I'm a registered Democrat, and I believe that Trump is going to win a second term, barring some unforeseen tragedy-a really major, earth-shattering one. Yes, he lies, doesn't care about social issues, is likely racist. He also is a strong leader. He isn't concerned with what institutional others think. He ran on a platform of promises that he has largely kept, and fulfilled. I have to say that I grudgingly admire his handling of Iran, a terrorist state. Though I admired Obama's integrity, he made an awful deal with Iran. Trump called Iran out, and showed, in my view, real leadership in scrapping it. People whined that his withdrawing from the deal was going to be cataclysmic. It hasn't been. Netanyahu won because he, too, is a strong leader, unafraid of what others think, but with vision. I agree that Netanyahu is smarter than Trump. As to what will happen to Arabs living in the West Bank and Gaza. The answer is "nothing" unless they find solid, smart leaders whose only message isn't the notion that they will destroy and conquer Israel. That IS the message the current Arab leadership in the West Bank and Gaza consistently sells (in Arabic-to its constitutents), and it's a non-starter. Legit/solid deals offering land for peace were on the table from Israel in the past, and rejected. Full stop. For the record, the security wall in Israel was built in response to terrorist attacks, not as a method of apartheid. The wall didn't exist before the attacks.
60
@sf What would you do if your land was occupied militarily since 1967? If Israel had the right to occupy land by force then the Palestinians have the right to use force against the occupiers. Sadly, it is a recipe for periodic and endless violence. And your "strong" leaders have, and will continue to, weaken the essential moral goodness of the US and Israel.
54
@sf You're an interesting "Democrat"-- for example, making the Trump campaign's specific point of "promises kept". Which promises, exactly? Not protecting Medicare and Medicaid. No infrastructure. No wall paid for by Mexico. No deal with North Korea, or China, or even NAFTA since it hasn't been ratified. So, "Democrat", can you tell us which promises have been kept by this "strong leader"? And you might also school me on how it's better to antagonize Iran (which, at least from our end, is now technically permitted to build a bomb if they want one), while coddling Saudi Arabia, which, you know, attacked us on 9/11. I love talking to my fellow Democrats and eagerly await your reply!
174
@sf
First of all, I'm not sure where you read your news, but Trump hasn't come close to keeping his promises.
Second, does it not bother you that Bibi is under indictment and Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in a felony?
55
The percentage of decent people vs mean-spirited ones has probably not changed. But bad leaders propel the mean-spirited ones to the forefront. As someone who grew up as a non-Jew in Israel, I remember what it was like to be treated as a second-class citizen. But I never thought I would see mirror images of heartless leaders at the same time on both sides of the Atlantic.
11
"Trump has been cleared by the special counsel on charges of collusion with Russia in the 2016 election..." Has he though?
7
Congratulations to Bibi and to Israel.
Bibi has been good for Israel. And I think it will not be so bad for the Arabs (Palestinians) living in the area. Why? Well, the 2-state solution doesn't look very viable, especially with Israel annexing more land. So just as "might makes right" stopped the Mexican-American and the American Indian/European settlers (invaders) wars, this will probably lead sooner rather than later to a big decrease in Palestinian uprisings.
One unanswered question is what will other Arab (Muslim) countries do? Well, they're so busy hating each other and fighting over nonsense, they may not have time to do much vis-à-vis Israel. Saudi Arabia hates Iran and vice versa. The Shias and the Sunnis hardly get along as it is.
It's been a good day.
Brian in Brooklyn
2
This whole thing smells of World War Three. Only we're going to be the bad guys. I mean, either whatever is left of the democratic nations steps up and challenges this, and us, even at the cost of war, or we're looking at a nightmarish dystopian future, and not the simply surreal present we have now.
And by challenge, I mean call us out for the humanitarian mess we've become. Call us out for supporting murderous regimes... and yeah, sniping rock-throwing kids and health care workers... that's a murderous regime. And if we keep going down this path, abetting the world's worst, then stop us by all means necessary!
We're not the good guys here.
3
I guess, we all can stop worrying now, that Tom Friedman "never worried more". It is when he is gushing with martial optimism that is time to be deeply concerned. Seriously, did this guy ever get anything right? It is one of the most enduring mysteries of nature, which sometimes keeps me up at night - how in the world does he still have a job? Can anyone help me out with this one?
7
In Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific" is a song, "You've Got to Be Taught [to hate and fear]." Israel has from 71 years of hostile neighbors, and this nation since its formation, first with hate and fear of Native Americans, then freed slaves, now Muslims and Hispanic-Americans. It's done by telling people they're the "in" group (or the Master Race) and all others are somehow inferior and threats.
It doesn't matter whether those calling the shots are secular politicians or "religious" leaders. The hypocrisy and cynicism are the same.
4
the point with both is the same: what are ordinary americans/israelis doing about it? what are the likes of the author doing about this if they aren't in agreement with these two? Lets start with the mirror. Also, never forget 63m Americans chose him and support them fully. That's the root cause.
I don't like Israel, because of Netanyahu and his right wing enablers. I like all the Jews that I have ever known and I like Israelis in general. But let us not conflate Israel with our nation. We are the most important nation to all peoples of the world (not in small measure also due to the contributions of American Jews). We have formed the best democratic, diverse, multicultural, inclusive large nation in the world at this time. And as such we have won the culture war much like the British and Roman cultures before us. And we are much closer to a satisfactory world culture of diversity, inclusiveness, energy and flexibility that our future will need (although our petty, money-grubbing and power hungry leadership seems to ignore that accomplishment). Our strength is our diversity. Israel under Netanyahu is going a different way. Trump, dividing and walling us off, wants a similar outcome which may lead to more world struggle.
1
Another day, another bit of fear and dismay in our lives. I imagine, Mr. Friedman, that you and I are concerned not only for our country, but for our children - and in my case, grandchildren. With climate change deniers, white supremacists, and childish name-callers running amuck in the White House, I wonder how long it will take to fix the dirty mess they will leave behind. A lifetime, I suppose.
4
George Bush's famous "Axis of Evil" referred to Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. "Axis" implies a common ideology and active collaboration. "Evil" implies deception, killing, stealing, and human rights abuse.
Given Bush's vocabulary skills, the misuse of the words was understandable, but collaboration between these three countries was ludicrous. The evil part existed but was largely within national boundaries.
Today a new "Axis of Evil" is emerging and, sad to say, it includes the USA. It is the Israel-Saudi Arabia-USA Axis. All have committed crimes and fostered conflicts outside their borders. All are now collaborating to break international laws and to engage in warfare if/when they meet resistance.
The American people should not allow US participation in this axis.
2
Apparently feeding the fanatics is now the best way to achieve power, and retain it.
1
"Trump is clever but..."
Uh, NO. Just NO.
3
"But what else could we expect? The parallels between Trump and Netanyahu are now deep and broad."
Mr. Friedman, the differences between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump are so profound and so pronounced that anything that you write is ipso facto null and void.
Where to start? How about books. What is the last book Mr. Trump has read? Does he read at all? What about Mr. Netanyahu? Like it or not he comes from a an intellectual family and he is no exception. His wife, from time to time punching bag of various politicians or journalists come from the same. They are the exceptions with "Dr." or "Prof." not in front of their names, but do have graduate degrees, professions and read.
Mr. Netanyahu is committed to the security of Israel. Read Mr. Rosner yesterday:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/opinion/netanyahu-israel-election.html
Mr. Rosner is correct.
Write what you will about Mr. Trump, and Mr. Netanyahu is not without many foibles, but parallelomania does not work here, and worse, misses the point.
4
No matter what you say about either of these men and the danger to democracy that they represent, their supporters will not drop their support for them because they don't care...
It's amazing to me that NY Times and it's Columnists and Board think that by bring up the problematic issues with either of these men would change anything. Their supporters know all this already and let me say it again, they don't care.
As to the six more years alluded to here. The Dems are going to lose again in 2020 because they are going to run a finely crafted campaign that spells out the flaws in President Donald Trump but that will only be preaching to the choir. They need to go out and hammer him and show that he did nothing for his base but placate them to keep them happy with no results. Pick something and BLAME HIM because he's certainly going to blame them and then the will be playing catch up.
If some Democratic candidate doesn't start calling Trump "Fat Donnie" soon and just make fun of him they are really giving up a great way to beat him. He reacts with crass behavior, feed it back and watch the fun as he implodes...
1
A depressing, but accurate unemotional analysis by Thomas. The good news is, there is still great hope for America. The mid-term elections revealed that, and I retain an ever present confidence that the Trump experiment will come to a grinding halt in 2020. Unfortunately, the global space will continue to experience the ignominious Netenyahu's shameless, short sighted intransigence and zero sum politics of fear and loathing, until a courageous and visionary American President effectively reins him in. Obama tried, but failed to do so. The current Trump-Netanyahu alliance has ruined the reputations of both countries.
3
There are some 3 million Palestinians now living under Israeli control. Whatever criticisms may justly be leveled at their leadership and strategy over the years, there they are: living human beings, families, on the land. As of today, the Palestinians can reasonably foresee neither a future as a people on their own land (a 2-state solution), nor a life of free citizenship in the land they live in (a 1-state solution). No peace is possible until the Palestinians can be assured of a decent future. Because you can bet the rent on it, they will not simply bow their heads and acquiesce to eternal subjecthood. This is what Yitzchak Rabin understood and feared, and was murdered for saying. What will happen, for instance when a settlement decides to expand onto land belonging to Palestinians and they passively refuse to leave (the best course)? Not open fire, not throw stones, just sit there. Will we see images of Jewish soldiers going house to house and dragging out families? God forbid such a horror! But as long as the Palestinians are forced to remain a subject people, such a horror is in the offing.
4
@Chaim Rosemarin
It's called lebensraum. Made memorable by the unpleasantness of the 20th century. Ironic that it's principle supporters of today were its victims then.
It could be said that people get the leaders they deserve, and that Americans and Israelis have leaders who fit the zeitgeist in each country. Israelis want security and an end to the perennial "Palestinian" problem. Americans want jobs and stability, not the complexities of dealing with a diverse society. Netanyahu and Trump each know how to cater to these basic desires in their electorates, and have shocked the rest of us by tearing way the thin fabric of democratic government so easily and with so little resistance. Trump, in particular, has shown the world that the emperor (and previous presidents) truly has no clothes. Every new outrage is an object lesson about the tenuousness of our whole system of government, and the consensual myths on which it has been built.
3
The other difference between them is that Netanyahu won a majority through right wing proxies. Trump LOST the election and has never reached 50% approval let alone exceeded it.
2
Bravo, Tom. I predict a fourth Pulitzer! Thank you.
This sadly reminds me of Harry Potter and Dumbledore's description of Lord Voldemort -- he has no friends, he does not know love. These two leaders have no soul. They have sacrificed principle, notions of acceptable norms and the rule of law for personal power and loyalty -- and we know from Lord Voldemort, he expects you to fall on your own sword. It will not end well. I have long ago given up supporting an Israeli government that has adopted the role of the oppressor, even in the face of its own danger. I will not hold up the current American government that seems to see itself as vengeful. This is a sorry state of affairs that I apologize leaving to my children.
3
Interchangeable names, interchangeable backslappers and backstabbers. They deserve each other but we don’t deserve either.
1
The problem with blaming everything on Donald and Netanyahu is that large swaths of people support them. So their vile and evil behavior is apparently what the public want. A vote, not cast is a vote for them.
4
You forgot to mention that Trump is bending the rules, using any means necessary to allow him or his rotgut family dynasty to rule America well into the future. He tears down the fabric of our Constitution, legal system, puts in his own rules, slides around them, and is effectively making the USA into a 3rd world country. I have never been so unhappy an American in all my 70+ years! This vengeful menace is taking lessons from Bibi, we have 2 more dictators in the world and less security than ever!
4
Well this is scary, God help us all.
2
Today, I made a donation to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. I didn't know what else to do.
3
Thomas, I never thought you could be so superficial as to write something like this “America does have an illegal immigration problem that Democrats have not taken seriously enough”. Democrats partnered with Republicans in 2013 to get Senate approval of a comprehensive immigration reform law, the so-called gang of eight legislation. The Republican controlled House did not even vote on it. Barack Obama deported more illegal immigrants than W Bush while targeting those with criminal backgrounds. He also issued the DACA executive order to protect unaccompanied illegal minor immigrants since congress could not act on it’s own. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer tried to reach an agreement with Trump which he walked out on. Look at the government shut down? Trump and his far right Republican backers refused to adopt real solutions to Border security including increasing the number of judges and installing drug detection systems at ports of entry. So do not repeat this type of pundit tripe. Democrats have been and are serious about immigration policy and border security. It is Trump, the Freedom Coalition and Mitch McConnell who wish to use this as a political wedge for 2020. Do not be their tool.
4
I firmly believe that Trump is an evil person. Netanyahu is following in Trump's footsteps.
Both of these characters will be defeated by what is good in this world; by the kind and righteous.
Friedman is right, Netanyahu and Trump will no doubt change the world order but for the better after the world citizens revolt against them and their puppet states
1
Israel is no more likely to be overtaken by ANYONE in the Middle East. The US gives them billions to insure their safety and will defend them if attacked.
On the other hand, the US is hardly likely to be overtaken by immigrants, Muslims or 'the other.'
The gift Bibi and Donald give to each other is permission to ignore the rule of law and the boundaries of human decency. They are only successful in the moment because no authoritarian figures have survived very long. People want justice and freedom and they will get it regardless of these 2 clowns. Think Castro,Mussolini, Emperor Nero, Emperor Hirohito, Tsar Nicholas...they are all gone now
Thank you, Mr. Friedman!
1
I am a big admirer of Benjamin Netanyahu. However I am disgusted by his courting of the far-right , and I am dismayed about the criminal charges against him. He has to take demonstrative steps to prove that he is prime minister of all citizens of Israel.
1
This is quite an insightful column. However, in terms of damage to democratic values and institutions, the rule of law and the world peace, Trump cannot be put on the same scale as Netanyahu. As the leader of the world’s first democracy and the world’s mightiest power, Trump’s damage can be tremendous.
6
When one has to hold onto power so desperately, then all should realize, that they are the wrong people to lead any of those in their countries anywhere, except, either over a cliff, or to cause serious harm to many others outside their tribe. By the use of the word tribe, it means to me, those who think only in one way, or direction, not necessarily a direction that is the truth, or life sustaining to all of those in their midst. Not good, not good at all.
6
The challenge as Mr. Friedman articulates is that both men employ racist and fear-mongering tactics to ascend & maintain power, while eroding governing practice & norms that have stablized our world for 70+ years and provided the civil foundation for prosperity. Our mutual culture of democracy is at stake - the impact as Mr. Friedman notes withers the foundations of democracy across the world. Current generations are being denied the experience of good governance as both Netanyahu and Trump focus on power uber alles. Many have watched the Israeli election with anxiety and trepidation - a different outcome might have been an indicator of democratic resilience instead of a new day for the strong-man.
4
A couple of years ago around 2 AM, a trucker and I tried to pull a man out of a burning truck on a pretty much deserted highway. He was wedged in by the crushed door and not coming out. We tried to put out the fire with small fire extinguishers just to be doing something. Finally we watched him burn to death.
I thought of this incident about halfway through this article. I think democracy is the man trapped. At least it feels that way. If there had been a fire department within 20 minutes of the scene the man likely would have lived. As it was a lone fireman from a regional volunteer fire department arrived much too late. He thanked the trucker and I for our efforts and tried to make us feel better by saying the man was probably not conscious. But the fact is he was. He audibly was asking for help.
The efforts of many democrats and those in the republican party still interested in integrity are beginning to look like people throwing water balloons at a raging fire. Bibi's win is very discouraging. One can only believe Trump pushed him over the top. And one way he did this was putting our military unnecessarily in harms way by labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as terrorists. Another is by sanctioning the annexation of a territory by its neighbor. It might be hard to confront Putin about Crimea now. But who believes Trump ever cared anyway.
Karl Marx didn't provide a solution to capitalism. But he did describe who would fuel the fire.
