you have said the actual truth: ukraine, israel, and neo-isolationism.
netanyahu's interest.
Do you remember what Elon said, November 15th, 2023?
My article on Ukraine got some pushback because I accused Netanyahu of campaigning against Ukrainian. My claim was ridiculed as “obviously false,” or “antisemitic.” Allow me an opportunity to defend my claim.
you’re antisemitic!
I’m going to attempt to defuse this inevitable response. Here is a list of Jews who support Ukraine:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine
Volodymyr Groysman, former Prime Minister of Ukraine
Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine
David Frum, speechwriter for President Bush
Bill Kristol, editor at The Bulwark
Robert Kagan, founder of PNAC and fellow at Brookings
Jonah Goldberg, founder of National Review Online and The Dispatch
John Podhoretz, editor at Commentary magazine
Victoria Nuland, Spokesperson for the State Department
Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State
Mark Cuban, billionaire
The Soros Family
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York
A majority of Israelis
Me
Criticism of Netanyahu is not criticism of Jews, Jewish power, or Jewish conspiracy. Netanyahu uses the label of “antisemite” to silence is opposition.
i don’t support hamas.
To paraphrase Trump, “there are very fine antisemites on both sides.” There are far-left Hamas supporters who also support Ukraine, and there are far-right antisemites who hate Ukraine. Netanyahu opposes Ukraine; I support it.
For my own part, I’ve been to Israel, I wept on October 7th, I have Israeli friends, and I do not not sympathize with Hamas. I didn’t think October 7th was cool in some kind of “bronze age pirate” way. I don’t have special sympathy for Palestinians or Muslims broadly. My opposition to Netanyahu has to do with his particular political strategy with respect to Iran, Russia, and Ukraine — not antipathy toward Jews or Israelis.
If I say something respectfully critical of Netanyahu, there is a segment of Zionists with PTSD who assume I must support Hamas. It used to be enough to say “I’m Jewish!” to defeat the charge of antisemitism. Apparently, that doesn’t work anymore.
There is a group of Jews, like Norm Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky, and many others, who genuinely oppose Israel on the grounds that it harms indigenous Palestinian people. They believe Israel doesn’t have the right to exist, and should be abolished, “from the river to the sea.” I don’t share this sentiment.
I’m not making a moral argument for why you shouldn’t support Palestine. I’m simply stating that the civilian casualties do not make me hate Israel. I am not making a principled or philosophically consistent argument against Palestine. I am just being honest about my biases.
On October 7th, when I saw women running in terror, I could imagine those women being members of my family. I called one of my friends to ask if his family was safe. I didn’t call my Palestinian friends; I don’t have Palestinian friends, and I don’t think this article is going to make me any Palestinian friends.
I do not think civilian casualties in Gaza make Israel evil. Whether or not Israel has committed genocide in some technical sense (displacing people is genocide according to the UN) does not alter my position.
The reason I support Ukraine, despite Netanyahu’s attempt to change my mind, is because I believe the current existential risk facing Israel is much lower than the current existential risk facing Ukraine, and by extension, all of NATO.
At this point in the article, I think I have alienated all of my readership. The Zionists are outraged that I have accused Netanyahu campaigning against Ukraine, and the hamasniks are outraged that I don’t bow at the feet of Palestinian children.
Hardcore anti-Zionists are outraged that I do not, in my heart of hearts, express greater empathy toward Palestinian CHILDREN than Israeli women. One side calls me antisemitic, the other side calls me a Jewish supremacist. Tough crowd!
When I ask these outraged Zionists, “ok, if you don’t think Netanyahu campaigns against Ukraine, what’s your position on Ukraine?” many will say it doesn’t matter anyway, because Ukraine is worthless, corrupt, evil, doesn’t exist, and deserves to be dumped. Instead of attempting to understand the mechanisms of this campaign, they strawman my position as: “Netanyahu uses mind-control devices to make us hate Ukraine. David Sacks worships Netanyahu. Everyone I don’t like takes direct orders from Netanyahu.” This is not my position.
The left-wing criticism is that I am too ethnocentric and need to support Palestine on moralistic egalitarian grounds. If more Palestinians have died than Israelis, then Israel is bad. There is no further argument to be had, only a shouting match to be won by fervor and cancellation.
I defend the left as the only possible source of a global religious structure. My Jewish ethnic favoritism is not logically defensible by the moral standards of the left. I’m not trying to defend it or convince you that it is a reasonable or logical exception to leftist morality. I’m simply being honest in the hopes of having a policy-focused debate, rather than throwing insults back and forth or casting aspersions on my secret intentions.
