Netanyahu’s war: Clinging to power at any cost

To polish his image as a defender of Israel, Netanyahu has been waging war on the home front as well. One prong of his campaign is to try to erase Palestinians by pretending they do not exist.

Israeli police conducted two raids on two premises of occupied East Jerusalem's Palestinian Educational Bookshop within a month. While the police had obtained approval for their action from the attorney's office to carry out the first raid in February, there was no warrant for the second this month. During both the police closed the shops, seized books and arrested the owners. The second raid was, allegedly, conducted after a caller claimed he found "books containing inciting contact" while visiting the branch which stocks English and other foreign language books. During the first raid 300 books were confiscated, 40 during the second. The words displayed on book covers which were dubbed "inciting" were Palestine, Palestinians, Gaza, and Nakba, the catastrophe which befell Palestinians during Israel's 1948 war of establishment. 

During both raids, police used their Google translate on their mobile phones to access books in languages other than Hebrew. 

Among the books seized were works by US leftist academic Noam Chomsky, US-Palestinian historian Rashid Khalidi, deceased Knesset member Emil Habibi, British graffiti artist Banksy and British journalist Jonathan Cook.

The Educational Bookshop has been operating on Salaheddin Street, the main thoroughfare in occupied East Jerusalem, for four decades without attracting the attention of Israel's enforcers. These raids have been in violation of freedom of speech. In this case, it is the freedom to publish books rejected by aggressive individuals with political agendas.

As the detained books are also on the shelves of Israel's national library and Israeli booksellers, Educational Bookshop owner Mahmoud Muna said that if "Israel wants to start censoring books, it should publish a list of what is allowed and what is forbidden to read." The state attorney office has shifted its attention to investigating charges of incitement to disturbance of public order.

In response to the second raid, The New Israel Fund said the police actions amount to political persecution, full stop." The Fund said it "will stand against censorship, and every other move to stifle Israeli and Palestinians freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom of conscience every step of the way". The Fund urged people to buy books from the Educational Bookshop's online outlet. The New Israel Fund is an influential US-based organisation promoting human rights, democracy, social justice and the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel.

The raids on the Educational Bookshop have taken place at a time Netanyahu has intensified his long-term campaign to muzzle the Israeli media. Last November, the government imposed sanctions on Israel's liberal daily Haaretz by banning the use of public money for advertisements and subscriptions. The government has also submitted bills to the Knesset which would close media outlets that allegedly “endanger the security of Israel".

However, Israeli commentators argue Netanyahu's objective is to equate Israel's security with the security of his tenure in office. Following the October 7th attack on southern Israel by Hamas, which killed 1,200 and abducted 151, Netanyahu has given priority to eradicating Hamas rather than returning living and dead captives. Their families have campaigned vigorously against his agenda and the majority of Israelis favour ending the Gaza war and securing the release of all captives. Pro-Netanyahu influencers, politicians and media folk have smeared as "traitors" Israelis who give priority to the captives. This brutal word matters even if shrugged off by those targeted. 

Netanyahu’s strategies have been approved and adopted by foreign governments, institutions and individuals that uncritically support Israel. Western media ignore United Nations experts and human rights organisations that have applied to Israel's war on Gaza the term of "genocide", engaging in activities which are prohibited by international law and the Genocide Convention. 

Donald Trump has even used the word "Palestinian" to smear Democratic US Senator Chuck Schumer for his criticism of US policy on Gaza and other Trump initiatives. Trump stated, "Schumer a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned. He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.” Trump has even said Schumer is a "proud member of Hamas" which is battling Israel in Gaza. 

The Guardian quoted Halie Soifer, head of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, who said, "Donald Trump doesn’t get to decide who is Jewish, Senator Schumer is the country's highest ranking Jewish American official, and 'Palestinian' should not be used as an insult."