7
It's not just Trump and Bibi. By changing some proper nouns a similar picture could be painted of Turkey, India, China,Brazil, Poland, Hungary, Russia and other nations whose populations are being divided for the purpose of elevating authoritarian leaders. The reason, I imagine, has something to do with the failure of globalism to address the problems it created for those who were left behind. And, of course, there were local issues. But the prospect of leaving our children a dying planet run by dictators should be incentive enough to make this decline less inevitable than it now seems.
5
Thanks for letting the world know...
many bad actors.
In general - I agree. But the problem is not globalisms failures. It’s not addressing latent racism and rising inequality....
The United States has been a country for 231 years, while Israel has only been a state for 71 years, a mere 31% of our relatively short experiment as a democratic republic. Yet, both are currently at the same point, with loud, bully leaders, who seem to have unacceptably creative methods to mold democratic institutions to their liking.
Got to give credit to the Israelis...They're fast learners.
But for neither country is the current political model sustainable in light of the historical, underlying values upon which each country developed. Both countries grew and flourished economically through immigration. Each is a functioning democracy, with all of its pro's and con's. Both have managed free enterprise economies, with common-sense regulations and social safety nets. And most importantly, both countries have ethics systems whose foundations were laid thousands of years ago.
This, too, shall pass.....
4
DOES America have an immigration problem Democrats have failed to take seriously? Illegal immigrants are estimated to be <0.5% of the total population. I haven’t seen much suggesting this is a particularly dire situation. There is a humanitarian crisis right now that Democrats could fix if Trump would let them.
2
Trump and Netanyahu are not degrading democracy, they're standing up for the idea that, as nations, we need to re-embrace fundamental values like fidelity to our historical roots and recognition of who we actually are (and are not). We cannot operate like a free, protected safe-zone for people who have constructed failing lives or failing states; plenty of people agree with them.
1
As the rest of this intense yet common sense-based column shows amply, the opening calling Trump and Netanyahu "essentially the same person" exaggerates considerably, while declaring that "four more years of Netanyahu.. and six of Trump...will hasten the emergence of an America and an Israel [being] no longer examples for others to follow," understates even more considerably.
America and Israel already are no longer examples worth following.
Almost all Republicans in Congress have now abandoned almost all principles they once had, and become effectively rubber stamps for Trump and Netanyahu. Democrats in Congress have been sluggish and clumsy at taking on Trump, and even less willing to act against a neverending defacto carte blanch for Netanyahu.
America's two main political parties have become millstones around its future.
32
It would be interesting to see how many of those who voted for Netanyahu and Trump would buy a used car from either. Ethics known to be largely absent in both drive these voters reprehensibly in the wrong direction, willing to redefine their leaders with no regard whatsoever for integrity. And yet, intrinsically, they know neither is to be trusted nor respected. When we can do better we choose not to, frightening and demoralizing.
19
Regardless of where one stands upon the morality, integrity, honor and political and economic aspirations of these two men means little if together or separate they undermine the foundation of their respective nation. which, through its democratic process, allowed the opportunities for each of them to achieve what they now have.
War, division, poverty, violence, economic upheaval, suppression of free speech, corruption and death often follow in the footsteps of the autocrat, dictator or corrupt leader. Peace, tolerance and equality fall to the wayside. History has shown us that.
16
Everything in this editorial is correct except for one statement. Trump has no peace plan for the Middle East. He never had a peace plan for the Middle east. He delegated that responsibility to Jared Kushner who, in turn, abdicated to Bibi and MBS. Bibi will create de factor apartheid in Israel while MBS can do whatever he likes in Yemen and against Iran.
As a consequence, whenever there is violence in that region, it will be the fault of others and not Bibi, MBS or Trump. The villains will be those fight against tyranny. And, to think there are Republicans in this country who believe Trump was God's choice.....
How sad. How inexcusable.
32
I don't think the US will have six more years of Trump unless of course the Democratic Party chooses to nominate someone like Joe Biden or another semi-Republican candidate like him next year.
12
A cautionary tale offering a glimpse into our increasingly troubling future!
5
Yeah... those terrible democracies who elect their presidents.... based upon real world threats.... how terrible. Personally I applaud BiBi, his country is literally surrounded by countries that would like to wipe their country (the only functional democracy in the region) and the Jewish people off the map. When you are surrounded by bullies it takes a strong man.
72
@Mystery Lits
Israel is the bully... the death ratio has been 12-to-1, Palestinians to Israelis...they live in sewers and you control their resources... and you have the entire Western World's support...
Act like it.
2
Yes, Israelis need a strong man , yes, it's the only functionnal democracy in the middle east, yes Israel is the only real friend western democracies have in this region but Israel deserves a clean leader, not a corrupt one as Usa deserves too!
4
@Mystery Lits
"... it takes a strong man" ... and sometimes the strong man ends up crushing and destroying the very people who elected him.
2
Israel is a model for "civility for others to follow"? When will zionists like Friedman stop spreading this sort of hidden propaganda?
Israel is not and never will be a model for civility as long as it continues to steal Palestinian land and treat the natives as second class citizens and maintain an open air prison in Gaza.
No one is buying this nonsense that Israel without Netanyahu is the paragon of virtue. Netanyahu like Trump, embodies what the people of their respective countries want.
34
Trump and Bibi are not even remotely close to each other.
Tom knows Israeli politics intimately, back to Begin's time at least, so its immensely disappointing that he takes such a surface level view of the 2.
Bibi was a brilliant, hard working kid who went to MIT and was driven to succeed in the IDF. His time at BCG speaks to his intellectual horsepower.
Trump was handed hundreds of millions by his father to bailout his floundering casino and real estate business (2 industries where only absolute negligence and gross incompetence can produce huge losses).
The only minor parallel with Trump is that both had older brothers who died young and left a void that neither's accomplishments could fully replace. However, Bibi's brother died in the daring raid on Entebe (making him a national hero) while Trump's brother was a victim of alcohol addiction.
Bibi is a brilliant, shrewd and ruthless politician who knows the issues and electorate inside out.
Trump is a crass, semi-literate clown who stumbled into exploiting the great divide in American almost entirely by accident.
212
@Arturo
Brilliant, shrewd and ruthless he may be but he has directed those'talents' towards holding onto power at all costs which is not the same as being dedicated to the future well being of one's country.
In this he is similiar to Trump and unfortunately it is a dangerous trait in politics which encourages the formation of coalitions with fanatical rightwing parties that should not even be tolerated in a democratic state.
10
@Arturo Bibi, like Trump operates with no sense of service to anything except his own power and interests. AMORAL to the core.
3
@Arturo All true, but I think you are missing the real critique here. It's true that Bibi's ideology is more considered, and that he is in many ways a more virtuous person than Trump, though that is hardly high praise. However, they are very much alike in the ways that they work to solidify power through divisiveness and enrich themselves at the cost of everyone around them.
The Likud government has all but openly given up on the prospect of peace in the Middle East. He routinely takes extreme positions, both to pander to the Jewish Home party and to antagonize others in the region so that Likud can make a show of 'protecting Israel'. Likud itself was born from the Irgun, a right-wing Jewish 'paramilitary group'.
Trump likewise sows chaos so that he can be seen as protecting America. He tore up the Iran Nuclear Deal so that he could begin to take steps that will inevitably lead to war with Iran. He made up a caravan to help justify his own vacuous, hateful immigration policy.
Both of these men may be entirely sincere in their desire to protect their county and see this antagonism as a necessary part of that mission. Both may also be entirely cynical. Or some combination of the above. But the ways that they rule is quite similar.
1
"Instead, both countries will be cautionary tales of how precious are the norms and institutions that bind a democracy, and how easily they can be undermined by leaders who will tell any lie, smear any competitor and wink at any extremist to stay in power."
I beg to differ: Norms of a Democracy are easily undermined by a nation's people: People who take their dose of spite and hatred with their morning Cup-of-Joe and then take it to the voting booth. These two are the darlings of a segment of their respective populations with voting muscle (Netanyahu's far-right and settlement fanatics and Electoral College Trump leaning states). So far, nothing Benjamin Netanyahu or Trump does (or accused of doing) matters much;
Until it does, both nations will slowly become the pariahs both deserve to be by willingly anointing two miserable wretched humans to lead them.
9
Very sorry to see the author repeat the alternative truth that Trump was cleared of any collusion with Russia by the special counsel.
24
One big difference: Trump was draft dodger. Bibi was a member of the elite Sayeret Matkal. One has real guts. I agree with Bibi that Iran is an existential enemy of Israel. I agree with Friedman that Israel's other existential enemy is itself, and Bibi is accelerating the crisis for his own gain.
16
Israel illustrates the fact that there is no/never was/never will be a real country that trends leftward. Canada and the EU are mere US satellites. Putin will absorb them the minute the US leaves. Leftwing Jews are a force only the US. They are a protected species in the the Mideast. The minute their wild pie-in-the-sky platitudes are put to the test, they cease to exist. Perhaps Gantz could have used Climate Change to unseat Bibi. Apparently, Israelis don't care that the Med will rise up and swallow them. So sad.
6
Yikes, horrible thought, "Bibi Trump and Donald Netanyahu"! We get it, and how. Didn't Donald and Bibi look like Tweedledee and Tweedledum, like 2 Dr. jekylls, 2 Mr. Hydes, in their twin navy blue suits, snow white shirts, long blood-red ties during their meet in the White House 2 weeks ago? Just after Trump gave Bibi The Golan, and the keys to election victory today in Israel? Two paunchy power-mad nationalistic guys in power suits separated at birth. Two older guys being investigated for pecuniary improprieties. The grim future of America and Israel in the present moment.
11
Bibi's re-election is not very good news for other democratic nations. Yes a scoundrel has won. Yes the ultra-right has won. But the fact remains that the people voted for the man.
This reality says as much about the man as it does about society. And that is where my heart shrinks.
Bibi won but Israelis lost. Bibi won and the rest of us lost. Bibi won and the world lost an opportunity for greater hope and perhaps salvation.
I presume the next test for "the world" will be our own elections in 2020. Thus far, I am not impressed with our chances. Yes, I hold out hope but, if Bibi can win so can Trump.
As for what is at stake, I suggest it is the true meaning of Democracy. Bibi and Trump have used it as tool much like Hitler and the Nazi Party did in the early 1930's.
14
I wonder what the reaction would have been if Gantz had defeated Netanyahu. I bet, there would have been praises about how people of Israel defeated a demagogue, how democracy worked, etc. etc. But now suddenly there is a huge outcry from intellectuals when their not so favorite candidate won in a free and fair election and not once or twice but 5 times. By trivializing Netanyahu's victory and by ignoring the reasons why so many people trusted him for such a long time, the intellectuals are actually insulting the people who voted for him. As far as coalition politics is concerned, that's the name of the game for multi party democracies where a party lacking a decisive majority (or having simple majority) has to make compromises, often with parties on the fringe. In our country, the quasi oligopoly of 2 parties has largely suffocated the multitude of opinions and people are left with just 2 viable but often unpopular choices.
13
Trump, and his soul mate, Bibi, show that no battles are ever really won. I have seen the dismay on the faces of people who fought for civil rights in the 50's and 60's (who are now in their 70's and up) as they realize that without constant vigilance, the US is sliding right back into an abyss of intolerance and hate. And they feel (mostly correctly) that they are too old to pick up the banners again.
But someone has to. And I hope someone does, and soon.
13
Should Trump win a second term, I will seriously consider leaving the US. It will no longer be the country I was born in and have loved all my life. So, I would effectively be a political refugee, and I wonder, given our current treatment of refugees, who would have me? And wouldn't they be justified in turning me away?
18
@Cyndi Hubach
Real shocker - most countries have much more stringent immigration standards than we do. Not likely you'll be able to 'waltz' in and live illegally elsewhere.
The world faces dramatic, existential threats that are moving toward us at an accelerating clip.
Poverty and income inequality are terrible.
But climate change, superbugs, and nuclear weapons threaten our survival as a species.
The voters of the world have responded to these threats by electing a rogues' gallery of reactionary authoritarians who hate science, lust for power, and love only themselves.
As monstrous as Trump gets, he still has a strong chance of re-election.
In my 51 years, I have never been so hopeless about the world.
24
Mr Friedman
As a commentary are are really missing the point. To state categorically that not following what you believe in, makes both leaders inept. Far from the truth! I understand that your style of politics has been change dramatically. But dismiss 2 dully elected leaders as ignorant is a disgrace. These 2 leaders have done more to change the landscape then any previous dully elected leaders. I believe we will see a real peace plan in the middle east because both leaders are dealing from strength not sour grapes Wake and and smell the coffee and see the real facts on the ground and not your wishful think
6
What is sad is that the Republican Party has simply sold out America. They are more concerned about what Fox News will say about them than even caring about Americans.
They don't believe in global warming though even a casual observer knows it is real. Their health plan,assuming they ever get one, is going to be junk insurance which will penalize more than help.
They simply don't care about America or Americans, not one of them. It is pathetic and the country is going to pay a steep price for the Republican Silence.
14
Trump is much less intelligent than Bibi.
I'm not sure if that's more of a problem for Israel or the United States.
4
A fitting response to the probability of Netanyahu's reelection!
Here here!
1
Does this mean Trump will be President for five terms?
2
Right. Also, please add Vladimir Putin to the list.
1
The more you are corrupted the more people see in you a leader.
This is surreal.
156
An excellent opinion piece and one in contrast to that by Shmuel Rosner also in today's edition explaining Netanyahu's popularity among Israelis. Sadly, I can imagine Netanyahu supporters reading Friedman's piece and acknowledging that what he says is true but that, nevertheless, they don't care about the negative consequences. They don't care because since they have the advantages they don't have to care. In other words, Netanyahu supporters and Trump supporters don't care about what is just, what is fair, what is moral, what is inspirational. They only care, as Friedman recognizes, about what provides them with advantage and power.
8
“Netanyahu’s version, in contrast,’’ Avishai explained, “is a state essentially reserved for Jews, including those in the diaspora, who can prove their Jewishness by either rabbinical certification or maternal descent — one that is democratic only in the sense that Jews constitute the majority, the general will of Jews necessarily prevails, and non-Jews are in the state by sufferance, not really by right.’’
Much the same could be said about the position of Christianity in the United States.
Christians constitute 76% of Americans while Non-Christians account for 4% of Americans. For all practical purposes this is a Christian country. Ask any Jew, Muslim, Hindu or member of any other non-Christian faith if that is true or not.
Suprisingly, the Supreme Court has in effect confirmed that reality in a 2014 decision in which the Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, upheld the policy of the town of Greece, N.Y., which invited mostly Christian clergy to offer prayers at council meetings.
The District Court had earlier upheld the prayer practice on summary judgment, finding no impermissible preference for Christianity; concluding that the Christian identity of most of the prayer givers reflected the predominantly Christian character of the town’s congregations. It also found that the
First Amendment did not require Greece to invite clergy from congregations beyond its borders to achieve religious diversity.
3
To understand the support for Netenyahu and Trump requires understanding the basis of Jewish nationalism and white nationalism, respectively. Why do Jews want to live in a Jewish country? Few Jewish Americans would probably make this choice, preferring instead a secular diverse country. And why do so many white people want to live in a white Christian country, an idea that is apparently particularly popular in rural areas of US. Is there something missing is modern secular countries that Jewish nationalists or white nationalists seek? Do Jewish nationalists have a need to feel to be at the top in their country simply by being Jewish and do white nationalists need feel like they have to be at the top in the US just because they are white. Unless Jews are willing to share Israel with Arabs as equals then a two-state solution is necessary, no ifs, ands, or buts. What Netanyahu is doing is unacceptable and should be opposed by people all over the world. The same goes for Trump, Instead of marginalizing white nationalism he has elevated it to the point that it poses a dangerous threat to democracy and even the continuation of non-whites and Jews being able to live in the United States if things get out of hand on the right. I am not sure what secular diverse societies are lacking but we better identify it fast before it is too late.
6
@Bob says "a white Christian country"; really?