What is NATO’s interest?
There are four main geopolitical opponents of America and NATO:
China;
Russia;
Iran;
Venezuela.
China has the biggest military in East Asia; Russia has the biggest military in Europe; Iran has the biggest military in the Middle East; and Venezuela has the biggest (non-allied) military in the Americas. With the exception of Africa, which has no major military powers, this covers the entire globe.
In the case of China, America should support all of its neighbors to contain it: Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and India. If you love anime girls and samurai, that’s a lucky coincidence for you.
Similarly, in the case of Russia, America should support Ukraine to contain Russia. If you are Ukrainian, this is good news for you.
In the case of Iran, if you are a Zionist, then your interests broadly align with America’s interest. America wants to prevent regional powers from arising that could seriously challenge western global military primacy. In the case of a clash between Ukraine and Israel, unfortunately, there is a slight hiccup, because, 1. Foreign aid is zero sum, and 2. As Russia is beaten back by Ukraine, it will form closer ties with Iran.
my actual argument:
Now that I have explained my personal biases and the interests of NATO, I will make actual arguments regarding Netanyahu’s anti-Ukrainian activism.
Here’s the New York Times:
The New York Times is a well-known purveyor of antisemitic conspiracy theories, so this may not be enough to convince you. But here are my two arguments:
1. Isolate Iran:
Netanyahu wants to isolate Iran.
He believes that the war in Ukraine is forging a closer Russian-Iranian alliance.
He wants to help negotiate an end to the war, not just to refocus resources toward Israel, but to deprive Iran of a crucial regional ally.
2. Avoid Prosecution:
Netanyahu fears prosecution… by Jews!
Expansion and escalation of the war will forestall prosecution.
America is limited in its resources, and there is a zero-sum relationship between Israel and Ukraine. The more funding goes to Ukraine, the less goes to Israel. The federal reserve can print dollars, but it can’t print bullets or bombs.
The less aid goes to Ukraine, the more aid is available for Israel, and the better chance Netanyahu has of coming out of this (politically) alive.
These two arguments suggest that Netanyahu has an interest in deflating the Ukrainian conflict. However, interest alone is not evidence of action. My interest is that you give me lots of money, but I do not have the power to engineer this outcome by writing screeds.
Unlike me, Netanyahu is the most competent man in Israel, so he does have the ability to promote his interests.
what’s engineering?
If I say, “I am a software engineer at Google,” does that mean I engineer all of the software, or that I am the only engineer? Does that mean I control every other employee at Google, and they all do what I say?
An engineer is one who plans, devises, influences, builds, coordinates, designs, and constructs systems. All effective politicians are engineers.
One way to engineer politically is to be directly networked with American political and business leaders, and to coordinate with them. Here’s Netanyahu meeting with Elon Musk, who effectively bought1 the 2024 election and installed JD Vance as vice president:
However, there are also indirect forms of engineering, such as covertly boosting media operations which coincide with your goals. I am referring to the Russian operation to fund Tenet Media, but many other such operations exist now under the direction of Netanyahu — but are protected from investigation by an Israel-friendly justice department.
Israel conducts intelligent operations in America. It’s not something to be hysterical or antisemitic about, but it is a necessary fact in an honest conversation about Netanyahu’s influence on the neo-isolationist movement. Netanyahu has more influence than Putin for three reasons:
Greater competency due to Ashkenazi intelligence; the Russian state is a mess (see the Prigozhin affair);
Less opposition from the CIA; a more aggressive posture toward Russia and China, and a more moderate or lenient posture toward Israel:
A perception that American and Israeli interests coincide, so there is no need to investigate or uncover Israeli intelligence operations. “Let them cook.”
More American-Israeli dual citizens than Chinese or Russian-American dual citizens:
A higher percentage of Chinese or Russian Americans are dissidents against Xi and Putin, vs. the number of Israeli American dissidents against Netanyahu. Most of the Russian American population either fled from communism or from Putin; most of the Chinese American population is Hakka (not Han) or Taiwanese; most of the Israeli-American population (like Miriam Adelson) are merely economic migrants with positive feelings toward Israel.
the carrot and the stick.
