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I recorded this conversation with Noga Tarnopolsky on Monday afternoon during the funeral of Hersh Goldberg Polin in Jerusalem. He was one of six Israeli hostages who was killed by Hamas and whose body was discovered over the weekend. However, a majority of Israeli society is holding Prime Minister Netanyahu responsible for failing to bring the hostages home and deliberately undermining ceasefire deals.
Protests over the weekend brought out over 300,000 Israelis to the street, where some of them were doused with skunk water and assaulted by the Israeli police. This week, workers are striking and bringing the country to a near halt demanding that Netanyahu accept the ceasefire-for-hostages deal that has been on the table for months.
Netanyahu has other plans. If the war ends, he will most likely be forced to resign and be held accountable for numerous criminal charges. He performed something resembling a “press conference” in which he ignored the desire of the people and doubled-down on his failed strategy and war.
However, Noga tells me his plan includes more than just avoiding jail time. He is increasingly behaving like an authoritarian willing to bring down Israeli democracy for sake of power and a reckless, zealous ideology.
We unpack this and more in the latest Chai Talk!
What is Netanyahu's Endgame for Israel?