In what possible sense?
Do you find Christians in control of Hollywood, Academia, among Judges, Teachers, Lawyers, the mainstream media, etc? When was the last time you saw a family or a hero, in a movie or on TV, pray to God? Where were the Christian Riots when the definition of Marriage was changed by the Courts?
Ultimately you reap what you sow.
I think Trump's too-strong support for Bibi and Israel is going to ultimately doom Israel. And I wonder if this is Trump's - who is cunning as a fox - solution to the conflict all along?
Trump's support will eventually make Israel a pariah state, and that'll doom it.
9
It's interesting to note in some articles out today that the number one issue in Israel is security. That explains Bibi. There is real, legitimate fear. It's more difficult to explain Trump. Why do so many Americans have so much fear?
6
@Craig G Yes, why the fear in a country which dominates all others in military and economic power? In part I think the climate of fear is encouraged by government and media to support positions they espouse such as exponential increase in military spending, and also the popularity in right wing politics, of xenophobic fear as a tool to galvanize a segment if voters.
7
@John Ayres I agree with that. The media also supports it because it drives ratings. Thus Breaking News every hour of every day.
4
Tom Friedman is right, but I hope his and Roger Cohen's next columns about Israel analyze the abject failure of the Palestinian leadership in both the West Bank and Gaza to follow the example of Anwar Sadat who was willing to negotiate secure borders with a right-wing Israeli leader unconditionally and got a peace treaty in return. Can it be that those leaders are too cowardly to risk death?
4
Next year in Stockholm. Definitely.
In the 1940’s the U.S. departments of state and defense were strongly against the creation of a Jewish homeland in the land of Muslim Palestine . They foresaw that such a move would damage American and European relations with the Middle East. They were correct, but the damage is done and Israel is here to stay and remain a Jewish homeland . This election ends the hope of easing the tensions in the area.
4
This was a very close vote. Take heart America, Trump’s “endorsements” really added nothing.
5
Millions of us despise the both of them like no other ‘politicians’ since WWII, but to replace them is to dance across a field of cultural landmines they replant every day they’re in power. What. A. Dangerous. Mess.
8
I know what you state is correct I can even understand why Russians, Israelis and Filipinos elect dictators.
But what I can't understand is Americans who just a couple of years ago were complaining about Obama and an apology tour.
When trump keeps BEGGING Putin, BIBI and Duterte to wash and kiss their feet over and over again.
6
So, apparently neither NYT readers nor Mr. Friedman live in neighborhoods where groups of those lovable middle easterners routinely shoot rockets into friends' neighbors' homes, or dig tunnels into their yards, to enable more mayhem and probable murder. PM Netanyahu may not be perfect, but he loves his country, and knows his primary responsibilities are to its citizens.
5
Mr. Friedman, your op-ed is an act of courage. After Bibi makes Israel an apartheid state with the annexation of most of the West Bank, you say, Orthodox American Jews and Evangelical Christians will use their political clout to assure US government support of that action. I wonder how long before Trump accuses you of employing anti-Semitic "tropes" to question the patriotism of those zealots. It worked so well against Rep. Omar.
2
The worst thing about the trump/netanyahu alliance is that it starts to make Iran's world view valid. This is not a good thing.
There will be blood running into the oceans.
5
Friedman is absolutely right on. Both men will do virtually ANYTHING to stay in power. The bigger question, though, is why so many people in Israel and the U.S. are perfectly willing to aid them in doing that. That's the really scary thing about all this.
6
Sharp words and crystal clear--thank you for this spot-on critique Mr. Friedman. Our Declaration of Independence is the only founding document that states that our nation is founded on the principles of democracy, not allegiance to a single leader, but people seem to be forgetting this. Our forefathers knew that a cult of personality could wreak havoc with our country, and here we are, some almost 250 years later witnessing this with Trump's ascendancy. Heaven help us and Israel for having these bullies at the helm. It's going to be a long ugly journey.
5
Mr.Friedman-only you could write this honest and gut wrenching column-thank you even though I am in tears at the thought of more years with these power grabbing ,morality challenged men on the world stage.
10
Wow, great job, Thomas. There's nothing to really add, but the fact that I thought this period of strongman politics was relegated to the past.
It's very sad to see this kind of history repeating itself.
7
Bullies have been winning for millennia. The human race on the planet has just not evolved out of its fight or flight brains--preferring and seemingly enjoying fighting. Trump or Netanyahu are certainly not exceptions.
Civilization is just not here yet...and will not get here fast enough to stop the inevitable future problems.
“He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk.”
The existential reality of the Trump Presidency is draining the soul of America. Dread, ignorance, meanness, selfishness and corruption fill the very air. He and his party must be defeated and roundly next year. If they are not, we can and will survive but will not ever be the same in this lifetime. It will be up to our children and grandchildren to repair the damage.
12
Thomas Friedman sees the truth about Netanyahu and Trump, the present and the future. It is very, very ugly and concerning. Whatever happened to the biblical message that we should love our neighbor? Sure, as Friedman recognizes, anti-Israeli forces and immigrant problems face the respective countries. But where are the Rabins, the Mandelas, the Ghandis? Who will shape this world for the better? Sadly, for generations to come, Israelis and Americans, and globally, they will have to dig very, very deep to save themselves. In the meantime, decency and morality are in mortal danger.
4
I love how this article makes no mention of how Trump referred to Netanyahu as "your prime minister," among a couple other similar references. Most likely because just some weeks ago you were calling Ilhan Omar of being anti-semetic for her calling out politicians with dual loyalty.
5
We are now officially running foreign policy to further the goals of Evangelicals in their mad dash to the End Times. In seems we're all just bit players in this fanatical morality play. Oh the irony. Democracy was a great experiment while it lasted.
10
While Netanyahu leads Israel, this once staunch supporter of the Zionist ideal will WITHHOLD overt support for that country and it's government. I will not be party to assisting those that rub shoulders with tyrants like Viktor Orban or count Trump among their friends and disregard respectable and important world leaders like President Obama in order to speak before Congress at the invitation of John Boehner. This is NOT the Israel of my forebears and most certainly NOT the Israel of Ben-Gurion and the country's founders.
7
Trump and Netanyahu are earthy versions of black holes. Instead of being powered by gravitational forces they are fueled by fear and depravity.
3
So you are "Professionally and emotionally involved with Israel", Mr. Friedman? When American Jewish boys your age tried to volunteer to fight for Israel in 1967, they were told that they were very welcome to become citizens of Israel, but that the last thing Israel wanted was American Jews dying for them. So there are limits to your perceived "support" of Israel; you and yours are not doing the dying. How about showing your support and being of help to any peace process with some acknowledgement of reality which would be very helpful from a MidEast expert of your erudition. Explain that Israel will annex the settlement blocks around Jerusalem. She will not annex the rest of the settlements, because they'd eventually have to be given the vote and the demographics are such that the only Jewish state on this planet would become the 51st majority Muslim nation on this planet. Jerusalem, in the words of Abba Eban, "is not negotiable". The Golan Heights, from which Syria used to launch missiles at Israeli homes regularly, was seized in an existential war. The high ground is not going to be given back. Instead of discussion of your American democratic ideals, how about you display your interest in Israel by discussing realistic ideas of survival? You might even urge Palestinians and Gazans to eschew violence and accept offers of peace, clean water and power from Israel, in return for Israeli security and survival.
6
Agree they are both shameless, corrupt, and venal; Bibi however is vastly more intelligent, erudite, and world-wise than the cramped, simplistic, and reptilian Trump.
In significant ways, that makes Netanyahu more dangerous for Israel than Trump is for us because Trump is not intelligent enough to know how ignorant he is.
4
All hail T Friedman...again! EVERYTHING he says is correct...which is both revolting and terrifying and leads us all to one simple question: how have values been so eroded that these two COULD literally shoot someone and get away with it? How?
Racism, raw, naked and unveiled. It stokes the far right in Europe, it drives the "Christian" evangelicals from (mostly) the South, it suppresses the Palestinian and elevates their occupation to iron-clad...But the rise of the brown skin in this world IS coming and "they" know it - they are just staving off elimination for as long and as best as they can. Trump, Orban, Netanyahu, Salvini, LePen, Bannon KNOW their days are numbered and their scalps are on the chopping block - it will simply take one further outrageous act for their collective societies to say "enough". Since no one knows what it as, they keeping pushing the boundaries as they try to tighten them and their borders simultaneously.
1
Jews laugh and cry at the same time; it's in the genes.
So a mother and her young son are traveling by bus through Israel, and the mother turns to her son and speaks to him in Yiddish. "Hey lady," someone yells out, "this is is Israel. You should be talking to him in Hebrew." "Yes, yes," I know it's Israel, the mother replies, "I just don't want him to forget he's Jewish."
4
As usual, Mr. Friedman covers a waterfront as big as the world. I would add only this: Trump for the most venal of reasons is sucking up to an Israel whose catastrophic policies towards the Palestinian people is dragging America with her into a pit of darkness, violence and alienation from the rest of civilized humanity, around the world. I honestly wonder anymore whether Netanyahu's Israel is redeemable. That leaves me with the option to wonder when and how soon the American people will decide to abandon this alliance of doom. I'm not betting we'll wake up soon enough.
7
Jewish democracy is an oxymoron and the two state solution is a racist lie. The people of Israel have spoken; five times in fact. They have no interest in a two-state solution. We have been telling this lie since 1948. There are two people claiming one piece of land, but we lie and say that the land can be divided, which is exactly like cutting the baby in half to decide which of two women is the mother, except in this case nobody has the decency of ceding in the child’s interest.
Embracing racism is when you keep saying “Jewish democracy” and “two-state solution,” because deep down, the worst thing you can think of, worse than all the death and destruction the Palestinians have suffered, is to live side by side with them as equals in a singular secular state.
To be fair, this is not about Mr. Freidman. He is not the Arab living in a Bantustan, cut off from the government that controls him. The Palestinians still dream about the day the Israelis are driven into the sea. It is a charlatan dream sold by bad leadership. Israeli Arabs boycotting this election makes them most of the problem.
The American dissonance is astounding. We live in a place where a basic fundamental rule on human rights is that the government is not decided by any religious group or principle. Yet, suddenly when we say the magic word “Israel,” then puff! One religious group gets to maintain a new apartheid, while the hypocrites among us, who say we swear by Western values, wink and say “Two states!”
8
Whats not for a Trumpt to love. The world sees Israel as a police state for its undesirables with lot and lots of walls. Walls everywhere on the land and in the mind. A Trumpian Utopia. A modern apartheid South Africa in the desert. They excuse the world displeasure with their policies and anti-semitism. I hope they remember Trump will be gone in 2020.
4
Thank you Tom.
2
If you make an anagram of "Trump Netanyahu," you get such goodies as:
Yap Untruth, Amen
Upturn, Hate Many
Thump Any Nature
2
These are heartless, greedy men leading racist supporters who have no qualms about shedding enemy blood. They are the embodiment of the evil that exists in many humans that is held in check by civil society.
they are adept at tearing down that civil society. It was just four short generations ago that men just like this drove the entire world into a destructive war. These old white evil men need to be checked lest another conflagration occur.
March, resist, organize and vote in 2020.
3
Thomas Friedman would be a much happier camper if only folks like him had the vote. Funny how people who live in the real world see thing much differently from NYT columnists.
4
Looking forward to the day when Israeli and American troops triumphantly goose step into the West Bank and Gaza Strip after decimating any unarmed Palestinian women and children that defy them. Can't wait to see the extravagant uniforms that Javanka will wear during this triumphant procession! Surrounded by ecstatic American evangelical Christians and their Zionist buddies. Awkward...but effective.
"These are the patriotic medals Daddy and Bibi gave us! Cool, huh?"
I give it two years.
5
It is the age of power hungry megalomaniacs around the world. Don't forget India's Modi, Hungary's Orban and so many more..
It seems that we are just far enough from WWII for the world to have forgotten how we got there the last time.
For Bibi's party to be elected again to chants of 'King of Israel' is an indicator of how far-right fear mongering and hate have taken over the Israeli public.
Perhaps I am just getting old but it distinctly feels like we are going to Hell in a handbasket.
5
This article contains a photo of the Trump embracing Netanyahu, the black hole that's quickly swallowing up human civilization.
Israel if not fully there is now significantly on any independent criteria an apartheid racist state. Netanyahu has received a majority mandate for his racist policies and decreasingly less concealed desire to effectively eradicate all Palestinians having long ago eradicated their dignity and basic human rights. Its a sad state for Israel to reach considering the hopeful origins of the State and the horrendous evil crimes that precipitated it. To label anyone that rightfully opposes such a vile reality as an Anti Semite is as shameful as it is inaccurate and in any event increasingly counter productive to those traditionally reliant on it. Israel should be what its deceitful champions falsely claim it is, a beacon of democracy in an autocratic region of the world. It should be a peaceful, prosperous member of the advanced democracies on earth and a patron of the best of the Jewish tradition of equity and enlightenment. Instead it is an objectively arrogant apartheid state.
2
Tom, Just a slight bone to pick with your piece. Trump was not cleared of "charges of collusion" as that is not a crime. As Adam Schiff so eloquently detailed, there was plenty of collusion. Also, while I agree that Trump would be happy with 50.01 percent, thanks to the EC he doesn't even have to get that!
Otherwise, I was already really depressed today and more so now after watching William Barr today and reading this piece. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about taking advantage of my dual citizenship and moving to Canada.
We are so screwed and we really cannot blame Russia/Putin anymore. We did this all by ourselves.
4
@JMM Trump won Michigan by such a small margin. Corporate democrats are the cause of Trump. Many voters who could not vote Trump could not vote for another blatantly false clichéd corporate democrat either. If and it is a big if, Democrats select an authentic anti corporatist who refuses to be bought and embraces the clear disdain that many decent Americans have for the corporate takeover of their beloved country, Trump may not be much more than a significant warning sign. Gross inequality, immoral healthcare, comical Wall Street /Govt conflicts of interest and resultant extortion of the vulnerable, insane student debt extortion of the youth, mostly paid cliched puppets for Govt and democracy destroying gerrymandering. All consequences of corporations controlling democracy and not the other way around as democracy is intended to be. What is unjust is ultimately unsustainable and hopefully the remaining few vestiges of US democracy can start to rejuvenate the rest.
@JMM
You're right. The walls are starting to close in. The irony is exquisite - President Obama, hoist by his own petard, approving an intelligence operation that was never supposed to see the light of day, against his shoo-in successor's political opponent. How was he to know how ham-handed, obvious & illegal Comey, Brennan & company would act?
I used to say that the three fanatics/idiots from three major religions would ruin the world affairs especially the Middle East and they DID!. Ahmadi-Nejad (ex-president of Iran), Netanyahu and W. Bush. Unfortunately, Netanyahu is still is on power and W. Bush is now replaced by another maniac Trump. Iran has become better, although its supreme Leader Khamenei is another crack-head.
"Instead, both countries will be cautionary tales of how precious are the norms and institutions that bind a democracy, and how easily they can be undermined by leaders who will tell any lie, smear any competitor and wink at any extremist to stay in power."
Yes, to how fragile the binding of a democracy is, but no to the second part of this sentence. Democracy is only undermined when you have followers, especially in-government followers, of these types of leaders who let the lies, smears, and winks continue without checks. Neilsen didn't resign if she ever objected to separating families; she stayed right in there till she was dumped; McConnell and all the other Repub Congresspeople are happy to play along with Trump, or to mute their objections, in order to get those judges in place, those drilling rigs in place, those pesky environmental regulations denuded, etc; Fox News is happy to play along so that they can make bigger bucks.
If Congress had ever stood up to Trump and had not approved every single government-eviscerating appointment and had called him out for every lie and smear, American Democracy would be on stronger ground. Feckless, all of them!
Joni Evans may've been willing to cut off Dems' testicles, as she claimed in her original campaign add, but she sure hasn't been willing to stand up for Democracy and cut off those belonging to certain Republicans!
1
I have horrible fears that Mr. Friedman's predictions are correct.
