Some folks conflate the policies of Netanyahu with Israel as a whole, and have made the false generalization: Because of Netanyahu’s murderous policies, Israel no longer has the right to exist.

True, and it's a narrative that has been fed and nurtured by Netanyahu himself. As an aspiring autocrat, as all autocrats do, he has long claimed that basically "l'etat c'est moi", I am Israel. Whoever opposes me opposes the state of Israel. He has gone even further to claim that he, and only he, represents all the Jewish people. Many Jews who care about Israel instinctively buy into that narrative without thinking through its implications. The implication is that anyone who opposes Netanyahu and his government's actions is an antisemite, because he represents all the Jewish people (whether they like it or not).

Israel's internal politics are very fraught. There is strong opposition to Netanyahu and his government, and he is fairly likely to lose the election in October. But when facing outward, Israelis tend to present a unified front. While they oppose him domestically, they buy into the Netanyahu narrative that all external opposition to him is by definition antisemitic. It becomes a self fulfilling narrative, because those outside the Israeli and Jewish community who oppose Israeli policy see what appears to be a united Jewish front supporting Israeli war crimes. If all Jews support the crimes, they are all to blame for them, which gives legitimacy to antisemitic sentiments.

My hope is that Israelis will vote Netanyahu out and begin the difficult process of repairing the enormous damage he has done to Israel and its standing in the world.