Incompetence as a Crime  

By Shlomo Maital

  It is the morning of October 8,  the day after the worse day ever in Israel’s history.  Over 1,500 wounded, many seriously,  more than 300 dead, and that number is rising, after a Hamas attack on Israeli citizens, during a religious festival,  taking prisoner, among others, two children aged 3 and 5. 

   Not a time to write in anger and shock.  But, write I must.

    For 341 days, almost a year, Israel’s far-right fanatic-Orthodox government led by Netanyahu has split the nation and focused stupidly on judicial ‘reform’,  while Israel, a small and embattled country, faced existential threats on its borders and beyond.   The widespread protests have split the army, distracted policymakers, badly hurt the economy, sent hi-tech entrepreneurs abroad and slashed foreign investment in Israel by 80%. 

     But worst of all – the incompetence of the gang of radical crackpots running the Justice and Finance ministries, and many other ministries, has led Israel to disaster.

      Is incompetence a crime?  In no criminal code can you convict anyone for being incompetent.  But in politics?  Incompetence in Israel has become an existential threat.

      We have a defense cabinet, composed of the Prime Minister and ministers who make crucial decisions.  The nutcase head of a far-right religious party sits in this Cabinet – while having been rejected for military service (it is compulsory in Israel) for felonies. Note: This crackpot is Minister of National Security. You could not make this up.

We have a Finance Minister, guiding the economy, who has no competence in organizing a paper bag, let alone an economy. 

       NYT columnist Paul Krugman wrote today, why would American voters think the Republicans can run the world’s largest economy, if they cannot even run their own political party?  

          Why in the world did Netanyahu assemble an insane gaggle of crackpot extreme-right politicians and lead anyone to believe they knew how to run Israel and defend it against implacable enemies?

         He did it to save his skin, while under indictment for corruption.  We are paying the price.

         This week, Israel buries its dead.  And again goes out to war.  I was drafted for reserve duty 50 years ago, in the Yom Kippur War.  There was utter chaos.  Huge arrogance, incompetence, and an existential threat.  The Israeli Army recovered, and defeated two large armies with 1.5 million soldiers serving in them.  The cost was enormous – 2,500 soldiers killed.

           Oct. 7/2023  was similar – and much worse.  We were caught sleeping. Mainly civilians died.  And we faced not two well-equipped huge armies, but a terrorist organization driving pickup trucks. 

            In the court of public opinion, the Netanyahu government is convicted of criminal incompetence.  A crime for which there is no forgiveness, on Earth or in Heaven.