There is a solid basis for hope however. Note that Hillary Clinton, for all her faults, still rang up 2 million more votes than Donald. So Donald didn't win by 50.01%, in spite of his claims. In fact he lost. His inauguration booked far fewer attendees than the women's march a few days later.
While Trump's base is adamant, his terrifying an dishonest behavior will have done nothing to dispel is opponents. They're just as defiant as in 2016.
In addition before our 2018 Congressional election the news pundits expressed grave concerns that Republicans could indeed maintain control of the House of Representatives. Those "experts" were far to busy talking to their media friends and not to the people. The overthrow of the house was by a margin unusual in its extent.
I believe that more of the same is most likely in 2020, in spite of my fears and nightmares.
7
History can be considered a series of accidents: more or less fortuitous. Although, with hindsight, it seems inevitable, say, that the Union beat the Confederacy or that the Allies defeated the Axis or that the USA achieved Cold War victory over the USSR, these events could have gone the other way.
Now, with the elections of Trump and Bolsonaro and Netanyahu, things are going that other way.
2
Missed one - they were both freely elected by people that actually vote and much to horror of the 'coastal' elites in both countries - who really... really want to know why we put up with this democracy nonsense as opposed to a cabal of a few west coast & east coast liberals appointing a leader.
4
@SteveRR No. Neither were chosen by the majority of the people.
3
@Mike
But did they win by the rules of the game(s)? Why, Yes they did and that's really all that counts.
Except for seeming to have a more class, intelligence and knowledge about the world, Bibi Netanyahu is indeed Israel's Donald Trump. A corrupt, vain man eager only to enrich himself and receive adulation for those he deceives.
Today is a sad day.
9
Reading the comments here makes me not sure of whether to laugh or cry.
Cry because if there is one thing I do agree with it is in terms of the depressed emotion about democracy and do see the fact that the US is led by Trump and Israel by Bibi as a great tragedy for the world AND democracy but then comes the laughter. Bitter laughter mind you. Black humor.
I used to read FOX in fascination of the tribal certainties, clear bias and dog whistling bigotry but I find the situation has declined so much for Western democracy and for so LONG that we no longer have any real opposition in politics or the media to those with money and power.
This rot started with the Reagan Thatcher revolution that succeeded to the point that it not only reversed what had been an equalizing economic gap post WWII and won elections for right wing thinking but worse infiltrated the 'opposition' giving us Thatcher 'greatest achievement', Tony Blair and the present Clintonian DNC (Reagan's revolution
pt II) whose contempt for democracy and the truth are matched by Donald Trump a man they got on very well with for decades.
Those of us who attempt to push for a return to social Democratic values are in fact, despite the absurd Trump derangement syndrome rhetoric, far more threatening to the DNC than a Trump victory. Todays DNC are yesterdays GOP minus the KKK plus lots of empty rhetoric about identity 'progressives' (ie divide and conquer us in ever smaller groups) and with McCarthyism on steroids.
7
As a liberal American Jew, I have never felt so distant from Israel or orthodox Judaism. There are Jews who worry about which rabbis inspect their food, and their are Jews that worry about human decency and rejecting the fascist beliefs that nearly led to our peoples' destruction. It seems like these two groups rarely overlap anymore.
Biblical literalism is a false morality. So is nationalism. Those who believe in these false moralities have trouble paying attention to the real thing.
14
Trump is protected by ‘big media outlets’?
I only know of Fox doing that.
Please print a list of others.
1
"...how precious are the norms and institutions that bind a democracy." But could resistance lead to more democracy?
Is Tom Friedman aware of Leonard Cohen's "Democracy" song?
Cohen sang, "Democracy is coming...to the USA". (1992)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is it possible that Trumpism is producing a democratic resistance,
and a new democratic wave, as we approach the 2020 election?
Would Tom Friedman comment on the "Democracy" song?
"Democracy is coming...to the USA!"
"Democracy is coming...to the USA!"
3
I'm questioning my 50-year support for Israel. It's not just the Bibi is bad - he clearly is. But the election shows that enough Israelis support him. What's left of the beautiful concept of Zionism to stay behind?
8
It's more like Bibi and Putin. Both see annexation as the key to holding power. Putin -> Crimea , Bibi -> Westbank
4
@talesofgenji
Precisely
Bibi and Netanyahu are riding high off the other man’s low impulses. Add in Jared Kushner, with his own connections to Israel and with unthinkable influence on our foreign policy, and we are looking at a very dangerous world.
4
So Bibi hates liberal American Jews, and no one likes Bibi here in America except Orthodox Jews and evangelicals.
I resent divisive categorization like that, and Friedman has made them before.
He’s just wrong, and here’s the truth:
Netanyahu’s reelection results from the Israeli fear of threats from Iran, Lebanon (Hezbollah) and Syria to bomb Israel out of existence.
It results from the Israeli fear of another Intifada where the last one caused so many civilians to be blown up in buses and restaurants.
It results from the Israeli fear of thousands of missiles coming in from the West Bank just as it has from Gaza since Israel evacuated there in 2005.
Netanyahu’s re-election has much more to do with security than liberal philosophy and religion. Israelis loathe fear more than they love Netanyahu.
Friedman just doesn’t get their mindset. He sees the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the same as the racial and political conflicts here in America. He doesn’t understand that Israelis and Palestinians have much different, and frankly, much more serious priorities - such as security, recognition, self determination and survival.
4
Bravo!! I am also pretty sure that Mr. Friedman has never set foot in Israel, or he would understand why people, and not just religious ones, support a strong man.
2
@Sara In Wikipedia: "From Beirut to Jerusalem (1989) is a book by American journalist Thomas L. Friedman chronicling his days as a reporter in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War and in Jerusalem through the first year of the Intifada." Mr. Freidman has been to Israel many times.
@Sara Oh Pleease!!!! Mr. Friedman is a Jew and has been all over the world ten times over as a journalist. Yes Sara Thomas has definitely been to Israel --many, many times.
Two criminals in power.
And two uninformed electorates.
What will go wrong?
11
The Second Coming
By W.B. Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
4
Israel faces truly intractable problems which can not easily be solved. Humans when faced with no win situations will tend to go for the longest odds possibilities instead of cutting their losses. This is what Netanyahu represents, people going for the faintest hope of a totally positive outcome, even though reasonably it will fail. He promises a completely secure Jewish state free of Palestinian Arabs and hostile surrounding countries by being to strong and impregnable to be vulnerable. It's a dream that will never happen by force of arms as Netanyahu imagines.
Trump is an idiot when it comes to international relations and is totally ignorant of the history of peoples and states that might enlighten him. He will try to give Netanyahu what Netanyahu wants without knowing what he is doing.
5
giving this reality, would Mr Friedman consider and maybe support the Palestinians and the world in their fight to resist this evil in the form of Boycott, Divest and Sanction or does he still think it is Anti Semitic?
2
That Israel has problems is clear. That doesn’t make BDS goals less anti Semitic. It’s another form of extremism with Anti Semitism behind it. If they want to boycott all countries that have abused Palestinians then that might be good but start riding your bike, get a wood stove.
2
Also, Both are hated by the News Media, and won elections that the News Media told us they would lose.
5
Convince me in a column that the arabs want to make peace with Israel. They promote hate and no normalization with Israel. Their terrorism pushes the Israeli to vote in a tougher group than normal.
3
Wrong
Bibi's brother is not the Donal, but Vladimir, who also believes its ok to grab, oops, annex, oops "extend sovereignty" over adjacent land
That is a deadline undermining of the International order
Until the Donald proposes to annex the Northern part of Mexico to solve border problems Bibi's brother is Putin.
3
@John
Agreed, totally
I don't care for Benjamin Netanyahu whatsoever, but there is one important distinction to make versus our Impostor-In-Chief.
Netanyahu joined the Israel Defense Forces shortly after the Six-Day War in 1967, and became a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit.
Netanyahu took part in many missions, including Operation Inferno (1968), Operation Gift (1968) and Operation Isotope (1972), during which he was shot in the shoulder.
Netanyahu fought on the front lines in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, taking part in special forces raids along the Suez Canal, and then leading a commando assault deep into Syrian territory.
Netanyahu achieved the rank of captain before being discharged.
Netanyahu graduated from MIT with Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees.
Netanyahu is an experienced military man and academically bright.
Trump is a famous draft dodger whose feet hurt during Vietnam and he is intellectually dead.
Both are corrupt, right-wing power-mongers, but only one of them has an intelligent head and an actual spine.
11
I wonder, how many other leaders fall into the same category? Victor Orban from Hungary? Jarosław Kaczyński from Poland? Erdogan from Turkey? Narendra Modi from India? What, if any, are the differences of these leaders with Donald Trump and Netanyahu?
4
As a non-Jewish visitor to Israel four times, it has been very painful to watch the descent of Israel over the past ~20 years. Certainly the lack of Palestinian leadership exacerbated a difficult (apologies for the understatement) situation, but the election of a leader who has now openly opted for apartheid as the future of Israel is something I hoped I'd never see.
I agree with most of what TF writes here about Bibi and Trump. It would have been a much more compelling piece without the rubbish false equivalency between Israel's very real internal threat, and the USA's "immigration threat". We don't have an immigration threat. And to the degree we have an immigration problem, what exactly would TF have had the Democrats do to "take it more seriously."
TF's habit of false equivalency causes me to usually skip his columns these days. This one was otherwise worth reading.
1
With these two monsters drunk on power and egging each other on, the odds on a nuclear conflagration and/or bloodshed on American soil just went up.
Bibi and trump are corrupt to the core, malicious and totally without shame. The people who've put them in office bear responsibility for what comes next, and I guarantee you, there won't be anything "Great" about it.
4
BOTH MEN ARE GUTTER THUGS. Apparently Netanyahu has won his election. Let's hope he loses in court. The hope for democracy and America is that Trump loses his election.
2
The 3k per person per year universal basic income the US taxpayers give per Israeli citizen sure does wonders for their economy.
7
Religion: Invented by the first Con Man the second he met the first Sucker.
I wonder who is intellectually dimmer the Evangenital or the ones who side with them?
History (if there is that for humans in the future) will not look kindly on these people.
1
Two men who enrich themselves at any cost and feed off fear and hatred of others. Who would have thought after WWII the United States and Israel would be the ones the rest of the world will fear.
2
Bibi is a disaster that will haunt Israel for years. Under him it will never be a true democracy as its Arab "citizens" are treated differently than its Jewish ones. A Jewish terrorist may or may not be prosecuted, but they won't have their or their relatives houses, olive groves bulldozed as would a Palestinian's. Either give everyone in the occupied lands, regardless of their religion, citizenship and be a true democracy or go with the better option —the two state solution. This would be drawn by the 1967 borders defended vigorously, with a slice o' Jerusalem for Palestine. A lottery for the right of return for the
Palestinian diaspora, some of whom have been left to rot in refugee camps for sixty plus years. Since they cannot all physically fit, there should be reparations for those who do not win a return spot but who lost everything. And all reparations should paid for by Germany. This would be a win for all three groups. Israeli Jews would no longer be occupiers — a title many desperately loathe. The Palestinians would receive a measure of justice. And Germany gets a bit more out of the penalty box which they have rightly occupied since 1945.It will take more than just a few generations for them to ever get out of the Holocaust box, if ever.
Yes, two arrogant self centered men. Looking at boosting their own cred with their bases. Nothing else matters. It's a shame the money we have poured into Israel. They can take care of themselves.
1
Sad. Netanyahu is the Putin of the Middle East, and again, everywhere you look, the bad guys are winning.
1
Boker Tov, Eliahu! (Good Morning, Elijah!)
1. Isn't this commentary a little too late?
2. Trump is not clever.
3. Notwithstanding his own family ties, Trump's category of "real Americans" does not include Jews. (This is one of the most fascinating paradoxes of the Trump Administration.)
4. Trump's favorite insult is not to call someone "weak"; that's down the list somewhere. His favorite insult -- that which he feels is most harsh -- is to refer to a man by reference to his wife.
1
One interesting fallout from Bibi and Trump's wins is that people are deferring to them as being strong leaders. Indeed, one opinion article even said that one can be a great leader while being a small man. All of this suggests that the underlying, and perhaps the only, test of such a leader is success real or perceived. The part that is presumed to be understood by the cognoscenti is that after "success" comes the key phrase "at any cost". Thus it is that if you are successful (or perceived as such) then such other things as being a racist, a name-caller, and any number of horrible things in no way negates your perceived status as a strong leader because that term has been redefined, something which is truly alarming. I am beginning to feel that I am in a Thucydidean landscape. Somewhere, somehow, words have lost their original connotation and praiseworthy qualities are no longer to be associated with certain words. But I better let Thucydides speak for himself: "To fit with the change of events, words, too, had to change their usual meanings. [...] any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one’s unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action. Fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man [...] Anyone who held violent opinions could always be trusted, and anyone who objected to them became a suspect." (Rex Warner translation.)
1
This article should be read by every USA politician, voter and want-to-be citizen. Read, learn and take to heart.
How weak and disorganized are the institutions with the power to oppose these two.
In this country, we see how gerrymandering and the lack of term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court maintains in power Republican politicians and justices representing ever-shrinking pluralities of political, social and cultural thought.
In other words, the dinosaurs get to hang around forever.
The media cares only about a good show and ratings, and both Trump and Netanyahu use that to their advantage. Is it too much to ask that Comcast, Disney, Viacom and the other corporate lessees of the people's airwaves treat threats to democracy also as threats to their own existence?
They should, because Fox News is the preferred state media outlet for Trump and, if he gets his way, the others will be put under his thumb or shuttered completely.
Finally, the people themselves are the greatest institution.
In both US and Israel, more needs to be done to call out and disdain verbally the racist, xenophobic, misogynistic and narrowly bigoted opinions and beliefs of the everyday citizens who support these would-be despots.
If you don't tear up the tracks, you cannot stop the train.
Both Trump and Netanyahu feed off and stoke the ignorance of their followers. It's the followers who fuel them.
What is being done to refute the actions and support of the people who make Trump and Netanyahu possible?
Until that question is addressed, these locomotives will continue to rumble down the line.
I'm going to keep reading about the black hole image. Earth news is way too depressing, and this column hasn't helped.
A great IRONY here is that -- in the service of "nationalism" and mythical grandeur -- morally-superior and conservatively religious minorities wed themselves to a despotic ruler who feeds their fears, and in return, they validate & extend an immoral megalomaniac.
I fear for the stability of the entire planet with these two autocrats in charge of countries that impact so much of the regional and world order. Bibi may unleash a new round of middle east conflicts, while Trump fans the flames of possible civil war in the US as well as dismissing long term allies in order to curry favor with violent dictators. Neither will be out of power soon enough to save us.
1
Thank you, Mr. Friedman. This depressing warning needed to find the light of day in a reputable news outlet—not on the margins as a cry in the wilderness.
What is most bothersome to me is that support for Israel here is unilaterally a Republican enterprise. It seems that Israel has no need or use to consult with the Democratic Party. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu simply dials up his fellow-arsonist, Donald Trump, and effectively bypasses the normal but now-outdated “advice and consent.” After all, it is the hard-earned money of American wage-earners that Bibi is plundering, money that neither he nor his country have any legal or “moral” right.
I will never forget or forgive Mr. Netanyahu’s bald, blatantly racist interference with our president, Barack Obama, four years ago, when, at the smirking invitation of then-House Speaker John Boehner, he arrived in Washington to a standing ovation from Republicans of both chambers and lobbied them to blow up our president’s (and five other international signatories) Iran nuclear agreement. I thought James Monroe made it perfectly clear that foreign intervention in our domestic affairs would constitute an act of war. Not so, apparently, when the American president is either a Democrat or is not white.
Mr. Netanyahu has unmasked himself—for all time—as Donald Trump’s flunky. Under both men, we are now witnessing the continued degradation of civil norms of decency and diplomacy that have been replaced by a lust for power.
