Israeli Left's 'Blindness' to Socioeconomic Factors Fuels Right-Wing Support, Says Professor

Professor Danny Gutwein, a prominent figure on the Israeli left, argues that the Israeli left has lost its way by focusing too heavily on issues like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trials, neglecting the fundamental socioeconomic factors that drive voting patterns. Gutwein likens himself to 'Cato the Elder' of the Israeli left, persistently advocating for a social democratic welfare state as the sole effective counter to neoliberalism, which he claims has entrenched Netanyahu's rule.

Gutwein contends that Netanyahu systematically fosters a "sectocracy," a state divided into sectors where only loyalists receive state benefits, leaving others abandoned. This strategy, he explains, began solidifying around the 2011 social protests, gained momentum in 2015, and accelerated with the judicial overhaul announcement in January 2023. He dismisses the significance of Netanyahu's trials, asserting they merely aided this trend rather than being its cause. The judicial overhaul, he argues, was driven by the need to advance the interests of Netanyahu's base, such as the Haredi and settler communities, by circumventing judicial and legal oversight.

He criticizes the left for failing to understand that voters, particularly those in socioeconomic clusters 4-7, vote for the right not out of false consciousness but as a calculated decision. These groups benefit from "compensation mechanisms", government benefits and preferential treatment for loyal sectors, which the right provides in lieu of a robust welfare state. The left's focus on "statehood" and opposition to sectoral benefits alienates these voters, who perceive it as a threat to their livelihood.

Gutwein also highlights the emergence of a "collapsing class", reservists, displaced individuals, and business owners severely impacted by the war, who feel abandoned by the state as they don't fit neatly into existing sectors. He believes a leadership that offers genuine social security and a welfare state could win over these voters, contrasting this with the left's current offerings of "statehood" and rule of law without social substance. He even suggests learning from figures like Itamar Ben-Gvir, who effectively "sectors the periphery" by addressing the needs and insecurities of lower-income groups and those in the periphery, thereby securing their loyalty.