Many American Jews are presently focused on concerns of antisemitism in the United States. In New York City, the ADL launched a "monitor" to track the Mamdani administration to parse out actions and words that could be considered threatening to Jewish residents. A top concern is "anti-Zionism". Yet, many Jews in the United States are not aware of the severe threat of fascist forces and ideology in Israel.
"Ministers of Chaos," shown at the Other Israel Film Festiva l in Manhattan, takes a deep look at the tentacles of racism and ethnonationalism in today's state of Israel. Directed by Jerôme Sesquin and co-written with Nitzan Perelman, the documentary begins with ominous music, a precursor of the narrative to come.
Although these two men were not new to me, I found the 58-minute film extremely disquieting. The profiles of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, false prophets of the 21st century, are a wake-up call to all those who believe that Israel is on the right track.
The opening sequence takes place only a few months into the Gaza war, when a conference was held in Jerusalem in January 2024. The attendees, about 5,000 in number, were primarily settlers from the West Bank. On stage were government officials, including the Minister of National Security, Ben-Gvir, and the Minister of Finance, and a Defense Ministry delegate, Smotrich.
The event was dedicated to the "recolonization of Gaza." Two decades after Israel left that land, the statements being presented from the podium were that without settlements on the ground, there "would be no security inside Israel". To rousing cheers, Smotrich delivered the statement, "With God's help, the eternal people will win."
Ben-Gvir presented his agenda with a different tone. "We must encourage them [the Palestinians] to leave," he said. Extracting a phrase from the Torah, he invoked, "You will conquer the land and settle there." He added matter-of-factly, "It's always been ours." He led those assembled in a chant of "Death to the terrorists." (And no, they were not referencing themselves.)
The question posed by the film is, "How did these far-right religious operatives get into power?" The short answer is: Benjamin Netanyahu, who joined an alliance with them so he could secure his Prime Ministership. In December 2022, Netanyahu returned to power with Likud and several far-right parties. Smotrich is the head of the Religious Zionist party, and Ben-Gvir heads the supremacist Jewish Power party.
When this coalition announced plans for "judicial reform", it ignited major national turmoil. Such a move would include a takeover of the Israeli Supreme Court, legal advisers, and the Attorney General. The perpetrators considered this initiative "just the first step". As the film explains, progressive Israeli citizens saw the move as a "coup d'etat" because in Israel's parliamentary democracy, the Supreme Court serves as a counterbalance to the executive branch and the Knesset. There was also the continuous sidebar of Netanyahu's extensive legal problems.
Shikma Bressler, a physicist and leader in the protest movement, is interviewed. She maintains that if Israel is to remain a democracy, it needs to reject dictatorship. Bressler described Ben-Gvir and Smotrich as leaders of a "racist and fascist movement", who believe themselves to be "superior to less religious Jews and non-Jews". She connected their mission to take over the "Biblical land of Israel" with their supremacist agenda to rule over the "Arab and Palestinian population".
Israeli society is deeply fractured (much like America), and the split puts the religious settlers in the camp that supports Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. They want an annexation of the Occupied Territories and see the Supreme Court as an obstacle to their vision of a "greater Israel". Smotrich specifically leans on his particular interpretation of "The words of God".
Backstory on Smotrich is provided by journalist Ruth Margalit, who has researched him extensively. The son of an Orthodox rabbi, Smotrich grew up in the Beit El settlement in the West Bank, immersed in the settler movement's philosophy. His entry into the public sphere began in 2017, with a series of videos presenting himself to Israeli society after he was first elected to parliament. He agitates with potential options for the extension of Israeli sovereignty "to the whole of the West Bank". Smotrich's views are laced with condescension and sarcasm. He states, "They can give up their Palestinian national aspirations and get resident status, but no rights to vote." His secondary alternative is for Palestinians to leave for another country, which he notes the state will help to facilitate. He comments with a smirk, "I'm very good at packing porcelain and hookahs." Margalit emphasizes, "Before Netanyahu, he is one of the original drafters of these ideas."
An interview with Smotrich shows him discussing how he wants a state governed according to the "Jewish people's values". When asked about territorial boundaries, he responds with a smile and an answer he ascribes to previous great religious scholars, "The fate of Jerusalem is to extend as far as Damascus."
That is considered a maximalist and radical view, but for how long?
The origins of this mindset and movement are located in the aftermath of the 1967 war. A "nationalist and religious movement" evolved as Israel captured terrain that tripled the size of the country. The victory was interpreted as "a prophecy". Ami Pedahzur, an Israeli professor and author of "The Triumph of Israel's Radical Right" (2012), is on hand to discuss how the acquisition of these territories made it feasible to put this ideology into play.
Pedahzur references the writings of Rabbi Abraham Issac Kook and his belief that Jews must "settle in all the land promised to them by God in the Old Testament". This point of view contributed to the rise of the Gush Emunim (Block of Faithful) movement.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Post Article Comment and Rate This Article