"They both see the world’s problems as opportunities to cement their hold on power...." Bibi? Yes, Trump? NO. Trump is in his third year of his first term. Bibi been around much much longer. Trump will be lucky to get a second term, and he really has no power to do what he would like, as shown by losing the Congress, and losing every court case that comes up. I liked you better when you wrote about what you knew about.
Five terms for any official is scary-Erdogan is a case in point. However, what, now whom, re-elected Bibi is his deftness in handling Putin. When it comes to the existential necessity to bomb strategic Iranian built targets in Syria, walking a tightrope with Russia is saying it mildly. Gantz has the military and intelligence credentials, but not the polish and experience in diplomacy of Netanyahu, and that's what pushed enough voters to get him in. Not because they like a fifth term of anyone, and truly many dislike his obvious shortcomings, but they fear someone else may not steer the ship from the icebergs.
Thomas, you are an excellent writer. NOW is the time to address the Palestinians. Tell them they must overcome the stupid idea that the UN can override the need for negotiations. Tell them to demand not just an election, but to alert the politicians they insist on leaders who have the courage to present Israel with a plan of their own, however incomplete.
Just the courage to actually work out a plan that is realistic, would tell the world that the Palestinians are facing the truth that only negotiations will give them the state they allegedly crave.
Thomas, I fear the majority of Palestinians, though they distrust their current batch of long unelected, dictatorial leaders, are NOT interested in two states/compromise/living alongside a Jewish state. Please, prove to us otherwise.
1
Hats off to Thomas Friedman
A most elegantly written article, explains the state of the world, how do we pull our selves together,
which I see no answer to in the next six years.
Please help !!!!!!
This is a very sad situation. It reflects very poorly on Israel and will further damage their reputation.
Of course, the same will be said about the US if Trump gets re-elected!
All of this makes me so pessimistic that we will be rid of Trump after 2020.
Tom Friedman knows both countries and both leaders and writes a perceptive comparison. I believe he noted years ago that Israel couldn't be simultaneously Jewish, democratic, and possessed of all the territories it claims. Trump has offered Netanyahu up front Jerusalem, Golan Hights and other items that should have been under consideration only for a possible end to negotiations. Once Trump gives Netanyahu the green light to annex the West Bank, Israel will have everything it wants. As for the United States, Friedman is correct in stating that Trump could still win re-election. Netanyahu is obviously smarter than Trump, but Trump has a feral cunning and a vicious streak that go beyond the clerverness that Friedmann concedes to him.
1
Netanyahu is not Trump -- that he reads suffices to show that.
Israel is not the US -- more precisely not a miniature US in the Levant.
1
Thomas Friedman's statement "that the country’s Orthodox Jews and evangelical Christians will be powerful enough to do Israel’s bidding in Washington." evokes the age old anti-Semitic trope of dual loyalty. I am offended by his attack on my patriotism and loyalty yo the United States.
1
I’d to do a head flip. It couldn’t have been Thomas Friedman who authored this piece, it had to been Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. But it was Friedman and he harshly criticized Netanyahu, as Omar has done, for being power hungry, associating with racists and being against Israeli Arabs. He said Trump and Netanyahu are alike in their thuggish he-man behaviors. Friedman, unlike Omar, will be applauded for his verbal audacity, his political courage, his intellectual percipience, in telling us what Netanyahu and Trump are really like, horrible men, each bringing his respective country to the brink of existential disaster. How, I wonder, can Friedman get away with saying what Representative Omar was harshly rebuked for saying? Criticism of Israel, Netanyahu and Trump, is a perilous tightrope walk for a Muslim, maybe in Trump’s America, an impossible verbal walk to take.
2
It was extremely disheartening to see Netanyahu prevail in this election as it represents, as trump's tenure does in this country, the extent to which a sizable portion of constituents will go along with boundary breaking, amoral, anti democratic behavior for what they perceive to be their gain, however glaringly dangerous it looks from any perspective outside of one's bellybutton.
In both cases, the irony is that because of their medley of various pathological conditions, the only way that they can imagine thriving is at the expense of everyone and anyone else. That means that sooner or later, every single person who is dependent on them, which in their positions means everyone living within their countries, will pay in ways that will cause immeasurable pain. They mask that by identifying enemies, but in fact, everyone is a potential enemy from their paranoid perspectives.
Those who point to the supposed gains, "security", the economy or whatever else they brag about, are fooling themselves if they think these reckless drivers are capable of driving a car without eventually smashing into a wall, even the one's they've built themselves. Further, they will take everyone down with them.
While the negative points are clear and concerning, the key point to remember is this: "The one major difference between them is that Bibi is very smart, an avid reader and a deft tactician in managing relations with Israel’s neighbors and big powers, such as America, Russia, India and China."
Leaders are chosen to advance the interests of those who vote - Israelis in this case. Not to satisfy outside entities. Netanyahu may be condemnable in many ways, but there is no doubt Israel has flourished economically and diplomatically under his leadership. In the current world, it looks like they will likely annex the West Bank with Trump's approval. And the rest of the world will wring their hands and then do nothing. If you were an Israeli and most concerned with your security, wouldn't this be worth the downside? While Netanyahu plays to Trump's vanity and world view to get what Israel wants, he is exceedingly smart and expands Israel's relationship with the Arab world, Africa, and Asia. As much as I hate his embrace of nationalism, I have to respect his ability to sail Israel through a world of dangerous waters.
1
Always remember a civilization’s greatest threats are internal not external. Trump and Netanyahu both appeal to the fears that outside forces will destroy the U. S. and Israel but ironically their methods and policies are actively stoking the fires of internal strife and tribal affiliations. We should all fear these men and their followers.
3
Our constitutional protections are strong enough to serve as a bulwark against the excesses of Donald Trump. We will survive as a democracy, whether Trump is around for four or eight years. Most of the world still distinguishes between Trump's values and America's. However, the reality is that Bibi Netanyahu's ultra nationalist, anti-democratic values and agenda is supported by a majority of the Israeli electorate--once you include the far right and religious parties that will join Likud to form a governing coalition. Israel has the leader it wants and deserves.
This trend began with the George W Bush Presidency. I noticed a mirroring and converging between the US right and the Israeli right. Might it be explained it by same actors in both scenes?
People generally avoid discussing the topic because it exposes them to a verbal minefield. More and more,however, we will need to become equipped with a vocabulary necessary to criticize Israel without being offensive, to the Israeli citizenry as a whole. For me the solution is naming people by name and not labeling them by group.
In my opinion, even though Benjamin Netanyahu might have done some good things for Israel, on the whole, he is not good for the Israelis, Palestinians, and not good for peace.
I would think there is enough political talent in Israel, that the electorate would have selected someone else become leader by now !
Yes and no. Trump is arguably extreme in an American context. I'm not sure this is true of Bibi. I think a different PM would handle many issues in a similar fashion. Not all, but many.
Thank you for this excellent commentary.
It is a tragedy that in Israel, and in the US, the persons elected to the highest office do not espouse the foundational values of the country they were elected to serve.
For the present election in Israel, my support is addressed to the members of the Blue and White alliance and to all the Israeli citizens of Palestinian origin who are trying, trying, trying… to re-transform Israel into a democratic state that defends the human rights of all its citizens.
It is imperative to go back to the foundational values of the United-States and of Israel.
1
Let me remind Mr. Friedman that The Republican Party controlled both houses during Trump’s first two years. They could have rewritten immigration law in Trump’s image..... but they didn’t. Democrats are not the only impediment to new boarder strategy.
2
If one ever studied the Arab-Israeli conflict, one knows that Israel cannot be a free and independent state that enjoys liberal democracy until that conflict is over and Israel lives in peace with all of it’s neighbors as well as the Palestinian Arabs. The way this affects everyone involved is very unsatisfactory. People naturally seek a complete and permanent solution but so far there has never been one. Netanyahu offers one that while plausible is utterly impossible to achieve.
In traditional human societies when a neighboring community proved to be an intractable adversary, the result would be a surprise attack in which the entire community were killed. That is how humans tend to think, eliminate the problem by any means necessary. This is how Netanyahu thinks, now, and how his supporters think. They are not considering peace but expelling their adversaries. It is not practical but they have no patience left.
1
@Casual Observer So what you are saying is that what they would like to do is "eliminate" their perceived enemies - which is what traditional tribal societies engaged in. How utterly depressing considering their long past of diaspora and extermination. And only a thin veneer of civilization prevents them.
1
Last night I read Michael Lewis' THE FIFTH RISK.
While on election day I understood D Trump was neither ready or qualified to be President I simply had no clue how renegade this Presidency would be.
May I suggest anyone as terrified of this Presidency as myself or Mr Friedman (Whom I generally disagree with--but not on this issue) give every Republican voter they know a copy of Lewis' book.
2
I believed someone like Biden could challenge Trump, but it may be too late for anyone to bring down your president now. Trump is already insinuating the midterms were rigged, setting the table for any potential loss for himself in 2020. Everything seems so fractured, as if the earth has titled off it's axis as we witness this potential takeover of your democracy. Everyday, I look for the signs here in Canada, fearing we may fall prey to this divisive, American-style tribalism. I will always be a Canadian first, and we cannot let power-hungry politicians divide us, ever.
The condemnation of Netanyahu and Trump is appropriate. However, Friedman misses the more important point. Large numbers of people are voting for these people and their supporters, with knowledge of what they stand for. The problem is less Netanyahu and Trump than it is Israeli and American voters. How did mean-spiritedness and cruelty become the norm for so many people? That's the question that needs to be addressed.
708
@Jeff Hannig The Problem is the people, the citizens trust them more than they do the bias News Media...
So much so that while the people, the citizens do not like these men personally, they like what they have campaigned on, and dislike the elite media.
8
@Jeff Hannig
How did mean spiritedness and cruelty become the norm? It is the result of the unsettling nature of globalization. Technology has made our civilization global, whether we like it or not, and many many don't like it. It is overwhelming, too much information, too much going on. It threatens security and personal/tribal/national identity. The reaction is to "kick back". But, at who? Can't undo globalization. Only one thing left to do: scapegoat, blame, attack and punish someone or some group. Join a new tribe, the "we hate X (fill in the blank)" group. This solves no problems, but it feels good. It gives an emotional release that feels like it does something, counterbalancing the anxiety, powerlessness and sense of overwhelm that the technologically based wave of globalization has provoked.
46
@Jeff Hannig
Unfortunately, I think it's all human nature. We're little more than apes with thumbs and clothes. Our bodies, brains, hormones etc haven't really evolved from our days in little tribal villages. Our society has. We either abhor or love men like Trump, Nethanyahu, Duterte, Bolsanaro etc. because they hold a mirror to our ugliest impulses.
27
"Both men have rebuilt their parties around themselves and their personal politics, and both believe that as long as they can hold their bases by stoking enough fear and cultural division, they can win..."
And they have both been absolutely right about that so far.
2
What is most frightening is the overarching reality, both men have been elected to office by the citizens of their respective countries. Compounding this are legislative branches that for political expediency not only shield them from oversight but compound the problems they create.
Given these realities is not TF's indictment of these two also an indictment of each country?
6
@OldNCMan Both countries have done a horrible job building the scaffolding for peace and change, respectively. Both leaders have filled that void with fear and drama...the trauma that will fall out from this will not be pretty. Blaming the voters is true but partial...the leaders have taken hideous advantage of people's legitimate fears and confusions in a new world.
5
@REK True, but there's still more.
You cannot maintain a society in which, statistically, no one can live.
"Live," meaning, feel seen and included.
We in America who are academia-initiated, hold college degrees, see ourselves as the products of our own efforts and believe ourselves just, while - effectively, systemically - relegating to disdain and even disgust anyone who lags a mere few years behind in terms of cultural mores or skill acquisition; while failing to buffer the tides that reward technical knowledge beyond all dreams of avarice while dooming those without to facelessness; all while aggressively "disenchanting" the world of the social overlay - the fantasy, if you must - that we are all God's children, which mind-virus granted dignity and worth to a slowly-expanding all, and orthogonally to "merit."
Emile Durkheim saw the truth of our fragile, shaking compact more than a century ago. We heeded none of his lessons, believing ourselves better informed than he. Somehow, we thought, we would be the ones who, against all of history's fearsome pull, could escape gravity.
1
Add to this that Netanyahu is actively trying to change Israel's laws to derail his indictment and possible future conviction for bribery. Trump will use Netanyahu as a model to push through the idea that he cannot be indicted, tried or convicted for anything while he is president and then may try to rig the system so that he will be reelected for as long as it takes.
6
“Trump is replacing the entire logic of American foreign policy since World War II . . . with a philosophy of competitive nationalism.”
And here at home—chiefly due to Senator McConnell’s obstructionism, resultant political polarization and the post-Citizens-United role of money in politics—democracy has been replaced by competitive authoritarianism.
Question: What is competitive authoritarianism?
Answer: Competitive authoritarianism is:
~a system wherein the trappings of democracy remain in place, but in which democratic norms are undermined and democratic institutions are severely weakened, primarily through the sharply increased influence of money in politics and resultant anti-democratic tactics such as gerrymandering and voter suppression;
~a polarized system in which the major political parties compete for donor dollars and base support; when elected, empowered politicians make little effort to achieve democratic compromises; they instead attempt to impose the policies favored by donors and base on the citizenry as a whole;
~a system wherein government officials, in unprecedented ways, abuse state power in order to aid their allies and disadvantage their adversaries;
~a system in which the considered preferences of the majority of citizens are ignored and abuses of power go well beyond those associated with traditional patronage.
Within this system, the end—promoting the interests of myself, my party, its base and its donors—justifies the means.
8
Another way in which Trump and Netanyahu are the same is in their pyramidal, top-down world view. According to this view, being at the top of the pyramid enables one to dictate to and to control all those further down the pyramid.
But as Tom and others have noted, today’s world is increasingly interconnected and interdependent. Much like the Internet’s interconnected and interdependent networks, control of today’s networked world by any one person is impossible. For people who came of age in the pre-Internet, top-down world, this lack of control and its resultant uncertainty are both unfathomable and frightening.
This explains the allure of despotic strongmen like Trump and Netanyahu - and the many others around the world. These “strongmen” offer the illusion of control in a world that appears to be out of control. What they and their followers fail to see is that they’re chasing a mirage of control that is fading into the past.
Today’s world favors an emergent, bottom-up approach to problem solving. People who are growing familiar with the ways of this networked world will become increasingly adept at operating within it. Rather than fearing the future, they will face it with hope and confidence. What do fear-mongering despots have that can counteract that?
5
@QAge Dave
What do aspiring despots have to counter the will of the people? State violence against their own people, or instigating civil war.
My hope is in the difference between today and other historical periods of lead-up to dictatorship. Today we have a much, much larger population of educated, adept people. It remains to be seen if we have enough courageous people.
1
Thank you Mr. Friedman for such an analysis. The world will be very different indeed if we let people like these two runs amok for another few years. Unfortunately, the lessons of WWII and the rise of fascism and the far right have not been learned by many. We have a lot of work to do to get rid of leaders such as these two. However, the level of corruption and malfeasance that they have attained risks to boomerang back on their personae. If courts in the US and Israel are willing to do their job and rule that no one is above the law, not even these two mongrels, then there may be some hope for democracy. If not, it will take a lot of energy, a lot of convincing and a huge turnout at the next election at least here in the US. If we want to save the world at large, not just us, we need to show leaders like these two that we are better than them and that they are not worth more than a parenthesis in history.
1
If Putin is playing DJT, then the Russian is not getting very much for his efforts. Trump has tightened sanctions on members of the Russian oligarchy, he's done everything he can to bring down a Russian client in Venezuela, Trump has put a cold chill on improved US-Cuba relations, he has tried to get NATO to spend more money on defense, intervened in Syria, and - worse from Putin's point of view - DJT has authorized the sale of lethal weapons to Ukraine. If anyone wants an example of unsuccessful manipulation, then Putin's attempt to manipulate Trump are an excellent example.
