Gideon Levy: The Good Israel Before October 7 Was Nothing But an Illusion

SadaNews - Israeli writer Gideon Levy, in his article published in Haaretz, believes that the political alliance of Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, and Gadi Eisenkot does not offer Israel a genuine salvation project, as much as it presents an impossible return to October 6, 2023, which he refers to as "the good Israel" before the catastrophe.

Levy writes that this trio only promises Israelis a return to "seemingly calm" days, when restaurants, tourism, and normal life were thriving, while occupation, violence, and apartheid remained out of the view of the Israeli public: "What has happened to Israel since October 7 is irreversible."

For Levy, the problem does not lie solely with Netanyahu, nor with the corruption of his circle or the chaos of his coalition, but rather in a deeper structure that the opposition has participated in silencing.

Thus, he describes the phase as the result of "the government of destruction and the silence of the opposition of destruction," considering that Bennett, Lapid, and Eisenkot are not ready for radical steps because they do not want to end the occupation nor do they support the two-state solution.

The writer goes on to say that this alternative may be "more honest and less corrupt than Netanyahu," but it will not change the course, predicting the continuation of wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, and the inability to stop the violence of settlers in the West Bank.

In summary, Levy argues that changing the faces will not bring Israel back into the "family of nations" as long as the root of the crisis, namely occupation, militarization, and racism, is outside the political discussion of the proposed alternative.

Source: Haaretz