Netanyahu beware: Israeli Left studies US Left's playbook

If you think Israel's Left isn't watching how tomorrow's US midterm elections turn out, you'd be making a mistake. If you are politically Right in Israel, you'd be wise not to ignore those elections. You'd be wiser to consider how Israel's Left studies those elections.

Tomorrow's (November 6, 2018) US elections will determine if Donald Trump's Right-leaning Republican Party will retain control of both the US 'Lower House' (called the 'US House of Representatives') and its 'Upper House' (called the  'US Senate'). If Left-leaning Democrats win back a majority in the House of Representatives, you will see two things happen, neither of which will be good for the politically Right in the US. 

America's Left wants the US House of Representatives to turn Left. Israel's Left wants to see Israel turn Left. They have a lot in common. Can Israel learn from Left-leaning US Democrats?     

Certainly, a Democrat-controlled House gives America's Left power. With a newly-elected majority in the House, Democrats can work to block Trump's economic and healthcare agendas (here). 

Israel's Left is interested in that process. It wants to tear apart every Right-leaning legislation Netanyahu has passed through the Knesset. 

The second thing that'll happen if Democrats take over the House is the appearance of a long list of anti-Trump 'investigations' (here). These investigations won't just 'begin'. They'll be 'unleashed' (ibid).

The goal for these investigations will be to bring criminal charges (if possible) against Trump appointees. Some Democrats say they'll also start impeachment proceedings in  the House against President Trump. 

Democrats have already promised that, if they win a majority of seats in the House, they'll initiate a veritable 'blitz' of investigations (here). So far as impeachment is concerned, some Democrats--and mainstream media--practically salivate at the thought of it starting (here). 

Israel's anti-Netanyahu Left doesn't ignore this plan to dismantle the Trump legacy--and throw out Trump through impeachment. Israel's Left could well use the US anti-Trump game-plan as a model for dumping Netanyahu and dismantling his legacy. 

This isn't idle speculation. It's a conclusion drawn directly from the behavior of Israel's Left.

If you want to see how Israel's Left uses the US Left's anti-Trump playbook to attack Netanyahu, you need look no further than the Rabin memorial rally that was held in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, November 3, 2018 (here). The language used by Leftists in Israel before, during and after that rally didn't just echo anti-Trump, language heard in the US. It was the same language. 

Moreover, the US midterms elections aren't being described as a 'politics-as-usual' election. They're being cast instead as a referendum on Trump (here, here). What's at stake here is, in other words, Trump's reputation. 

Israel's Left has a history of going after Netanyahu's reputation. The US elections could teach Israel's Leftists a thing or two about doing a better job of it. 

Israel's Left watches these US elections because the idea of a referendum about Netanyahu (here) seems appealing. After all, Netanyahu still faces possible criminal indictments for a series of corruption allegations. Making the 2019  elections "all about Netanyahu-the-criminal-to-be" might work--if, that is, the anti-Trump campaign in the US proves successful.

To see how Israel's Left mirrors America's Left, compare the language used in the Tel Aviv Rabin rally (above) against the language used by US Leftists against Trump. For example, the Left in America accuses the Rightist Trump of dividing the country (here); he engages in 'fearmongering' (here); he incites for violence (here); he perverts government into a 'tool of partisan domination', seeking to persecute his political 'enemies' (here).

Trump attacks his 'enemies' by 'scoring political points' (here). He engages in the 'politics of hate' (here). 

In Israel, the Left uses these exact same words to attack its own political enemies--those on the Right, most specially Netanyahu. That's what it did at the Rabin rally.

It railed against Netanyahu's turning to 'the politics of hate' (here). It decried Netanyahu's "use of “incitement” and “fearmongering”. It called out against the government's using persecution of political rivals to score political points. It accused the Rightist-Netanyahu government of dividing the country" (here) .

Beware, Mr Netanyahu. This copy-cat language may signal that Israel's Left is getting ready to copy the American Left's 'discourse of hate' (here) political strategy. 

Will Israel's Left attempt to build an anti-Netanyahu campaign strategy based upon US Democrats' anti-Trump US campaign strategy? We'll get the answer to this question soon enough.

US elections begin in less than 20 hours (early voting has already begun). The results of these elections might tell everyone if relentless personal attacks on a political enemy can really change how people vote. 

Stay tuned.