Netanyahu is attempting to pressure Putin to come to the negotiating table with a series of carrots and sticks. The carrot is that Netanyahu offers to deflate international support for Ukraine. The stick is that Israel cooperates with western intelligence efforts to disrupt the Russian-Iranian alliance. The message is clear: cooperate with Iran, and Israel will hurt Russia. Drop Iran, and Israel will help Russia.
Russia and Israel have engaged in a tit-for-tat, where Israel criticizes Russia over Ukraine, and Russia criticizes Israel over Palestine. Netanyahu understands that to apply maximum pressure to Russia, he must offer both punishments and rewards.
The cast of characters:
Not everyone who attacks Ukraine is in a personal relationship with Netanyahu. That would be a ridiculous conspiracy on the level of “lizard people control the world.” Furthermore, not all Jewish or pro-Israel or Zionist organizations support Netanyahu. However, Netanyahu does have extensive political influence through his relationship with AIPAC.
According to Thomas Massie, every Republican has “an AIPAC guy.” But the problem isn’t “Jewish influence.” This article you are reading right now is technically an example of “Jewish influence.” Jewish influence isn’t necessarily bad.
American congresspeople and senators should be informed on Israel, and Jewish Americans have the right to lobby the government. The problem is that AIPAC specifically is deeply in bed with Netanyahu, and Netanyahu is pushing the Republican Party to reject neo-conservatism and embrace pro-Putin neo-isolationism.
Netanyahu sees the writing on the wall. American support for Israel is dwindling fast. Rather than race against time and double down on a failing neo-conservative movement, Netanyahu is going with the flow and embracing neo-isolationism. He believes that, in the longer term, it is a better strategy to pursue regional cooperation with Putin than to rely completely on the electoral viability of neo-conservatism. Netanyahu is happy to promote anti-neo-cons like Rogan, Tucker, Sacks, Vivek, Musk, and RFK, so long as they help him forge a deal with Russia.
To be clear, when I say “neo-cons” I am referring to those who support both Israel and Ukraine.
who’s who:
In this non-exhaustive list, I will provide dozens of examples of prominent podcasters and politicians who have clear ties to Netanyahu’s influencer network (even if they criticize him) and who are anti-Ukraine. The extent to which these people criticize Netanyahu personally doesn’t matter much for my argument, since Netanyahu is happy to be hated as long as he achieves his larger objective of isolating Iran.
Peter Thiel: close partner of Netanyahu, consistently funds anti-Ukrainian campaigns, like Vance’s. Thiel embodies the “carrot and stick” approach by supplying Ukraine with weapons, but also offering Putin a way out.
Tucker Carlson: Biggest donors are Rebecca Mercer and Peter Thiel, both Netanyahu allies.
Elon Musk: close ally of Netanyahu, opposes Ukraine.
JD Vance: loves Netanyahu, defunds Ukraine. Selected by Elon and Thiel.
Charlie Kirk: supports Netanyahu on Iran, opposes funding to Ukraine.
Ben Shapiro: closest ally of Netanyahu, and a critic of Ukraine. Only hires people who are willing to criticize Ukraine and support Israel:
Candace Owens: a creation of Shapiro, critic of Ukraine.
Matt Walsh: demands that anyone who supports Ukraine be deported.
Michael Knowles: claims the Ukrainians are trying to kill him.
Brett Cooper: hired in 2022, criticizes aid to Ukraine.
Greg Gutfield: Fox News host who claims Americans are “being manipulated into entering a war that we should be no part of”; claimed that coverage of Ukrainian suffering was being driven by “profit.” Referring to Netanyahu, Gutfield said, “thankfully, Bibi won... that's what friends are for.”
Dave Smith: a panelist for Greg Gutfield and a guest of Joe Rogan who criticizes Ukraine.
Mike Johnson: ally of Netanyahu, opponent of Ukraine. Refers to Netanyahu as “his excellency” when introducing him to Congress, which is a political title that was only ever used to describe George Washington.
Senator Eric Schmitt: claims that aid to Ukraine is “Ukraine First, America Last.” Received $81,550 from AIPAC.
Senator John Barrasso: claimed Ukraine “meddled” in the 2016 election in favor of Clinton. Refused to meet Zelensky in 2024. Prefers to meet with his “friend” Netanyahu. $273,992 from AIPAC.
Senator Mike Braun: “it would be wrong to leverage support of aid to Israel in attempt to get additional aid for Ukraine,” and said “Biden wants to send Ukraine MORE of YOUR money.” $75,050 from AIPAC.
