The ugly truth: Israel is so Middle East now

I can never forget that one sentence from Thomas Friedman’s legendary book on the Middle East, “From Beirut to Jerusalem.” It was something like this: “Jews would like to wake up in Israel but would like to live next to Switzerland and Belgium.” After 20 years of Likud governments and small immigrant parties holding politics hostage, unfortunately Israel is now no different from any sad Middle Eastern country, except for its relatively healthy democracy.

Israel used to be a beacon of technology, a hub of investment, even a fun place full of stories about the Eurovision Song Contest or the former president’s adultery issues. Now all we read about Israel is its “right to defend itself.”

But this did not happen overnight. Just like Turkey, Israel became an overtly religious, very mediocre, deeply divided and less tolerant society within a decade. Most of this is due to Benjamin Netanyahu’s carte blanche to parties like Yisrael Beiteinu and its hawkish chair, Avigdor Lieberman.

In every society, immigrants bring their own richness and traumas when settling into a new land.

In Israel’s case, the paranoia of being surrounded by highly populated poor Arab countries have made the immigrants from Russia more aggressive. Every new settlement is an issue for them. It is almost like the slums in Istanbul, where once you build 10, no one can remove you from those buildings. You invite your relatives and invade the area, and bingo! The state has to bring you services and protection.

This was not the Israel that I knew 10 years ago. Tel Aviv was a city of arts and intellectuals. However, after Ehud Barak lost the elections, I heard a startling statement from an academic in Israel that...