Israel has become like the Soviet Union in its dying days | Abed Abou Shhadeh | MEE Opinion

Описание: In this opinion video, political activist Abed Abou Shhadeh argues that Israeli society is in a state of “hypernormalisation” - a term coined by anthropologist Alexei Yurchak to describe the surreal final years of the Soviet Union, when everyone knew the system was broken but pretended otherwise.

He says that the recent execution of 15 medics and rescue workers by the Israeli army in Gaza, caught on video, should have prompted outrage. Instead, it was met with silence inside Israel.

Abou Shhadeh points to a state unravelling from within: a military in disarray, a police force shaped by far-right ideologues, and a Supreme Court that legitimises inequality while projecting legality. Even Amnesty Israel, he notes, refused to accept its own organisation’s genocide findings - a striking symbol of national denial.

He says that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is dismantling Israel’s own state institutions while pursuing reckless regional ambitions - from pushing for war with Iran to supporting the fragmentation of Syria. Meanwhile, he continues to push for his Gaza transfer plan, despite international rejection.
Abou Shhadeh argues that Israel’s vision of regional dominance is fundamentally flawed - not because it lacks military power, but because Israel fundamentally rejects soft power.

He concludes: “There is nothing normal about what’s happening in Israel right now. Netanyahu’s reckless regional adventurism is not only destabilising the Middle East - it’s tearing apart Israeli society itself.”

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