Senator Rick Scott: claimed aid to Ukraine takes away aid from Israel. Holds regular meetings with Netanyahu (2017, 2018, 2019, 2023). $549,292 from AIPAC.
Senator Mike Lee: Has been cultivating a relationship with Netanyahu since 2010; said that American protests against Netanyahu should be prosecuted as terrorism; opposes aid to Ukraine.
Senator Tommy Tuberville: praises Netanyahu; claims Zelensky is a dictator and defends Putin.
RFK Jr: neo-isolationist, promised to slash the military budget in half, attacked Biden as anti-Israel. Friend of Shmuley Boteach.
Erik Prince: meets with Netanyahu, undermines Ukraine. Similar to Thiel in that he prefers the “carrot and stick” to force Russia to isolate Iran with the threat of aid to Ukraine.
Marjorie Taylor Greene: Christian Zionist, opponent of Ukraine.
Lauren Boebert: compared Netanyahu to George Washington, opponent of Ukraine.
Paul Gosar: biggest supporter of Israel and biggest opponent of Ukrainian “neo-nazis,” according to a huge laundry list posted to his website.
Vivek Ramaswamy: praises Netanyahu, calls Israel “a divine gift, gifted to a divine nation, charged with a divine purpose.” Supports defunding Ukraine.
Here’s Ramaswamy on Netanyahu:
“We won't cut off our current aid to Israel unless and until we reach the day where Israel tells us they don't need it anymore. And it'll be a mark of true success,” Ramaswamy said. “And as a side note, people say, ‘Oh, that would never happen.’ That's not true. I think good friends are honest with each other. [Netanyahu], who I respect immensely and who I would greet to the White House in a way that Biden never had the courage to do, actually did in the '90s, back when he was in charge, say something similar to that effect. So, yes, I think we have a deep relationship of trust and that's what it looks like.” [referring to comments Netanyahu made in his 1996 address to a joint session of Congress, where he expressed his desire that his country would “achieve economic independence” from the U.S.]
Matt Gaetz: gave Netanyahu a standing ovation, supports defunding Ukraine.
Lex Friedman: got Netanyahu on his podcast, and extensively platforms neo-isolationists: Peterson, Shapiro, Rogan, RFK, Tucker, Kushner, Tulsi Gabbard, and John Mearsheimer are all favorites of Friedman. They don’t all agree with each other, but the common denominator between them is pro-Russia.
Kushner wants to collaborate with Russia, rather than crush them. Netanyahu slept over at his house.
David Sacks has called for a more “targeted approach” to Gaza, but defended Netanyahu by name because of his close relationship with Putin. Supports defunding Ukraine. He specifically defended Netanyahu (on October 23rd, 2022) by saying, “wanting to avoid war makes you a Putin lover.” [Spoken like a true Putin lover.]
Patrick Bet David: afraid to criticize Netanyahu, happy to criticize Ukraine.
Senator Josh Hawley: claimed funding for Ukraine was hurting Israel. $250,864 from AIPAC.
Senator Bill Hagerty: claims that Biden favored Ukraine over Israel. $61,800 from AIPAC.
Senator Ted Cruz: claims Biden “Biden took $5 million in bribes from Ukraine.” Calls Netanyahu his “good friend.” $1,493,422 from AIPAC.
Senator Ron Johnson: claimed that “an awful lot of what Vladimir Putin said was right … accurate, and obvious… Putin won’t lose. He will not lose. He’s not gonna lose.” $347,043 from AIPAC.
Senator Rand Paul: by his own words, chose to invite Netanyahu to speak before Congress so he could give him 50 standing ovations. Called support for Ukraine “anti-American.”
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith: voted against aid to Ukraine. $146,607 from AIPAC.
Senator Roger Marshall: refused to listen to Zelensky speak in 2022, saying it would be “disrespectful to the border patrol officers.” $92,400 from AIPAC.
Senator Cynthia Lummis: called for “no funding for Ukraine,” because “our efforts to help Israel need to be targeted to Israel alone.” $26,450 from AIPAC.
Marco Rubio: friend to Netanyahu, enemy to Ukraine. Previously a supporter of Ukraine, now he has “shapeshifted.” $1,013,563 from AIPAC.
Mike Waltz: in favor of reducing support to Ukraine, fan of Netanyahu.
Laura Loomer: opposes Ukraine, loves Netanyahu. Close ally of Trump who was only recently distanced from him due to the influence of Milo Yiannopoulos.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: the “most famous rabbi in America,” supports Netanyahu, opposes funding for Ukraine. States that funding for Ukraine has been stolen from Israel. Called Netanyahu “the greatest Jew alive.” Close personal friend of Bibi and his son Yair.
