The Israeli electorate shift
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The Israeli electorate shift is John Kiriakou's account of why he treats the rightward turn in Israeli politics as structural rather than cyclical.

The demographic argument

Having allowed that the judicial overhaul might yet bring down the government, see Netanyahu and the Tel Aviv police chief, Kiriakou immediately qualified what any such fall would change.

"With that said, the Israeli electorate, because of the influx of so many Russian and Ukrainian Jews over the last 10 or 15 years, has moved so far to the right that I don't think we'll ever see a viable socialist movement again. I don't think we'll ever see a viable labour party again."

What remains on the ballot

The consequence, in his framing, is that Israeli elections no longer contest direction. "It's just the question is going to be, are you going to vote for a right-wing government, a far right-wing government, or an extreme right-wing government? Those are their choices."

Kiriakou then applied the identical formula to Western Europe, arguing that fifty or sixty years of neoliberal experimentation, propaganda and corporate capture had produced the same narrowed menu there, with Greece supplying his sharpest example, at the Greek neo-Nazi seats.

The American guarantee

Asked directly whether there is a sell-by date on American support for such a government, Kiriakou's answer was one word repeated. "That answer is an easy no. No. We'll support Israel no matter how murderous and how right-wing extremists it becomes."

See also

- Netanyahu and the Tel Aviv police chief
- The Greek neo-Nazi seats
- Israel-United States relations
