Israeli Chaos Is a Warning to Americans of What Will Happen Here If Trump Is Re-Elected on His ‘Retribution’ Platform

AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken his country down a destructive and divisive path that has shocked the political establishment, the security sector, and of course the population as a whole. When Netanyahu won reelection to a historic 6th term last fall there were concerns about the far-right figures that he would bring into government with him, but there was no suggestion of the judicial overhaul he and his allies on the right would eventually pursue – a move which has torn the country apart and led to unprecedented national chaos.

The American media tuned into the turmoil over the weekend as startling images of the main highway in Tel Aviv on fire and hundreds of thousands of Israelis taking to the streets across the country appeared on TV screens.

While the events unfolding in Israel seem distant, they are harbingers of what could happen in the U.S. if former President Donald Trump were to be reelected president. Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference in early March, “I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.” A message he repeated over the weekend at his rally in Waco, Texas.

Trump has long told his supporters that his legal trouble is the result of political persecution — a message Netanyahu parroted during recent elections. In response, Trump has vowed to purge American institutions of the alleged “deep state” and fill them with loyalists.

The plan, known as “Schedule F,” would target the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Pentagon, the State Department, and other institutions that Trump and his allies believe held him back during his first term. Jonathan Swan reported on the “radical” plan back in July of 2022 and noted Trump would begin his second term by removing the guardrails that restrain the presidency and gutting the various agencies that have investigated him.

‘They’re Not After Me, They’re After Us, I’m Just in Their Way’ reads a Netanyahu election meme in 2020

Netanyahu, in a similar fashion, has taken aim at the Supreme Court, the one true check on his power as prime minister, and has already passed a law to help ensure he will not be removed from office if any of his corruption trials move forward. Netanyahu’s government is seeking to pass additional legislation that will give the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, control over who sits on the Supreme Court and the power to bypass any ruling from the high court with a simple majority vote.

Critics of Netanyahu’s wider judicial overhaul argue that such a move would decimate the checks and balances in the Israeli system, by resting ultimate control of the judiciary in the hands of the prime minister — who already leads the unified legislative and executive branches.

The months-long turmoil in Israel hit a fever pitch over the weekend after Netanyahu unceremoniously fired his defense minister, a Likud loyalist who had warned the judicial overhaul, which has led to strikes and refusals to serve in the military and intelligence agencies, was threatening national security. The move sparked nationwide labor union strikes on Monday, which shut everything from banks to restaurants to transportation, including disruptions at Israel’s one international airport.

A similar response in the U.S. to a second Trump term, especially one that begins with the purging of American civil servants across key institutions, seems not only possible, but highly likely. Independent journalist Noga Tarnopolsky noted that a recent poll by Israel’s Globes newspaper found that 19% of all Israelis have joined the protests in some way or another. “That is like 66 million Americans,” she wrote.

On Monday night, with Israel on the brink, Netanyahu addressed the nation and announced he would delay the overhaul until after Passover, kicking the ball and the crisis down the road a few months.

Netanyahu insisted he seeks to “avoid a civil war,” but then blamed the violence on an “extremist minority” that is “tearing Israel apart” and vowed to push through the overhaul bill in one form or another.

Netanyahu and Trump have much in common and were close allies when they overlapped in office, which led to many in the media making comparisons between the two leaders. Both Trump and Netanyahu fashioned themselves as populist, nationalist leaders who stirred controversy with various legal scandals and allegations of race-baiting to win elections. Trump attacked immigrants and Muslims, while Netanyahu warned against “Arabs voting in droves.”

However, Netanyahu, who served in the military and lost a brother defending the country, has had an incredibly long record of public service. Many saw Netanyahu’s return to power as the return of a steady hand, a leader who had admirably overseen strides in developing Israel’s economy and strengthening the country’s security outlook. Few imagined that in just under four months after taking office, the country would be in turmoil and Netanyahu would be giving speeches about averting a civil war.

Even Trump’s most loyal supporters would be hard-pressed to argue he brings a steady hand to governing. While Netanyahu shocked many with the road he has taken, a second Trump term comes with civil unrest almost guaranteed.

Differences, of course, exist between the Israeli and American public. Israelis, due to mandatory military service and the country’s affinity for loud and public argument, are known for high civic engagement and have shown little apprehension over the years to take the streets – famously protesting en mass when the government tried to raise the price of cottage cheese. Whether or not Americans will take to the streets with the same zeal as Israelis is anyone’s guess. But one thing is for sure: Americans are likely to be much more heavily armed if they do, and the saving grace of Israel’s protest so far is that they have not been very violent.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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