Boteach complains about Ukraine:
Useful idiots:
Most neo-isolationists do not have direct ties to Netanyahu. They range from neutral on Netanyahu to outright hostility toward Jews, but they all service Netanyahu’s neo-isolationist interests:
Joe Rogan: friendly with the Netanyahu Network (RFK Jr., Vance, Ben Shapiro, and Jordan Peterson). Consistent neo-isolationist, anti-Ukraine. Platforms neo-isolationists like Dave Smith, and antisemites like Theo Von who claim that “left-leaning media, which is mostly Jewish, are calling people white supremacists... Why do they hate white guys?”
Tim Pool: claimed that “Ukraine is the enemy of this country.” Worked with Lauren Chen as part of a Russian operation. Promoted the idea that an American Civil War is inevitable.
Glenn Greenwald: Greenwald is critical of both Netanyahu and Ukraine.
Michael Tracey: critical of both Netanyahu and Ukraine.
Max Blumenthal: critic of Netanyahu and Ukraine.
Jackson Hinkle: supports defunding both Israel and Ukraine.
Kanye West: hates Netanyahu but supports Russia.
ambiguous or shifting attitudes:
Tim Scott: used to support Ukraine, then suggested that Democrats are “more concerned about securing Ukraine’s border than America’s border.” He decided that “America should be shifting its focus to supporting Israel.” Received $378k from AIPAC.
Piers Morgan: claims to be a friend of Ukraine, but consistently platforms Ukraine-“realists” like Andrew Tate and John Mearsheimer.
Ron DeSantis: attacked Ukraine, then walked his comments back.
Alex Jones: attacks Ukrainian “neo-Nazis,” but also criticizes Netanyahu.
Victor Davis Hanson: praises Israel, and has soured on Ukraine.
Tulsi Gabbard: despite her strong neo-isolationism on Ukraine and criticism of Netanyahu, she is uniquely supportive of Israel, condemned Biden for his weak support of Israel, and is a friend of Messianic pastor John Hagee. Haaretz reported that “Gabbard appears to have an ‘Israel exception’ to her America First worldview.” Personal friend of Shmuley Boteach and Miriam Adelson.
Dennis Prager: friend of Netanyahu and his son. Supported Ukraine in 2022, then claimed Ukraine was corrupt in 2023, and now his media company accuses Ukraine of misusing aid and threatening Americans.
Yoram Hazony: originally supported Ukraine, but now has softened his position. He was a ghostwriter for Netanyahu in the 1990s.
I am not suggesting that every neo-isolationist is a close friend of Netanyahu. Many old-school Marxists and paleo-cons hate both Israel and Ukraine. Not all neo-isolationists are Netanyahu allies, but all of Netanyahu’s closest allies seem to be progressively shifting toward neo-isolationism over the last two years. It is more likely that this is, in part, due to a coordinated campaign, than the idea that Netanyahu exerts zero influence whatsoever.
The older school of neo-conservatives support both Ukraine and Israel. They are not personally loyal to Bibi, but instead support Israel for broader geopolitical reasons. Netanyahu’s personal relationship with Putin does not define the broader American-Israeli alliance, which is as old as the Balfour Declaration.
but Netanyahu doesn’t hate Ukraine?
Netanyahu has a deep personal relationship with Putin, and has defied the Israeli public by refusing to support Ukraine. At the same time, he is very intelligent, tactful, and follows the Roosevelt adage of “speak softly and carry a big stick.” When it comes to Ukraine, Netanyahu understands that direct attacks on Ukraine would be terrible PR for Israel, and would hurt his already shaky popular support among the Jewish people (who support Ukraine).
Netanyahu is under great pressure to avoid offending Ukraine, because it would force his neo-conservative allies (like Bolton, Pompeo, Haley) into an extremely uncomfortable position of having to choose one or the other. Netanyahu does not control the neo-conservative movement. He has to be diplomatic. He prefers to oppose Ukraine through proxies, like Elon, Loomer, Boteach, Mike Waltz, Rubio, Lex Friedman, Boebert, Greene, Prince, RFK, Mike Johnson, Gutfield, and Shapiro, rather than taking the heat himself.
