Pathological hatred of Israel is variously termed antisemitism or anti-Zionism, though personally I prefer to simply call it Israelopathy. In general, discussions about how it relates to the Left and Right refers to its manifestations on the Left and Right outside of Israel, leading to them converging like a horseshoe (and perhaps nowadays simply a ring). But in this post I’d like to discuss something different - the understanding of Israelopathy by the Jewish Left and Right in Israel, their consequent responses, and the mistakes therein.
The Jewish Left’s understanding of Israelopathy has long been that it results entirely from things that Israel does, and the consequent suffering of the Palestinians. Accordingly, if Israel acted in accordance with what the West professed to be normative acceptable international behavior, we would no longer be a despised nation, and we could reach a state of normalcy.
Gradually, this idea was proven false. For example, during the debate surrounding the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s, the Israeli government agreed to arm a newly created Palestinian police force to maintain internal order. Amid heavy domestic criticism that these weapons would inevitably be turned against Israelis, Rabin famously claimed that if the Palestinians violated the agreement and used those guns against Israel, the IDF would have full international legitimacy to step back in and act without restriction. Of course, in several cases many PA officers did use these guns against Israel (such as in the Western Wall Tunnel riots of September 1996, during the Second Intifada, and with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade), yet the IDF was relentlessly internationally condemned for responding.
An even clearer demonstration occurred with Gaza. Ariel Sharon famously promised that if missiles are ever fired out of Gaza, Israel will be able to reconquer Gaza with full international support. Of course, Hamas endlessly fired missiles, but whenever Israel responded, it was condemned. And even after Oct 7, Israel was being accused of genocide before it even started its military campaign. We now see clearly that no matter how justified Israel’s response to Arab terror is, it will always be condemned.
What drove this misunderstanding of how the world judges Israel? I think it was desperation. It’s hard to be hated, and it’s even harder to accept that it will always be this way. Much more appealing is to think that we can do something to fix the situation. There’s also sometimes an assumption that the world will act in a basically decent manner, which unfortunately is not true.
But the Left’s misunderstanding of Israelopathy, with all its dangerous effects, is now being mirrored by an equally dangerous misunderstanding on the part of the Right.
The Right’s mistake has two components. First is to think that everyone hates Israel, and nothing we do has any effect on that, so there’s no point in even trying. Second is to think that it doesn’t matter anyway, because we are strong enough to go it alone.
The first belief is just silly, and is typically held by people who live in a bubble. Israel has plenty of supporters around the world, who exist on a continuum. Some of them are die-hard religious supporters who don’t care what Israel does, but for many of them, their support does depend to a certain degree on how Israel actually acts. Or, if they are politicians, their support depends on how their voters perceive Israel. And if Israel, rightly or wrongly, is perceived as acting increasingly brutally and wrongfully towards the Palestinians - for example, electing to Minster of National Security a man who was convicted by Israel itself for terrorism, calling for ethnic cleansing or a genocide in Gaza (even if not actually doing it), tolerating extremist hilltop youth who proudly commit violence against innocent civilians - then their support will naturally decrease.
The second idea, that Israel doesn’t need international support anyway, is likewise silly - not to mention anti-Torah, since the prophets explicitly warn about the folly of believing that God will empower us over our enemies regardless of corruption in the nation, and our history proves this tragically correct. Especially in the modern world, where economic health and military survival requires good political relationships and trade with numerous countries, Israel most certainly cannot go it alone.
Thus, for example, when people passionately criticize Britain for boycotting trade with Judea and Samaria, they are correct. But when they defiantly claim that it doesn’t matter anyway, because the sanctions are meaningless and Israel is strong, they are tragically mistaken. As the Times of Israel noted in a very important article, these particular sanctions could be trivial, but they could unleash a Pandora’s box of boycotts around the world. Businesses, including even those not in the countries threatening trade bans, would stay away from all of Israel rather than trying to untangle penalties.
And it’s not just businesses. The Times of Israel points out that “all Israelis could find themselves cut off from the global financial system, due to banks preferring to avoid the hassle of complying with requirements that they avoid individuals or businesses with settlement ties.” Trevor Asserson, whose law firm represented an Israeli organization sanctioned by the UK for allegedly financing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, warns that “All banks and other financial organizations dread the cost, expense, and effect of an investigation by a regulator which might even lead to being fined, which is a reason not to bother with one small country.” As the Times of Israel notes, all this could put the entire Israeli economy at risk.
In the 90s, voting for the Left put the country at risk. But in 2026, when the Left has virtually disappeared, it’s a coalition with the Far Right that puts the country in serious danger - and not only because their coalition partners are freeloading charedim who do not help with national defense and drain the economy. Even if you think that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir improve Israel’s security and well-being in various ways, they also simultaneously undeniably weaken it tremendously, and potentially place Israel’s very survival at risk.