Ten of thousands of people demonstrate in the pouring rain in Jerusalem on March 20
The house is burning. Yes, our house—Israel—is burning. And the arsonists, the financiers of Hamas, are in charge.
The latest fire started on Sunday, March 23: the dismissal of Gali Baharav-Miara, the Attorney General and legal advisor to the government. Her media lynching and the filing of complaints against her began two weeks ago. On the eve of Passover, we might say, as tradition has it, Dayenu (That would have been enough)!
Before that, it was the dismissal of Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet/Shabak, responsible for much of the country’s internal security and counterterrorism efforts—against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as against Israeli far-right extremists. Dayenu!
A few weeks earlier, on February 25, neither the Prime Minister nor the Justice Minister bothered to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Itzhak Amit, the new President of the Supreme Court, as they were supposed to. His appointment came after more than a year and a half of refusal by Justice Minister Yariv Levin to convene the appropriate committee. Since then, neither Levin, Netanyahu, nor the government have recognized him as Supreme Court President. Dayenu!
The Attorney General responded to Ronen Bar’s dismissal by stating that the legal process had not been followed. The Supreme Court froze the decision—at least until April 8—to allow time for appeals to be reviewed. Netanyahu and Levin have already declared that they will not abide by the decisions of either the Supreme Court or the Attorney General. For them, the government has the right to appoint the head of Shin Bet as it sees fit. They place themselves above the law!
The house is burning. Dayenu!
In response, tens of thousands of people marched to Jerusalem on Wednesday, March 19, and remain outside the Knesset, supporting the defenders of democracy and opposing this series of decisions. The day before, former chiefs of staff, ex-directors of Mossad and Shin Bet publicly warned of the danger Israel faces today: a slow, gradual descent into dictatorship.
The house is burning. Dayenu!
Aharon Barak, former Supreme Court President, declared on Friday that Israel is “on the brink of civil war.” Other former Supreme Court judges stated that “the dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is a threat to the rule of law.” The head of the Israeli Bar Association, Amit Bachar, fears the abolition of elections. The President of Tel Aviv University, Ariel Porat, also warns of the immediate danger of Israeli democracy collapsing.
The house is burning. Dayenu!
The constitutional crisis is so severe that the removal of the Prime Minister is now being considered, and calls for civil disobedience are growing.
As for the Palestinian issue, it is being handled through Qatar. Have you heard about Qatar’s role in the conflict? Qatar is a tiny but immensely wealthy country whose strategy is to infiltrate key power centers worldwide—including in the U.S., where it has already achieved significant success, and in France, not just through Paris Saint-Germain. Qatar is a Janus with two faces: on one side, a sponsor of sports—especially soccer—and the host of the World Cup; on the other, the creator of Al Jazeera and its anti-Israel propaganda, broadcast throughout the Arab world.
And Qatar, with its vast financial resources, has enlisted three unknown figures in Israel—whose PR firm could fit inside a phone booth—to run a campaign polishing Qatar’s image among Israelis. Surprising, isn’t it? And who are these three unknown figures? Netanyahu’s three closest advisors. Suddenly, it’s not so surprising. Because in Qatar’s strategy of infiltrating key power centers, Israel holds a prime spot.
Let’s remember: starting in 2018, Netanyahu’s policy was to declare that “Hamas is an asset.” What he called the conceptzia, which led to October 7, involved transferring suitcases of cash—literally—$30 million per month from Qatar to Hamas.
And since Qataris have a lot of money, they generously pay for services rendered. And since Bibi enjoys luxury and the high life… some are wondering whether he might have personally benefited from this arrangement.
Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, happens to be the lead investigator in this affair—one that is nothing less than a case of high treason and a threat to state security. And now, the suspect wants to fire the man investigating him. Now things begin to make sense…
In his open letter to the government ministers deciding on his dismissal, Ronen Bar was even more explicit: “The ongoing large-scale investigation concerns Qatar’s involvement in the very heart of public decision-making—the Prime Minister’s Office. I believe that this investigation, and the search for truth, whatever its outcome, must be carried through to the end.”
The house is burning. Dayenu!
It is said that Netanyahu is under pressure from religious extremists. If it were simply a matter of ‘secular’ Israelis versus the religious, that would be easy. Dayenu! But there are two kinds of religious extremists.
There are the ultra-Orthodox, with their black coats and side curls, who once again declared in their latest demonstration, “Death rather than the army!” Out of 10,000 conscription orders sent to them, only about 700 young men reported to recruitment centers.
And then there are the messianists. Without a doubt, the most dangerous!If the war resumed last Tuesday, greatly increasing the risks for the remaining hostages, it was because of them. For these extremists, the Bible states that Israel stretches “from the Jordan River to the sea.” And according to their interpretation, that includes Gaza. They rejoiced when Trump spoke of turning Gaza into a “Riviera.” Their goal is to act in Gaza just as they do in the West Bank, but even more radically.
The house is burning. Dayenu!
In the West Bank, annexation is accelerating, quietly. Encouraged by Ben-Gvir and blessed by Smotrich, settlers set fire to villagers’ homes and drive them from their pastures. All of this is connected: the war, the violence against West Bank Palestinians, the dismissals of Ronen Bar and Gali Baharav-Miara, the massive funding of the Haredim, and more. Apologies for not being exhaustive!
Finally, there’s the budget, which must be passed by the end of the week. If not, the government falls—mechanically, automatically. But remember, Ben-Gvir had “temporarily resigned” when Netanyahu, under U.S. pressure, accepted a ceasefire. A temporary resignation! A concept that revolutionizes political science! And for him to return, the war had to resume. Why was his return so crucial? Simply so that he and his party members could vote for the budget.
The house is burning. Dayenu!
Reservists are already refusing to fight in a war with no objective other than keeping this coalition in power.
To conclude, I’d like to quote a line from Ronen Bar’s open letter to the ministers: “The claim of distrust (by Netanyahu toward the Shin Bet chief) has no basis—unless the real intention, which I may have misunderstood, was to conduct negotiations without reaching an agreement.” Do you grasp the gravity of the situation? The chief negotiator was allegedly ordered to ensure that no agreement would be reached!
The house is burning, and the arsonists are in power!
We hereby declare our full support for those protesting outside the Knesset, in Hostage Square, and across the country—for democracy and for the continuation of ceasefire negotiations, the only path to bringing all the hostages home.
Sylvie Lidgi
Coordinator and translator of Defend Israely Democracy collective