Similarly, when Hillary Clinton wanted to promote the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was a secret Muslim with a fake birth certificate, she didn’t directly come out and say it. Instead, she used proxies in the media who couldn’t be easily traced back to her. Clinton’s network originated these conspiracy theories in an attempt to win the 2008 primary, while keeping her free from the blowback that would have come from publicly making the accusation herself. Clinton failed, but I suspect that Netanyahu will be more successful in demonizing Ukraine.
Isn’t this a conspiracy theory?
Unlike Netanyahu’s allies, I don’t deny:
the efficacy of vaccines;
climate change;
the racism of the Founding Fathers;
or the results of the 2020 election.
I don’t promote the theories that:
All politicians are pedophiles controlled by Jeffrey Epstein;
The Clintons harvest adrenochrome from Haitian children;
There are secret tunnels under a DC pizzeria where children are abused in “spirit cooking” rituals.
I don’t think PhDs are “useless.” I am not anti-science, and I don’t believe in Biblical prophecies. It is very rich to me that allies of Messianic cultists are accusing me of “wild speculation.”
I don’t believe that David Sacks agrees with everything Netanyahu believes, or that he is controlled by Netanyahu. Sacks has been publicly critical of the War in Gaza. But as part of the anti-Ukraine campaign, Netanyahu’s allies are happy to boost podcasts or influencers who disagree with him, so long as they align with him on Ukraine. The exact mechanism is irrelevant. Elon could boost Sacks on Twitter; Israeli bot networks can boost his numbers; money can be funneled into Sacks’ investments.
In order for what I am saying to be true, “Netanyahu campaigns against Ukraine,” I don’t need to prove that all neo-isolationists are on the payroll of Netanyahu. There only needs to be one single person who coordinates with Netanyahu and hates Ukraine for this to be true. It is true in the case of Elon Musk, but it could also be less obviously true in other cases. Without evidence to the contrary, I wouldn’t rule it out as “ridiculous” or “conspiratorial.”
This is what modern states do: they use intelligence services to run influence campaigns. The Russians suck so badly at this that they got caught with Tenet Media. The Chinese are smarter, and they regularly steal our technology and run TikTok. This isn’t a MAGA “conspiracy,” this is how any rational state behaves. Acting as if Israel under Netanyahu is not willing or able to conduct such operations, or becoming morally outraged at the thought, is not good faith.
The only reason Americans don’t get spied on by the Germans, French, or British is not because those countries are “nicer,” but because those countries are effectively occupied vassals and proxies of American intelligence. Israel is not. Israel is independent, and as a result, possesses greater agency than the Europeans. Sometimes Israel works with America, sometimes it doesn’t. I applaud the Israelis for their efficacy, but when Netanyahu contradicts the interests of NATO, I will speak the truth.
The idea that the Israelis can’t figure out how to run an influence campaign is especially funny given that even the Iranians are able to do this. Spare me the false humility! Yes, Netanyahu promotes international smear campaigns, like the infamous (and antisemitic) one against George Soros.
Netanyahu’s campaign to defund Ukraine is global in that it doesn’t just target Americans, but also Europeans.
Netanyahu has a working relationship with the AfD, which is anti-Ukraine. Netanyahu supports Viktor Orban, who is anti-Ukraine. Netanyahu prefers Marine le Pen over Macron, because she is anti-Ukraine. The consistent thread here is that Netanyahu doesn’t care about more funding for Israel: he has enough tanks and bombs to defeat Hamas, and doesn’t need any more. He has enough nukes to eliminate Iran. He wants to isolate Iran, and for that, he needs to convince Putin to come to the negotiating table. He believes that Ukraine is the key bargaining chip in this negotiation. As such, Netanyahu refuses to arm Ukraine.
Interest, opportunity, and evidence:
At this point, we’ve established three big facts:
Netanyahu prefers a “carrot and stick” method to drive Russia to isolate Iran.
The carrot is offering to help deflate the Ukrainian conflict (“neo-isolationism”);
The stick is threatening to punish Russia if it continues to cooperate with Iran.
Netanyahu has the power to engineer this deflation through his network of proxies, especially through Ben Shapiro and Elon Musk and the Twitter boosting mechanism.
Netanyahu has demonstrated his preference for anti-Ukrainian factions in Europe and in America.
If all of Netanyahu’s best friends were saying, “I love Ukraine!” we could infer that Netanyahu also loves Ukraine. If all of Netanyahu’s closest allies tend toward one consistent position (dump Ukraine, support Israel) it is reasonable to assume that this position originates from Netanyahu’s network. Of course, Netanyahu is also not a singular figure, and has dozens of close advisors who help shape his policy and thinking. All politics are networks, and the “great man theory of history” will be found lacking upon closer examination.
