If the original Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to hear what his current mutation said this past Friday – in an interview with a business news channel – he would likely call the district psychiatrist from a blocked number and suggest that he himself be brought in for a mental health evaluation.
The Hebrew language lacks words sufficiently precise or potent to capture the sheer absurdity and madness embodied in the incumbent prime minister of Israel’s recommendation to shift toward a “bypassing economy” or a “blockchain economy.” This goes far beyond merely crashing the stock market tomorrow morning; it amounts to bringing down the state itself.
There are only two possibilities: either this fellow has completely detached from reality, or he is drifting further and further from sanity. I am neither a psychiatrist nor a physician, but the man who was once “Mr. Security” (before leading us into the greatest catastrophe in our history) – and who was also once regarded as “Mr. Economy” – is now preparing us to join the ranks of pariah, sanction-stricken states: Iran, North Korea, the Houthis in Yemen, and Israel. What an honor.
The man has completely lost the plot – and he’s doing it at 200 kph. Could Israel become a “bypass economy”? Could Israel shift from the international banking system to Bitcoin? Could the “Start-up Nation”, a cyber superpower, a country more dependent than most on global monetary systems and the digital flow of capital that fuels its start-ups and investments, transform into a Jewish mutation of North Korea?
It’s a good thing he didn’t suggest we focus on drug trafficking. Then again, why not? The trade in Captagon sustained the Assad regime and Hezbollah for years. We could even try the slave trade, like in the old days. Netanyahu, after all, has a substantial supply of utterly subservient “slaves” available for hire. There’s a market for that, too.
From saving Israel's economy to calling for a 'bypass economy'
To think that this is the same man who, at the turn of the millennium, saved Israel’s economy. This is the man who, during his first term in the 1990s, spearheaded the rapid privatization of the Israeli economy. This is the man who taught us the parable of “the fat man and the thin man.” Now, he tells us that “America has changed,” that we can forget about tens of billions of dollars in security aid, and that we need to “reorganize” for what he calls a “bypass economy.”
You don’t need to be an economist or a tech investor to realize that Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks on this subject border on insanity. I don’t really... It is hard to tell whether this is just another linguistic slip-up by Netanyahu – a hysterical gaffe intended to instill fear and convince us that only he can save us – or if he actually believes his own preposterous nonsense.
Let’s set the record straight: let’s start with American aid. America has changed, but not fundamentally. The same Republicans and Democrats are still there. While the extreme fringes of both parties have expanded, the core values remain unchanged. It is Israel that has changed.
It's no coincidence that we have been warned for months that American sanctions may follow the US elections. This is not because of the war – the war in Gaza is something they can manage. If sanctions are imposed, it will be because of the government – specifically because the most extreme, the most unhinged, and the most widely recognized anti-democratic figures in the world hold key positions within Netanyahu’s government.
If this happens, it will be because of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and because of the continued rampaging of hundreds of Jewish rioters in Judea and Samaria – who attack, unimpeded, anyone who crosses their path, including Western diplomats. If this happens, it will be because of the person who built this anti-Zionist construct: Benjamin Netanyahu.
Take note of how he phrased things in an interview: “I brought in tens of billions of dollars – twice.” He is taking credit for American aid. Well, spoiler alert: American security and economic aid to Netanyahu began long, long before his time. He didn’t establish it; he destroyed it. That is a fact.
Israelis stand to lose much under 'alternative economy'
Let’s turn to the concept of an “alternative economy.” First, one must grasp the implications of the warning he issued: We will lose our pensions. We will lose the bulk of our money. Most of us will no longer be able to travel abroad or purchase goods from AliExpress. Our savings will go up in smoke. We will be unable to use international credit cards. The high-tech, cyber, technology, and industrial sectors will collapse.
Most entrepreneurs will leave the country, and the remaining investors will vanish. Academia will wither and die. Researchers will move abroad. I suspect the only ones who will remain are the members of the Kohelet Forum. Then again, once the money disappears, they’ll likely vanish with it.
It is truly unbelievable that Netanyahu actually said these things himself. What was going through his mind? Has he lost touch with what he’s saying, or has he lost control of the “gems” tumbling from his mouth? Does he fail to grasp the implications of his words for the international markets? Does he genuinely believe that Israel can achieve self-sufficiency – in munitions, for instance – while operating under a “blockchain economy”?
Can a nation survive on Bitcoin when it lacks endless oil reserves and remains 100% dependent on the Western economy and the international banking system? Tell me, has he lost his mind? I’m not entirely sure he hasn’t.
Let’s look at who else in the world relies on an alternative, bypass-style economy: North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, and now Netanyahu. Is this an inevitable fate? No. It is a “Netanyahu-fate.”
This is the future that awaits us if he and his cronies remain in power. This is the destiny that lies in store if this band of opportunists – some of whom aren’t even Zionists – continues to hold the State of Israel by the hair and drag it toward the abyss. This can be reversed. This can be stopped.
This is not an impossible task... It is possible. On the contrary. All that is required is a return to sanity – to protect democracy, restore law and order, rebuild our public diplomacy apparatus, and fight for our truth and our cause. We must do this intelligently, with good taste, and with sound reason.
This is how we have operated since the founding of the state, and we have achieved great success. There is no reason for us to abandon what has been built here. Our ship is speeding toward an iceberg, but we still have time to change course, take the helm, and return to safe waters.