Analyst Links October 7 Attack to Political Boycotts of Netanyahu

Avishai Ben-Haim, a commentator for Kan 11, asserted on Saturday evening that the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel could have been averted if left-wing parties had not boycotted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters. Ben-Haim argued that such a boycott prevented the formation of a broad unity government, which in turn allowed for the judicial overhaul and deepened societal divisions.

"If there was no boycott, there would not have been the Seventh of October," Ben-Haim stated, questioning what would have changed otherwise. He contended that the political boycott exacerbated the rift within Israeli society, specifically targeting what he termed the "Second Israel" and the "Bibiist public," whom he described as the core of "sweet traditionalism."

Ben-Haim based his argument on the perspective of those who blame the right-wing government for the societal division caused by the judicial reform. He presented a chain of events: no boycott would have led to a broad government, a broad government would have prevented the judicial reform, and the absence of the reform would have prevented such a deep societal schism.

While expressing more caution about a direct causal link, Ben-Haim suggested that if such a deep societal rift had not existed, "perhaps, perhaps, God willing, the Seventh of October would not have happened."

Concluding his remarks, Ben-Haim called for unity and an end to political boycotts, emphasizing that national unity holds not only moral and spiritual significance but also strategic security importance. He reiterated the possibility that without the boycott, the October 7th attacks might not have occurred.