When I say “Netanyahu campaigns against Ukraine,” I am not saying that every single person who is anti-Ukraine has been brainwashed or is controlled by Netanyahu. Maybe Netanyahu’s campaign against Ukraine is smaller than the Russian campaign against Ukraine; or maybe it is smaller than the Chinese campaign against Ukraine.
We can all safely agree, whether you are pro-NATO or anti-NATO, that it is in China and Russia’s interest to promote American neo-isolationism. That is obvious, and I shouldn’t need to write an article to convince anyone of that. But in the case of Israel, things become complicated.
In some cases, antisemites become strange bedfellows with Zionists in Netanyahu’s anti-Ukraine campaign, whether they know it or not. And in the case of Elon Musk, he knows.
direct engineering.
Today is the one year anniversary of this Tweet: “You have said the actual truth.”
Exactly one year ago today, Elon Musk affirmed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, that “Jew…s have been pushing… hatred against whites.” Not only did Musk affirm the truth of this statement, but he also seemed to uncritically support the moral sentiment of not “giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations.”
Maybe Elon didn’t carefully read the Tweet he appeared to agree with; maybe he didn’t understand it or misread it; maybe he replied to the wrong Tweet? No, he restated and clarified his position in the very same thread:
What happened next was that Elon Musk spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu and Ben Shapiro. Their intention was to change Musk’s mind, his positions, and his public image. One might even say… to engineer!
I can only assume that on November 15th, 2023, Elon Musk was a genuine antisemite. I’m not using that word in the way that people use it when they call me antisemitic — they also call George Soros and Chuck Schumer antisemitic. No, I’m saying that Elon Musk believed two things:
Descriptively, that Jews push anti-white hatred.
Prescriptively, that whites should not care about Jewish lives.
If someone believes that Jews, as a whole, are attacking the white race, and as a result, Jews do not deserve empathy, this is antisemitism.
On the other hand, if I say, “Netanyahu is anti-Ukrainian, and he promotes anti-Ukrainian sentiment,” this is not antisemitic. The vast majority of antisemites believe that Zelensky is a Frankist who is attacking Putin because Putin is a white Christian. The biggest antisemitic newsletter in the world supports Putin. The biggest antisemitic social networking website in the world, Gab, supports Putin. The biggest antisemitic social media personalities, like Andrew Tate, Dan Bilzerian, and Nick Fuentes support Putin.
This is hard for people to understand, but bear with me.
i admire netanyahu.
Netanyahu is one of my favorite world leaders because he performs very well under pressure. If there was a video game where I had to choose a world leader to play as, I would choose Netanyahu. I enjoy playing on hardcore mode with a powerful build. I could do a whole article ranking all the world leaders based on intelligence, charisma, and style points, but I’ve been told that I meander, so we’ll stick to the agenda.
Netanyahu is not a dictator, and there are different factions within Israel. I believe Netanyahu is the single most competent politician in Israel, but sometimes doubts himself and is uncertain about the future.
I am not sure that Netanyahu knows what he’s doing. He is very intelligent, but the situation is complex and evolving. In October 2024, maybe Netanyahu thought Kamala might win.
What would Iran do if its oil fields or nuclear facilities were struck? Would it use chemical weapons? Would it mine the straits of Hormuz and exercise its own “Samson Option”? Who is really in charge in Iran? What does the Iranian leadership actually believe? Are they crazy zealots, or are they cowardly bluffers? What if another Prigozhin attempts a coup in Russia? What is China going to do?
Netanyahu might prefer to keep his options open with regard to Iran. It is possible that he is considering a war with Iran, but is waiting for American approval. It is also possible that is hoping not just for American approval, but eventual Russian approval once a grand bargain is made in Ukraine.
Netanyahu’s positions are sometimes confusing, but with regard to Ukraine, his position (through his proxies) is much clearer. That’s because Netanyahu’s friends and allies never stop talking about how much they hate Ukraine, despite the fact that a majority of Americans believe we should maintain or increase our support.
Netanyahu didn’t want the Gaza War!
When I criticize the Netanyahu position, people assume that Netanyahu was in favor of a war in Gaza. I don’t think this is the case. I believe Gaza is a distraction to Netanyahu’s ultimate goal, which is not “Greater Israel,” but an isolated Iran. The fact that many “neo-isolationists” also criticize the War in Gaza is not necessarily contradictory with Netanyahu’s core interests, which lie not in Gaza, but in Iran — and by extension, in Russia and Ukraine.