2
@octavian And a couple of additional arrows Trump aimed at Putin. DJT has disavowed the intermediate range missile treaty between the US and Russia, and Trump recently ramped up pressure against another Russian client state: Iran. And to think, Putin spent all that effort trying to get Trump elected? Perhaps if Putin backed HRC, the results would have been different.
2
Oh, I think Trump has single-handedly damaged the American brand world-wide to a hitherto unimaginable level, and Putin can be well satisfied with that alone.
2
Mr. Friedman, thanks for a column full of insights.
However, I have to disagree with your characterization of the situation on the US southern border as a security issue 'that the Democrats have not taken seriously enough'. That is pure Trumpism, an especially telling exampel as it is a shibboleth in sheeps' clothing.
The southern border today is a humanitarian issue, as people seek refuge from violence. The immigration issue is an economic issue, that was largely addressed by the Obama administration, who properly resourced and stabilized the flow of economic migrants. The fact that it looks like a crisis today is because the Trump administration has undone the work of the previous administration, and manipulated the situation to make it appear dangerous for political reasons.
Israel is in big trouble. They don't appear to have a critical mass of citizens who can vote in their own interest, that of a transition to a peaceful co-existence. On the other hand, they do have a critical mass of disaffected people who will only continue to resist their oppression as it gets worse, as any human would do.
Netanyahu's approach simply cannot work any more than one can defy gravity. That is the mutual tragedy of Americans and Israelis who engage in fantasies about their ability to impose their will on others.
9
To borrow from Game of Thrones (which, in this case, is apropos): War is Coming. The only question is how soon. Netanyahu seems intent on fomenting one, and Trump will not stand in his way, especially if it involves Iran. Trump himself may be an instigator if things aren't going his way in the next election cycle; wars a a good diversion from domestic troubles.
Another question is who will start it? Will the Palestinians determine that probable destruction is better than being constantly bullied, ignored, ostracized and marginalized and be the aggressors? Or will Israel be the instigator by pushing the Palestinians past their breaking point? Or will the US and Israel both fabricate hostilities with Iran? Anything, I fear, is possible. And when war comes, who else will be dragged into it, and how far-reaching will be the consequences?
9
Very insightful, and I don't disagree with anything, but one thing. Just how have the Democrats "not taken illegal immigration seriously enough"? By what measure? This comment seems aimed more at being "fair and balanced". My impression was that Obama was no lightweight on this issue during his term.
35
Trump and Netanyahu really are two sides of the same coin--aspiring dictators who put their own pursuit of power and freedom above all recognizable democratic norms. Mr. Friedman writes correctly about the dire threats that both leaders present to their respective countries and the wider world. Those of us who want to live in a peaceful and just world should take the threat of four more years of Netanyahu and six more years of Trump very seriously. What starts with demonizing and dividing people, may well end with hostile takeovers of the judiciary, the media, and the armed forces.
16
I would venture many, if not most, of those who voted for these "strongmen" were hoping for someone unafraid to wield the power of that office. I wonder if maybe, a hundred years from now, historians look back on these years as a watershed, where Americans realized that constitutional separation of powers wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
8
For a brief period of time yesterday, it looked as if the contagious scourge of nationalism, coupled with criminal behavior and anti-"other" propaganda, would be overcome by democracy in Israel.
We, too, will fail to wipe out nationalism at the highest levels of U.S. government unless we stop Bernie's staffer Sirota's internal attacks on Democratic candidates that threaten party unification behind the Democratic nominee for president in 2020. Like more than a million Israelis almost managed to achieve, we must not fail: No Matter Who, Vote Blue.
11
This articles most important point is about the shattering of political norms in both countries by their respective "leaders".
Morally bankrupt people never make good leaders,and both of these egomaniacs will severely harm the long-term interest of their countries.
26
Neither Netanyahu nor Trump have any sense of the real limits of power. Both even behave corruptly in the anticipation that they will not be held accountable. Trump maybe President of the U.S. but his authority is limited and so he cannot assure Netanyahu that the U.S. will be a partner in establishing Israel as an impregnable bastion free of a non-Jewish population. Netanyahu would like to expel all Palestinian Arabs and secure complete control over the entire expanse of the old Palestine plus strategic buffer zones. But he needs Iran neutralized to make it work. Only the U.S. can make that happen by taking down the current regime in Iran. It’s a great fantasy but a lot of people in Israel cannot see that.
9
Yes a sad and tragic story for both countries. You have summarized it well. But these two self serving hooligans would not be in office if it were not for the fact that 50.1 percent of their countries population put them there. It has fascinated me that dangerous fringe extremest groups can take over democracies with not too much difficulty.
What happens now is no longer on Trump or Netanyahu but on the American and Israeli people.
24
@Babel
Trump lost the popular vote by over 2 million.
2
@Babel Amen. As my destroyer XO used to always say to us junior officers:
You deserve what you tolerate.
1
Netanyahu and Trump have something else in common: they are not a gift from God, despite what their most fervent supports say and they are not some natural disaster beyond our control, despite the damage they have caused.
Netanyahu and Trump both richly deserve vilification from those who love democracy but they are not the root of the problem. They are self-inflicted wounds.
The hard truth is that in both America and Israel, about half of the voters purposefully chose hate and corruption over an inclusive Democracy. These voters will remain long after Netanyahu and Trump are gone.
I suppose Israel has the self-defeating excuse of the warping effect of being surrounded by enemies bent on their destruction for their choice. I still do not understand the excuse of Americans who support Trump but mouth support for democracy and our constitution. Trump's approval remains steady at a bit over 40%. The GOP is all in.
Neither country will be the first to have voted to ignore their own purported values and start down the path of the destroying their own democracy. America still has time to recover, Trump doesn't command a majority. I fear that Israel does not.
19
@LT Trump did not get more than 1/2 the vote ... if you count the popular vote which was solidly for Hillary. And then there was voter suppression ... keeping Democrats DOWN, purging voters, gerrymandering, making it harder for Democrats to vote ... no early voting, moving voting stations out of town, etc.
As usually true of most NYTimes commentators, Friedman forgets the Palestinians and their role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To the extent that Palestinians refused compromise peace plans offered by Israel and insist on their demands for peace ie nothing short of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and a return of (now the descendants of) Palestinian refugees to Israel proper, they enable the Israeli public, burned by their refusals to make peace and terrorism deaths (>3000 Israelis) to elect the right wing, especially Netanyahu. If the Palestinians could make peace, the Israeli public would trust them again, and not worry so much about their security. And this process should not leave out Arab citizens of Israel, who could've influenced the election results, if only they turned out in sufficient numbers to ally with the left in Israel. I am surprised that Tom Fredman, who is as good as any commentator on studying the power of election results in a democracy, does not mention any of this. He talks of Netanyahu and Trump in words reserved for dictators -- but they are not. They have been elected in a democratic system. If we want to get rid of them, the liberal left needs to ally around common cause. In Israel that means Israelis Jews, Israeli Arabs, and West Bank Palestinians compromising for peace.
6
This election is a very big disappointment to me. I had hoped that Israel would light a torch we could follow in 2020, instead they put it out.
11
Tommy, I've been listening to you my entire adult life. You are a brilliant journalist, commentator, and author. I agree with most of what you say. And yet, the electorate (or the electoral college) has elected both of these guys, and a good portion of the population of their respective countries agree with them. So, when is time to recognize that people who don't like these guys are just blowing in the wind?
1
@Benjamin Gilbert How do you view the people in Germany who were not in favor of the immensely popular Hitler? Should they have kept quiet to avoid "blowing in the wind"?
2
We have drifted pretty far from the days where we first listened and originally contemplated John Lennon's "Imagine " song/lyric's-
3
Yup. Agreed. A sad day indeed. And I worry about the backlash that these two men will induce with their extremism.
1
I totally agree with Mr. Krugman that this pair of despots is a real danger to the world. What scares me even more than the two of them is that they have been elected by delusional voters in both countries. They will eventually pass from the public sphere but what about the delusional voters who put them in office? There is always another despot waiting in the wings but until the electorate learns how to properly assess candidates for office we may find ourselves stuck with another "Bibi" or another Trump - at least until they and their ilk destroy the world. Not a cheery thought.
4
The USA and Israel moving forward together.
Only Liberals and Democrats would hate to see both countries win.
I am very glad to see we are both such strong partners, now and in the future.
3
@AutumnLeaf
Win what?
1
Democratic lawmakers need to devise a more coordinated plan for countering the excesses of the president and for dealing with Israel. To a greater extent than ever, the safety of our country and the hopes of the world rest in their hands.
5
Trump also wanted to demonize the 'Elite', perhaps rightly, but finally because they would not have him. The boy-child in a daily tantrum having the world by its tail.
These two ruin my belief in an Old Testament god who would have long ago turned both of them into pillars of salt. Perhaps the New Testament will win out and they will face eternal damnation. One can hope.
5
What are Republicans in the Senate doing to prevent Trump turning the US into a banana republic? They are watching and nodding yes to all his damaging impulses. We are indeed navigating through turbulent waters.
2
I have always been a supporter of Israel. However, Netanyahu's support of Trump and his previous attempts to undermine Obama reveal him to be an opponent of American values. How can I support a country whose leader is trying to undermine America by his support of our would-be despot?
9
How about that, two fraudsters supporting each other's abuse of power for self-aggrandizement and personal-familial enrichment. We are living treacherous times, and spreading tolerance for tyrants worldwide. Is this want we want? Incredible!
5
And both Netanyahu and Trump shamelessly used President Obama as a foil. What does it say about the character of those two men that they would treat so cheaply a man of integrity?
1
Trump and Netanyahu are both fear mongers and rely on scapegoating. That is the most cynical ploy of any leader: keep the population afraid, angry, and focused on an outside entity.
This situation is that much more tragic because both Israelis and Americans should know what evil is possible when any group of people is dehumanized.
2
While I do agree with Mr Friedman comparison between the two, the issue of Arab-Israeli's defeat is far deeper then Mr Friedman depicts them.
The lost due to their own stupidity & miscalculation of Israelis own sense of patriotism & nationalism.
Until 2000, the Arab minorities there had asserted themselves as "Arab-Israelis". Right after the first intifada - they proudly changed their identity to "Palestinian-Israeli-citizens" - not realizing that in Jews eyes they had aligned themselves with Hamas - bent on destroying Israel.
As result - lead by Bibi, all other right wing parties simply exploited the Arab miscalculation to push them out of the "kitchen" .
Jewish Nationalism: That Law was passed in response to PLO & Hamas's repeated effort to erase & deny Jews connection & identity with the land of Israel & that of Jerusalem (Abu Mazen: "There is no evidence that Jews Temple ever existed in Jerusalem" )
2
Mr. Friedman, thank you for this clear, insightful clarion call. Only one comment - I believe that for the US, too, the existential threat is entirely internal. It consists of ignorance, racism, and hatred.
Both Trump and Netanyahu are exclusively zero-sum operators in an increasingly non-zero world. It appears ever more likely that the planet will succumb to war even before it does to climate change. This is a very depressing age.
1
I see Trump and Netanyahu as completely intertwined, They are equally corrupt, divisive, vulgar, and complicit--helping each other debase their countries while they elevate themselves.
If by some miracle, Netanyahu still loses, it will be a shot in the arm to those who are trying to bury Trump.
If he wins, as looks likely, it will intensify the Democrats' propensity to form a circular firing squad, giving Trump four more years to further ruin our country and the world.
1
Bib may be Israel's Nixon. A smart, tough, power hungry leader who succeeds by making daring realpolitik foreign policy relationships with great powers and playing to his base's resentments and fears. Like Nixon, his corruption may be his Achilles Heel.
1
I suggest you read Rosner's column . Bibi is not Trump. He is smart, and has the security of Israel foremost in his policies. He is not a nice, decent man BUT he protects Israel.
That is why he remains PM.
4
Brilliant. As a citizen of both countries and consistent voter against both these crooks, I see the only possible correction in prosecution for the criminal frauds both have committed. The courts in Israel and the U.S. are are best hope.
1
I at first did not know why my heart sunk at the news of a Netanyahu victory. Down deep I expected it, truth be told. However, when I really thought of my visceral reaction to his reelection, I realized this is more about my fear of what is happening to my country of which I was once proud. I fear for myself, my children, grandchildren, for my fellow Americans, no matter their personal philosophies. As Thomas points out, there is little difference between Trump and Bibi. Both are corrupt and seemingly amoral. Both have followers who thrive on hate and bigotry as well as a fanatical brand of religion. We have a Cabinet and Republican Senate who are beyond weak and cowardly; they are of the same ilk as their leader, anything for themselves. To Hades when it concerns us mere peons in their eyes. Yet, whether it be a gossamer hope, desperation, or both, I still think we have a chance to free ourselves from this unfit and narcissistic demagogue infecting the Oval Office. We are stronger than he and better. Good usually wins the day. I hope and pray...
342
@Kathy Lollock. Likewise, a visceral reaction. Trump and Netanyahu are bookends in the self consuming power game. On the evening of 9/11 Ariel Sharon, interviewed on tv did not express a scintilla of sorrow or compassion, only an abrupt retort comparing the attack to what folks in Israel experience on a daily basis. My reaction and that of others was breathtaking. We have since experienced militarization of our police departments compliments of Israeli training and technology and blankets of irrational fear to justify excessive security as the only means to address fabricated circumstances. Diminishing important aspects of humanity will never be the rational answer. History is repeating itself but apparently neither Trump nor Netanyahu have undistorted mirrors. They believe they have the exclusive right to power.
22
@Kathy Lollock
"Do you see the way the waves break? And, how the sea water falls back, just before it gathers itself, and surges forward?"
"There's a veritable ocean of meaning in that."
4
@Kathy----I absolutely love your comment. It is exactly how I feel about our country and the people who voted for Donald (also for the people who voted for Bibi).
2
There is a striking difference between Netanyahu and Trump in how they appeal to a majority or not.
Netanyahu is much like Richard Nixon in that he knows where his majority is. The prime minister's appeal to a narrower Jewish identity over a broader Israeli identity is similar to Nixon's Southern Strategy with its appeal to a white identity over a wider American identity.
Trump in contrast is focused on appealing to a right-wing base and then hoping to be able to expand that into an electoral college victory. In short, Trump doesn't really know and doesn't really sense where his future majority might be.
The American public also simply does not have the external threats that are very real to Israel. The US does not have a Syria or a Lebanon sitting on its borders. So most likely the sense of grave external menace will be missing in the 2020 American presidential election.
Netanyahu is Nixon-like in his political cunning and skills; Donald Trump is not.
3
Excellent piece. Both leaders lack creativity and courage. That is what they have in common with their supporters. Dangerous for the rest of us, given the future we all face.
2
Oppression and subjugation of people doesn't last forever. Unfortunately the people who promulgate policies of oppression are usually not around when the negative consequences of their actions manifest.
31
Benjamin Netanyahu knows his fellow Jewish Israelis’ anxieties well: existing political borders will always be too insecure, no military can ever be too big, no amount of money or political power can ever be too great, and no relationship should ever be too trusted when any/all disagreements with Israel are understood as nothing more than expressions of anti Semitic world hatred of the Jewish People.
This is the mindset of the typical Jewish Israeli, and the Jewish Israeli need for a scapegoat. Meanwhile, the income discrepancy between Israel rich and poor grows wider, large numbers of the remaining Jewish holocaust survivors are allowed to live in Israeli poverty, and Israel treats it's indigenous ethnic cousins with the same lack of humanity and respect as did the tormentors who drove the European Jews to Palestine a little over a century ago.
James Baldwin was right when he wrote, “I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with their pain.”
18
If Thomas Friedman believes it, I believe it and America should contemplate the destructive results it poses to America. This is destructive stuff and as for Netanyahu, he is despicable and will turn fair minded people against Israel for no good reason but for his continued power.
16
Bibi and The Donald deserve each other. Otherwise, America and Israel can do better.
6
Funny! The NYTs and WAPO both endorsed failed candidates, HRC and Gantz. These companies see the world’s problems as opportunities to sell newspapers for money.
5
NYT and WaPo endorsed HRC and Gantz because both were decent capable competent and truthful candidates. That cannot be said of their opponents.
