The logic of radicalization
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The logic of radicalization is John Kiriakou's account of why states become more extreme as their position worsens, offered when he was asked whether the Knesset death penalty law was a sign that Israel's government was losing power, on the analogy of the Nazis accelerating mass killing as they neared defeat.

He allowed that this was part of it, and then gave a second mechanism: "when a country is going down the toilet and they just stop caring what everyone else thinks. They're so isolated. They have their heads so far up their own asses and they think, we're all alone. We can't count on anyone. We have to do things our way. It's the logic of radicalization."

A mistake in its own terms

Kiriakou's judgement of the law is strategic rather than only moral. "I think it's a huge mistake from a Zionist point of view," he said. "The Zionists' biggest problem is that they're perceived as being cruel maniacs. This isn't going to help."

His co-host's summary, that the law would simply anger people, he accepted without qualification.

See also

- The Knesset death penalty law
- Israel's rightward shift
- Antisemitism and anti-Zionism
- Itamar Ben-Gvir
