceased to exist, and these days the
funeral procession is carrying it to its final burial in the graveyard of
history. The outcome was neither sudden nor unforeseen, but rather the result
of dragging out a prolonged illness and suffering a painful agony. The
preference for plush ministerial seats over proclaimed principles of classical
social democracy were nothing more than acts of infamy by its prominent
leaders.” (Kaddish to the Labor Party, December 7, 2009. Kaddish: Jewish
religious prayer at a funeral).
I was wrong. Not about its fate, which was implacable, but about the date.
It finally died in 2022.
At this time, Israeli society is witnessing a similar process. Netanyahu's
need to perpetuate his power led him to steer the historic Likud party,
champion of the principles of a right-wing national liberal democracy, toward
becoming a contractor serving extremist ultra-Orthodox and religious
nationalist groups with a project to transform Israel into a racist Jewish
theocratic dictatorship.
The demographic future of Israel for the next 10-15 years predicts a clear
political dominance of ultra-Orthodox and religious nationalist groups. To
understand what is called Israel's demographic time bomb, it is worth exploring
the topic in "The Socioeconomic Threat Facing Israel," Shoresh
Handbook 2025.
Instead of confronting this troubling reality to steer Israel back toward a
Western liberal democracy, Netanyahu, since assuming his last term in late
2022, has been advancing a project tailored to his government partners: the
ultra-Orthodox and religious nationalists. Netanyahu is steering the country
toward a racist Jewish theocratic dictatorship by introducing a package of laws
that enshrine absolutism in Israel's governmental power, religious supremacy in
the social order, and ethnic discrimination in the political sphere.
As the well-known Israeli journalist Ben Caspit describes the institutional
aspects of the project: “We are in the final stage of the transformation of
Israel, once a Western parliamentary democracy, into a dark Middle Eastern
dictatorship. Loyalty is to the king, not the kingdom. Anyone who does not
swear by the name of the wife, the son, and the Holy Spirit will go to hell.
It's that simple” (Maariv 17-3-25).
Another well-known journalist, Uri Mizgav, asserts that “Likud has, in
effect, become an ultra-Orthodox religious party. The culprit is not a sudden
wave of piety. There are only interests at play here. You have to see Likud
ministers and members of parliament running tirelessly between weddings and
birthdays of ultra-Orthodox religious figures” (Haaretz, October 30, 2025).
The one who most recognized Likud’s dramatic shift away from its historic
and democratic principles was none other than the Minister of Social Equality.
Minister Maya Golan stated in a televised interview: “Let’s be honest, there
aren’t many ideological differences between the Otzma Yehudit party and the
Likud party. Let’s emphasize this. I don’t know what they’re trying to achieve,
do you? But there really aren’t many differences” (Interview with Maya Golan,
Haaretz, July 7, 2026).
For further information: The Otzma Yehudit party is led by Ben Gvir and has
an ideological base close to the racist idealism of the Kahanist movement,
which was previously declared a terrorist organization. Confirming this
worrying trend, news recently broke that the head of Israel's Security
Intelligence Service is considering reversing the previous ruling that outlawed
parties with Kahanist platforms (Haaretz, July 6, 2026).
Today, and for at least another decade or two, ultra-Orthodox and national
religious parties view the Likud party and Prime Minister Netanyahu as an
uncomfortable but undeniable obligation. As a result, they likely relate to
Likud and Netanyahu in much the same way Netanyahu relates to his political
allies and advisors: he treats them like disposable tools—buying them, using
them, soiling them, and ultimately throwing them away. Israel's history over
the last two decades is littered with political corpses that Netanyahu discarded
by the side of the road.
No one should be surprised if, in a few years, Israeli society sees the
lifeless body of the Likud party, with or without Netanyahu, lying in a ditch
of Israeli history.
Daniel Kupervaser
Herzlya – Israel 8-7-2026
https://ojalameequivoque.blogspot.com/
kupervaser.daniel@gmail.com
@KupervaserD
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