5
An excellent article, although terrifying.
Neither man has anything other than contempt for the law. Both are surrounded by enablers who are vicious in their supine acceptance of the destruction of mores and civil society as long as they get their slice.
But where Netanyahu is looking at enlarging Israel by stealing land from the Palestinians against the international law he ignores, Trump is very likely to split the United States in half. The blue states are deeply, permanently opposed to the criminal organization that Trump is creating, and due to Republican gerrymandering and voter suppression they are not being represented in the government they, in fact, fund.
Blue states will not tolerate another four years of religious oppression, corporate ownership, criminal conduct, lying and discrimination against everyone and anyone who is not an old white man. The world will not tolerate an Israel that adopts racist fascism to subvert and oppress Palestinians as it runs roughshod over international law.
Be careful what you wish for.
7
"I don’t have to tell you where Trump has gone in indulging white supremacists." If Mr. Friedman had any evidence that Trump had "indulged" white supremacists, he would lay it out. He doesn't, and in fact the allegation is not true. It's amazing that the left feels that they can just claim that someone supports white supremacy without any evidence. Of course, it's absurd to think that Netanyahu as well as much of Israel, who like what Trump has done to support Israel (unlike Obama), would believe that Trump is secretly a white supremacist.
3
@R.P., telling the nation that "there are really good people on both sides" after Charlottesville pretty much sealed the deal as to whether or not Agent Orange supports white supremacists.
3
@Dash Riprock Except he never said that. He specifically condemned the white supremacists, as the transcript shows. And it would be strange for a white supremacist to have Jewish children (Ivanka converted) and to take all the actions Trump has taken to support Israel.
1
I KNOW that United States is not the same as Donald, and Israel is not the same as Bibi.
6
Your thoughts are clear and perfectly articulated. But a question: How do we not surrender to despair?
8
No Peace Prize for these two. May God have mercy on the Palestinians.
30
@Red O. Greene
‘No Peace Prize for these two’
You’re right, you get peace prizes by getting elected.
That you then go and sell the Saudi’s the weapons for their wars in Yemen and Sudan, and obstruct the UN investigation on Saudi war crimes, does not remove the peace prize you won for showing up.
You’re right, they should note get such award. It only goes to war criminals.
Unfortunately for the US, Trump doesn't need 50.01% of the the vote, he didn't get it last time. He only need 40% to stay in power.
32
Brilliant switcheroo title.
But why use a nickname meant to be endearing?
The fact that Trump has no nickname, endearing or otherwise, only gives us a measure of the man. And the numbers I and many others see on the ruler are less than zero.
I'm thinking "Tiny" Trump.
Unfortunately, like his appetite for all things sleazy, inappropriate, gilded, and nasty, his effect is gargantuan, not tiny.
6
There's a big difference. Trump, for all his insanity, matters to the future of this country. Netenyahu, and the small country he looks to triumphantly lead, doesn't.
2
@Daedalus
True, until the two of them conspire to start the war with Iran that America's wannabe emperor intends to use to propel himself to a second term. I'm afraid that the fates of the two nations under the current leadership are inextricably intertwined.
The biggest problem isn’t these men, it’s human nature. In every country there is a sizable chunk of the population that is susceptible to to message dripping with hate, racism and based in fear and alternative facts. After delegitimizating traditional media, Trump has established his own reality that is believed by people wanting a strongman to protect them from a world they don’t recognize. It took a world war to rid nations of the last wave of such leaders. Hopefully sanity will prevail before another one will occur.
77
@DO5
Unfortunately, unfit people would always elect unfit leaders. Require voters to pass an IQ test and a Civics test and you'll get better leaders.
1
Whatever else you can say about Netanyahu, he isn't threatening Israeli democracy or norms or governing. He isn't undercutting climate change efforts. He isn't out to destroy their health care, education, their social security system. He isn't turning back the clock on most social progress (note, I said most). He isn't threatening the planet. He isn't impoverishing most working and middle class Israeli's to the benefit of the rich. Looks like a saint in comparison, actually.
And believe me, I am no fan of Bibi.
6
@Miriam Warner
That's because Israel is such a small country. Even if he wanted to threaten the planet, he can't.
6
Re: " making it increasingly unlikely that Israel will ever separate itself from that area."
This is a genuinely hilarious statement. Tom, that ship sailed decades ago.
4
Anyone who doesn't feel the chill in the air today is not paying attention. The world is sitting on a powder keg and playing with matches.
76
Thomas L. Friedman's "Bibi Trump and Donald Netanyahu" is a creative tapestry of two narratives of two powerful men who paradoxically are moving the world forward and backward at the same time. Fortunately, for the Jews, Israel is moving forward thanks to their combined efforts on her behalf.
2
This helps cement the great divide between most American Jews, still liberal, still compassionate for the underdog, still wary of authoritarian rule, and the Israelis, who adore Trump, evangelical Christians, and flexing of power over others.
51
@Dagwood
Nonsense! I am a Democrat. A New Yorker. A self-professed Trump hater. And a proud Jew. AND I love Israel and believe it to be the nation state of Jews. Comparing Trump and Netanyahu is easy and convenient for social media, but mostly over-simplified and wrong. Bibi is the savior of Israel. His predecessor gave away Gaza - Netanyahu won't make such a foolish mistake as to take the Palestinians at their word. The world has selective memory when it comes to Jews and Israel.
1
Re: that title: No...trump creates imaginary “problems”, and then attempts to resolve them, which doesn’t end well. Doesn’t make me want to read this opinion.
There are more comparisons that Mr. Friedman could use when describing the despotism that Bibi and his clone Delusional Donny practice.
History has provided us with much information concerning despots and authoritarians particularly in cementing obedience and adoration by finding a common enemy as Donny and Bibi have done, and Thomas does mention that.
However, history has also provided us with examples of how those previous despots met their fates-either through imprisonment, banishment or another fate I will not mention.
Eventually the train does return to the station and the welcome will not be warm for either of these two third rate despots.
In time I hope our country will heal itself from the divisive rift that a con artist from Queens has inflicted on us. And perhaps Israel will come to grips with its Palestinian issue that a warmongering Adelson puppet has perpetuated far too long.
10
Israel has a population of almost 9 million people with 22,000 km of land in the middle of 22 Arab countries with 12 million km of land 423 million people.
Most of the 423 million people don't recognize Israel's rights to exist nor do many countries that are non-Arab but Muslim dominated. (numbers not included here). Arabs in Israel proper don't vote because they are afraid of taking any action that would give Israel legitimacy even though they have a better life than they would in other Arab countries.
In 2018, the UN issued 21 resolutions against Israel and 6 against the rest of the world.
Israeli's would like to control an additional 5,000 km of the West Bank that contains Judaism's holiest and most important sites and insure that they have access to areas that they consider to have historically, culturally religious and indigenous rights.
There are more countries demonizing Israel than any other country in the world with threats to "wipe it off the map" including open threats to its civilian populations. Hezbollah has 130,00 missiles pointed at Israel. What other country has that?
People who claim to support BDS do not boycott any other country. How can a BDS supporter ignore China?
I don't support Netanyahu's rhetoric or policies. I don't support anything that doesn't support Arab rights in Israel as full and equal citizens.
But given what I mentioned above and more, I do understand why Israeli's voted for Netanyahu.
I can not say the same for Trump.
10
@David K I agree with you. I think a more right of center leader could figure out how to deal with the West Bank without sacrificing Israeli security. When reading about what one woman from Israel said when voting for Netanyahu, I was reminded of my severe anxiety when my therapist went on vacation. I was so firmly attached to the comfort of his not always welcome but firm approach, that even a brief 2 weeks away from him caused no little angst.
As for Trump and the next election, I can only hope for and work toward a more humane future.
3
@David K. The problem I see is that a hundred years from now what will happen to Israel? It will be a country with majority nonjewish population controlled by an army of Jews or one country with equal rights! And your arguments about "they are better here than any other Arab country" brings to my mind "ah, those black slaves are much better in my plantation than any country in Africa"!.
3
Having no involvement with Israel either professionally, intellectually or emotionally, I tend to look at the phenomenon known as Benjamin Netanyahu with a certain amount of objectivity, and quite frankly the similarities between him and Donald Trump are as numerous as they are frightening.
Not only because of their tenacious grip on political power, but because of the extremes they are both willing to go to retain it -- including and especially their use of building walls to solidify their hold on public opinion, the vilification of immigrants and anyone who doesn't agree with them including the free press, and the not-so-hidden threat of using military force to enforce their wills while enriching themselves gains from questionable sources.
That both the U.S. and Israel are now saddled with leaders like these does not bode well for the Middle East, the world or the future.
59
@N. Smith
"That both the U.S. and Israel are now saddled with leaders like these does not bode well for the Middle East, the world or the future."
The problem is that we are not "saddled." Both of them won elections. Regardless of Putin's interference, Trump had no business winning the presidency and certainly has no business with an approval rating in the 40's. Bibi won while under indictment. The fact that they were both elected rather than foisted on their citizens is an abomination.
7
@JMM
Donald Trump did NOT win the MAJORITY of votes, nor does he show any interest in representing ALL of the American people, opting instead to focus only on his supporters.
Another thing.
He won the election thanks to the outdated Electoral College, Russian interference on social media, 24/7 FOX news, Citizens United and Republican gerrymandering.
Sorry.
That sounds like being "saddled" to me.
6
Tom - you write that "neither man is entirely wrong about the world around him." In fact, both are completely wrong about the worlds around them -- and they're proud of it.
The example you give for Trump is that the Democrats allegedly haven't taken immigration issues seriously enough. That is a Republican/Fox News talking point. The Democratic Senate in 2013 passed a comprehensive immigration bill, with all Senate Democrats voting in favor of the legislation, joined by 14 Republicans. The Republican House, led by Speaker Boehner, declined to take up the legislation. The legislation would have provided the toughest enforcement on the border this country has ever seen. Every single time a media voice proclaims that it's the Democrats that aren't serious about immigration, they are purposely distorting the truth.
As for Bibi and Iran. we again and again hear that everyone in Israel opposed the Iran deal. That is true for the poltical classes. But in the real world, the Israeli military and intelligence leaders overwhelmingly favored the Iran deal and have repeatedly stated that it was working when Trump pulled out and continues to work. See, in one of many articles on this subject, the May 8, 2018 article in Ha'aretz titled "Top Brass vs. Netanyahu's Government: Where Israel Stands on Nixing Nuke Iran Deal."
Both Netanyahu and Trump are vain, narcissistic, grifters who don't know a thing about this world or any other. And their bases love them even more as a result.
626
@Fuego
The external threat works well for both Trump (illegal immigration) and Netanyahu (Iran and everybody else). The base for both of them is already convinced that the threats are real and these two only reinforce it and expand upon it. They are not leaders in any way that can be defined as such, they merely follow and brutally dig in deeper. Thus no effort is made by either one of them to be moderate to try and expand their base. Their base is plenty big enough. One maybe vacuous and the other savvy, and one may be played and the other the player, but they both have come to rely on each other as their mirror image.
28
@Fuego
Glad you call Friedman to account on this.
@Fuego You really think that you, living in Brooklyn, are qualified to opine on Netanyahu's understanding of the Middle East? What a ridiculous comment.
Say what you want about Netanyahu's policies and campaign (and I am NOT a fan of his) but he has spent just about his entire life living in the Middle East and in various roles serving his country. He served for years in a combat role as an officer in an elite special forces unit of the IDF (the one in which his older brother served and was killed leading the Entebbe raid). He did not avoid military service because of bone spurs. As Friedman points out, he is smart, educated, reads and is a student of history.
To equate him to Trump is nonsensical, just like equating the politics in Israel to the US is nonsensical.
3
Among your other left wing, liberal, Brandeis University opinions, you mention Mr. Netanyahus's indictments for corruption. He is accused of receiving gifts of cigars and Champagne, from a friend, and of using his power to get articles printed that show him and Likud in a positive light. He should certainly be punished for this heinous criminal behavior, as other corrupt world leaders like Richard Nixon have been punished. Lock up this criminal mastermind and throw away the key I say.
4
Nice try—well, the best you could do, anyway—but your boy’s been indicted for a lot more than a box of Havanas.
Like trading regulation changes worth a couple hundred mil for favorable newspaper stories.
8
God looks down on earth, sees the scales of justice, assesses the righteous vs. the evil, and decides if we are worth saving. At this moment I'm scared.
9
Too bad that no such God exists. The world is what we humans collectively make of it.
3
According to Thomas: “one major difference between them is that Bibi is very smart, an avid reader and a deft tactician in managing relations with Israel’s neighbors and big powers, such as America, Russia, India and China. Trump is clever but probably has not read a book in years. “
Thomas is way too generous about Trump being “clever”. He is a dotard, luckily for the USA.
But the more sinister point raised by Thomas is that both are backed by bonkers billionaires, some being the SAME billionaires. And these folks, though nuts, aren’t unthinking or impetuous. In the USA they have managed to gain control of the GOP, most State Legislatures, and 45% of voters. They have engineered a multipronged brainwashing apparatus that includes FoxNews, Bible thumping broadcasters, the NRA, and innumerable perverse postings on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. They have gerrymandered huge numbers of districts.
The very well funded inordinately successful propaganda machinery is a major problem and, as Goebbels and the rise of Fascism demonstrates, a very potent force.
285
Until there is trustworthy, workable Palestinian leadership and a Palestinian society that does not support and reward attempts to drive Israel out of existence, Israel needs Netanyahu.
14
@Hold It!
Agreed (about the Palestinians)! But Netanyahu is not the answer, and Trump is not the answer to rogue states.
Both men frighten me...
6
@Hold It!
I'm afraid your chances for peace ended when Rabin was assassinated and the settlements allowed to flourish. Israel makes it impossible for any peace as long as it settles Palestinian land, sets up road blocks between Palestinian towns, creates a police state for Palestinians to live in and essentially makes Palestinian existence as miserable as possible. What leadership do you expect will rise from these conditions. How is the average Palestinian supposed to feel about Israel living in these conditions? Don't blame this mess entirely on the Palestinian leadership and Palestinian society. There is enough blame to go around on both sides.
3
Tom -
You nailed it.
jk
9
One key difference. Bibi is at least reacting to real dangers: Iran and Palestinian terrorists, Trump conjures up his own demons.
30
@Paul Jablow Iran hasn't invaded Palestine in 2,500 years. And when they did, they actually allowed the Jews in Babylonian exile to return and rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem. Get over the Iran paranoia.
10
With Netanyahu’s commitment to annexation of various territories including the West Bank, if he fulfils his promises, war will rip the region apart...again. It will likely be a wide inferno.
This international club of tyrants is getting dangerously desperate to cement power.
15
Aren't we wasting our time? Bibi & Donald are steamrolling the rest of us and there's no clear way to stop them.
4
@Dave Patterson
There IS a way - VOTE!
8
Part of the problem with both the elections of Trump and Natanyahu is that they mark a fundamental shift in human values amongst western societies leaders. These elections have shown that a majority of people’s within the US and Israel do not see greed as a disqualifying attribute. Both men are the prime examples of personal greed and what happens when a man allows that aspect of themselves to flourish. They do not hide their greed but flash it openly unlike previous leaders. They do not even pretend to be humble or understanding.And the general public has responded with a limp wristed response, ranging from that’s not the main issue at hand to your just jealous of their success.
In order for peace to flourish, greed should be so taboo that to openly express it would lead to ostracism.
41
The primary difference between Trump and Netanyahu is that Netanyahu is intelligent, knowledgeable, experienced, thoughtful and realistic and has the support of intelligent voters. Trump is just a poseur whose base consists primarily of the ignorant and easily duped.
15
@Jay Orchard....and I bet there are countless other foreign leaders who are "smarter" than Trump too. He swims in his ignorance and is reckless with the advice he is being given by his "thinkers" in the White House. My big concern with him is the "breadth" of his knowledge. I'm Canadian and I've wondered whether he could find my country on a map.
5
@Luke Fisher
You should hope he cannot find Canada on a map lest he be inspired to build a wall and have your country pay for it. ;-)
3
Oh Tom I fear you are so right on both counts. So many of us have been working for years to turn things around in Israel and for the last few to turn them here.
What are the healing moves now? As a life-long visionary I can only hope, pray and work for a democrat to be elected in 2020..someone who, hopefully, will care about Israel's true well being. Enough to hold it's feet to the fire.
But as a Jewish woman who lost over 50 family members in Auschwitz and has loved Israel as passionately as anyone I know, I feel sick. This is not only not my grandparent's Israel. It's not even the Israel of even a decade ago. Sad.
May something new arise from the ashes of what is burning now.
191
@REK
Sorry, but this actually is your grandparents' Israel, which has always been fundamentally unjust in its lack of respect for Palestinians of all stripes, and its insatiable appetite for Palestinian land.
P.M. Netanyahu is simply a very genuine, authentic,
unvarnished, true-blue face of what Zionism really is, with the deflection, diplomacy, socialist gloss, and mindless hasbara talking points removed.
18
So come back and help make things right
2
"At the same time, he has steadily been erasing the Green Line that separated Israel from the West Bank and its 2.5 million Palestinians — with the help of Trump’s ambassador to Israel — making it increasingly unlikely that Israel will ever separate itself from that area and increasingly likely that it will become a binational state in which Jews will enjoy rights that Palestinians will be denied."
That is textbook apartheid.
Please call it what it really is in the future Mr. Friedman.
34
@KNVB:Raiders
Mr. Friedman did call it what it really is.
"The existential threat to Israel is internal — that it will annex the West Bank with its Palestinian population and look to the world as an apartheidlike South Africa."
Did you not read the whole column?!
5
Think trump can't be reelected in 2020?
Think again.
46
@BradImpossible. I just can't see him "winning back" enough voters to re-stage a victory. He barely managed it last time (questionably too). Trump is too despised at this point in his career. Scandal and wrongdoings and daily behaviour are displays of his ignorance that will never stop. If the Republican Party had picked a worthy candidate, things would be going so, so well for the now in D.C.. They blew it.
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@Brad
The possibility is so real, it's frightening to think how much more damage he can do with four more years. Already, the country we are living in is becoming unrecognizable, the values, the splits between people, I shudder to think what six more years of this cancer on this country will destroy.
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@Brad Oh, I think a lot of us on the left expect a Trump reelection. As you suggest, Netanyahu's 2019 presages this.
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The personal comparisons may be apt (for the short term), but the differences in countries, and their political structures are way, way off.
For the Middle East at large, there are prevailing pressures from all sides (with ancient religious connotations) that force certain domestic and international policies. There is a parliamentary system that allows extremism to be ingrained into the mainstream. Due to that power brokering, what is law can be changed at a whim with a simple majority.
For the United States and its all or nothing electoral college, we may be stuck with this President for a short time longer, but because of a strong Constitution and equal branches, he has been political neutered for the rest of his term. The President can pass down his dictates by 140 characters, but they mean nothing as there is now a Democratic check on him.
It will be interesting to see if either or both leaders are fitted for an range jump suit in the future. We shall see.
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This column paints a grim, and I fear accurate, picture of the future of the US and of Israel. But, by choosing amoral (at best) leaders like Netanyahu and Trump, sizable numbers of Israelis and Americans are shouting loudly and clearly that they don't respect the values of their forefathers and are prepared to throw away the rule of law. Makes me sad and fearful. And my Jewish friends--mostly liberals--are increasingly ambivalent or hostile to modern Israel--and I can see why. None of this can bode well.
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@jeff---Thank you for your excellent comment---I agree.
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@jeff
"prepared to throw away the rule of law".
Trump just said "We have the worst laws in the world".
I wonder when he'll suggest throwing away the Constitution?
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Trying to leverage this electoral catastrophe against the recurrence of Trump's election is a sane, but probably vain effort, as is implicitly confessed in Friedman's reference to the radical appropriation of the bond between these two countries by the Republican Party. Pressing the personal comparison, as young O'Rourke phenomenally heedlessly did the other day in Iowa, is bound to incur a whirlwind of catcalls of antisemitism. Intimidation is the style, and although we are blessed with numerous Democrats, itching to fall for that taunt, I don't see the Democrat who is both electorally viable, and strong enough to stand up to it. It's a pity the House needs Nancy Pelosi too much to spare her on the other branch.
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When discussing the Trump/Republican Party coalition with Netanyahu a third member of the partnership needs to be recognized. Saudi Arabia. For the US this is a power triumvirate with a Mid-East regional agenda where support of Israel is but one significant element. Does Netanyahu realize that Israel is but a pawn on the game board in the scheme of things? That Israel could at some point be offered up as an expedient sacrifice if deemed necessary? Netanyahu is either a mastermind political strategist fully aware of who and what he's dealing with and is prepared for whatever may play out or he's a leader whose judgment is impaired by a level of self-deluding arrogance he shares with the Trump.
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An era of authoritarianism presages only one thing: war. Both these men invite war through their rhetoric and actions, and believe it will allow them to hold onto power. Their enablers will find ways to profit from the military industrial complex, and prop up their destructive ways.
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I think we have analyzed Trump's dictatorial leanings quite enough. So far the most convincing opposition has come from late night comedians. What is most needed now are some convincing ideas for positive change of direction. .. convincing to
Trump supporters.
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@Robert McKee Check out Dem Presidential candidate Pete Buttigeig, mayor of South Bend, Indiana who speaks very well and has a huge base of Trump supporters as his own.
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@Robert McKee
". .. convincing to Trump supporters."
Ah, well. The evidence is overwhelming. These folks are only convinced by what they see on FOX or hear on their favorite talk (i.e., hate) radio.
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@Robert McKee
Hear! Hear!
Mr. Friedman's political views of the Middle East don't seem to be quite as acceptable to the voters of Israel as Mr. Friedman would like to think.
His being on the wrong side of history for the numbers of times that have occurred should, perhaps, begin to work its way into his analyses and prognostications.
Wishful thinking is not always the wisest way to plan for the future.
Nor is it particularly enlightening to the Times readership.
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@The Owl He is calling it like it is. Israelis will come to regret the outcome of the election.
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Trump and Netanyahu are not the same person. One is a Bibi. The other is a baby.
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@Jay Orchard
Thank you, Jay Orchard. Among all this dread and seriousness--completely justified of course, I really needed this fine comparison!
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Agreed with all of this.
And its not just Adelson that these two men have in common. Both count Robert Kraft as an ally. It doesn't matter that Kraft is an immoral jerk - Netanyahu plans to award him the cynical "Genesis Prize" (nicknamed "the Jewish Nobel") in June. Disgraceful.
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Sad, but true. Power for power's sake and to the purpose of enriching the powerful individual and his "friends". History will judge Trump and Netanyahu harshly and they deserve it. Abraham Lincoln is turning over in his grave.
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Friedman's points about Netanyahu are very interesting. The deal is in for Netanyahu. Stick it to the Palestinians and his right wing enablers will quash the incipient indictment against him. Putin once again is brought into the Trump story charging that Putin has some sort of control over Trump. This while Trump policies are much more hostile to Russia than even Hillary Clinton proposed. Friedman is entering the post Mueller world still charging Russia stole the election. Trump and Sheldon Adelson are ok with Israel stealing more Palestinian land and annexing it into Israel. Next East Jerusalem and then deporting the whole the Palestinians out of the West Bank. While Pelosi and Schumer gush about Israel's dynamic democracy and grab all the campaign money they can from AIPAC and allied sources.
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Mr Friedman just does not get it. He is a vey intelligent man but not a student of history. He still like most Americans believe that all problems can be solved and only good will is needed. He stayed for a time in Israel but has not learned anything except quoting the 'Haaretz' newspaper, which is now a minority paper. Israelis have learned one thing in the last 70 years which Mr Friedman does not get. The Arabs or Palestinians just do not want Israel there period. No matter what they say or do. Their negative behavior on peace proposals and Gaza has proven it. They have only brought it upon themselves.
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@DO I hear your anguish and concern about Israeli vulnerability to hostile Arab forces. And that's true. Yet there is another lens to look at all of this through.
I worked bringing Israelis and Palestinians together during the second intifada to teach dialogue skills and compassionate listening. There were plenty of Palestinians who were open to finding another way. They were not only not seen, not cultivated, not supported, by Israel, they were thwarted at every turn.
The way Sharon vacated Gaza, not by empowering Abbas, but by humiliating him, opened the door wide for what has followed. Abbas is no Saint. No Mandela. But even Olmert says a deal was possible with him.
To act badly and then blame the other side for being difficult is a classic way of anyone handling conflict. It's just not very effective.
While there are many Arabs and Palestinians who indeed do not want Israel there, there are many others, if you believe the polls of One Voice and witness the growth of the Bereaved Families Circle and other co-existence groups, who are willing to move forward together.
Bibi is uncreative, unwilling and unable to see another path forward and his is becoming a tragic self fulfilling prophecy.
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And what lies ahead for the next 70 years? The PA will remain weak and ineffectual at governance, because both Israel and the PA’s arab “allies” need it to stay weak and ineffectual, Israel for their “supposed” security, and Arab allies in order to continue to fight a low intensity public relations conflict from the WB and Gaza to continue the charade that they “care” about the fate of Palestinians, and hide the fact that they are too weak to win a war to win back the WB, much less pose any existential threat to Israel.
And the only ones paying for this in any meaningful way are the Palestinian people, not the PA, who are not even pawns, they are simply cannon fodder for both sides.
For the next 70 years.
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@Revoltingallday
You are asking me what should happen the next 70 years. I will gladly give you my take. I do not see a viable and I repeat viable Palestinian state at its present location. Palestinians are already the majority in Jordan. A joint control of the West Bank by Israel and Jordan with Jordanian citizenship for Palestinians and Israeli citizenship for the Jews living there. Gaza is a problem. I feel that a new city should be build in Jordan on land next to Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea with funds from the United States and rich Arab countries to become a major resort center. All maybe utopian, but a practical solution.
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I'm sure Trump is looking at yesterday's Israeli election and saying to himself: Hmm, four straight terms for Bibi. Don't go there Donald. Israel doesn't have a constitution, we do. Bummer, right? /s
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Two of a kind
'birds of a feather flock together'
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Viva Bibi!
Israel is a true democracy surrounded by dictatorships.
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@Helina No country that privileges only one group of citizens, based on religion or ethnicity, can properly call itself a democracy. Nothing to cheer about in Israel's election. We can no longer say Israelis disagree with their leadership's vicious bigotry.
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@Helina I fear your tagline of LaLa land, while probably meaning LA, might be closer to the truth. If you are following closely what is happening, Israel, like the US, is losing it's democracy inch by inch. This is not that different in process, though certainly in scope, and I pray in outcome, to what happened in Nazi Germany. but honestly Helina, this is how it starts. Please keep your eyes open and your focus on what is actually happened not on the myths we all love to love.
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@Helina - Many would prefer a wise dictator, rather than a deceitful, manipulative, hypocritical group of politicians claiming to lead a democracy.
This is the last straw, for me. I don’t care about what Israel does, or whatever “ situation “ they find themselves in. After many, many Years, and Billions upon Billions of Our Taxpayer Dollars, they re-Elect a common Criminal. He’s just a smarter version of Trump, an intelligent sociopath. You bought him, you own him.
Pay the price, by yourselves. I’m done.
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@Phyliss It boggles my mind how conflicted we American Liberals are when it comes to perceptions of Israel. Where the road forks is clearly delineated by non-Jewish citizens on one side, and Jewish Americans on another (with a few exceptions of course). I detest Trump and Netanyahu is a pretty despicable fellow, but despite these politicians who will eventually find their Waterloos, Israel is a democracy that has always had an unwavering friendly relationship with the United States. I've yet to see the same vitriol aimed at Hamas.
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@Phyliss Dalmatian The world is saying the same thing about us, with equal venom. If we re-elect Trump (which is very possible, don't kid yourself), we are doing the same thing.
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@Robert
I agree. And “ we “ deserve the vitriol. Trump will be the end of this great experiment, if he isn’t stopped. Thanks, GOP.
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This is one of Friedman's best and most convincing articles. The comparison of the two leaders throws a devastating light on Trump's and Netanyahu's policies and their effect on their countries and the rest of the world.
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You have put my fears into words: Trump is an existential threat to everything we hold dear. I worry that our form of government will not survive even two more years- God forbid six more years- if Trump remains in power.
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@pat
You're right about the USA -- as everybody in the world has come to know it over the last 200 years --not surviving a second Trump (+GOP in the Senate) term. It becomes all the more incumbent upon the rest of us who care about what America is supposed to stand for to make sure EVERY eligible voter out there gets to the polls in November 2020 and cast his/her ballot for excising the cancer from our body politik and to get rid of as many Republicans in Congress as possible.
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I love Israel, but I no longer like Netanyahu. His Trumpian approach to all things Israeli is disconcerting. Like his American BFF, he believes he is a autocrat who shouldn't be questioned. If you disagree, he treats you like an enemy, not as a person with alternative views. Seeing that he has been indicted for nefarious dealings, he is even more Trumpian. His American role model has provided him a blue print on making every issue about him. I fear where our alliance may be heading.
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@Michael If the majority of Israelis support Netanyahu, then why "love" Israel? At the moment, "Israel" is a fiction; a former dream of secular Zionists of a democratic homeland. That dream is over.
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Couldn't agree more. However, Mr. Friedman, why do you (and others) refer repeatedly to Netanyahu as Bibi? I call my friends and people I like by their first names. The same thing happened in the media with Saddam Hussein.
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As usual, an article with amazing insights. My only observation is the obvious difference between Israel and America. Israel is a relatively recent nation created for a select class of citizens, a class determined by race and religion. America was created, at least arguably, for occupancy by varied groups having different backgrounds and religions. Trump's pandering to racists is more heinous than Bibi's. Trump is destroying a history and a Constitution intended to provide freedom, equality and citizenship for all regardless of race, creed, color or national origin.
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@Disillusioned - Democracy died a while ago in both American and Israel. Take the example of the political machinations of the GOP around gerrymandering, Citizens United, stacked courts with biased judges, and manipulations and lies against fair elections has left no doubt about the facts; democracy is dead in the back alley, right where the countries leaders put it.
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@friend for life Death cannot be repaired. I hope you're wrong about American democracy being dead. It's moribund for sure. Dead - I hope not (but hope won't restore our nation's former values to good health).
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@Nate - My perspectives on life and death are based mostly on Buddhist principles; I'm all for reincarnation and rebirth.
A dead democracy carries with it the collective karma of the humans that comprise it; so time will tell if democracy is restored, and what future humans can make of it. The current generations have failed, and elections seem as well thought-out as the casual act of "liking" or friending the latest post by the celebrity of the month.
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It wold be prudent for these country's leaders to remember the cost of a political atmosphere in which the sense of a representative government collapses - Revolution.
And a U.S. or Middle East revolution in the this century will certainly be unlike anything humanity has known.
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It's not just Trump and Netanyahu. The axis of strongmen and autocrats is expanding as part of an ethno-nationalist anti-democratic movement. Liberal democracies are becoming weaker and fewer. The US, EU and NATO have traditionally been the bulwarks of defense for democratic institutions but that is rapidly changing. 2020 will be our last line of defense. Are we up to the challenge?
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Democracy can be messy but it is far better than the alternative forms of government.Tom may not like the outcome but Trump and Netanyahu both won in feircely fought elections. The people of Israel chose Bibi. I wish him well. Americans will evaluate the Trump presidency in 2020.And if he is re-elected so be it. Democracy can be messy.
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@Milton Lewis - Democracy died a while ago in both American and Israel. The political machinations of the GOP around gerrymandering, Citizens United, stacked courts with biased judges, and manipulations and lies against fair elections has left no doubt about the facts; democracy is dead in the back alley, right where the countries leaders put it.
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@Milton Lewis
Let’s not forget—Hitler won through a Democratic process, then proceeded to dismantle it.
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