It took Netanyahu 20 days to invade Gaza, during which time I’m sure he was being pressured on all sides, from the military and hardliners, to go in. Had Netanyahu attempted to restrict the more extreme members of his coalition any further, they might have broken with him and supported his prosecution. In order to lead, he must survive his own coalition partners.
Netanyahu has been a voice of moderation. Many people do not know this, but Netanyahu married a convert to Judaism, Fleur Cates. This isn’t well known, because they are now divorced, and most Jews do not consider such a marriage to be “mixed.” But Netanyahu has been insulted by the ultra-Orthodox politician Yizhak Pindrus, who referred to Netanyahu’s ex-wife as “shiksa.” Some of these ultra-Orthodox have even rejected the conversion of Ivanka Trump.
Netanyahu has been a moderate voice on settlements, on Gaza, on conversion, and many other topics, but he continues to be dragged to the right by his coalition partners. Netanyahu’s main focus is personal and geopolitical: he wants to avoid prosecution and eliminate Iran. All other concerns are distractions, even the war in Gaza.
Toward that end, Netanyahu is more than willing to make a deal with neo-isolationists and friends of Russia — even antisemitic friends of Russia! — if those friends can help him complete his Ukraine-Iran deal. The goal is for Ukraine to be traded for the isolation of Iran. Isolationism in exchange for isolationism, for the benefit of Israel.
For Netanyahu, this is the fulfillment of his hopes and dreams, for which he would sacrifice all the foreign aid in the world. His ultimate goal is an economically independent Israel which does not need American assistance, because with Iran gone, there would be no powers to oppose Israel.
what about neo-cons?
One commenter pointed out that many Zionists are pro-Ukraine. Nikki Haley, John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo are all pro-Ukraine. But the neo-con movement goes back at least 50 years, and the Ukraine issue has only been around for maybe 15 years. These neo-cons are operating on older software, as traditional neo-cons, rather than the neo-isolationist preference of Netanyahu.
My argument is not that “Israel has always been anti-Ukraine,” but is specific to Netanyahu. The Israeli public, who have protested against Netanyahu in large numbers, generally support Ukraine. Netanyahu is one politician among many in Israel, and Israel, like America, has its own diverse intelligence services which sometimes contradict each other. Netanyahu doesn’t always get along very well with Israeli military intelligence. Netanyahu’s interests are not always Israel’s interests.
In the case of Haley, Bolton, and Pompeo, these are not victims of a Netanyahu brainwashing campaign, but honest supporters of American interventionism and geopolitical primacy. They hold their pro-Israel views independently of Netanyahu, and he does not control their brains on Ukraine.
My argument isn’t that every Zionist must hate Ukraine. My argument is that Netanyahu’s network funds, supports, and collaborates with anti-Ukrainian forces in order to isolate Iran from Russia. The extent to which neo-cons have remained unaffected by this campaign demonstrates that, no, Benjamin Netanyahu does not control the United States government. But he still campaigns to influence powerful members of our society, like Peter Thiel, JD Vance, and Elon Musk.
I wish that Netanyahu was pro-Ukraine, but I understand why he isn’t. I also don’t blame him for being a little corrupt sometimes. Israel is a tough country to govern, and some level of mafia-style corruption is necessary to make deals across a deeply polarized society. Unfortunately, Netanyahu is trapped between war and prosecution, and he is choosing war. For his own personal self interest, it makes sense to undermine Ukraine.
Traditional neo-conservatives like Haley, Bolton, and Pompeo are overly optimistic in thinking that it is wise to fight two large regional wars at the same time. It is possible that they are correct, and we could bomb Iran without any consequences. But that seems like a risky assumption.
In this sense, I agree with Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Peter Thiel, Erik Prince, and others in the Netanyahu camp. I respect them for their clear-headedness and common sense. America should, if at all possible, not attempt to fight two wars at once. But I disagree with the neo-isolationist principle that America has no interest in NATO or Ukraine. Our greatest ally is Europe, not Israel.
Why Russia is a greater threat than Iran:
Israel’s war is not (at this time) existential for NATO. Hamas does not (presently) have the capacity to relaunch another October 7th. In ten years, that may change: Hamas, or some other Jihadist organization, may emerge from the rubble and threaten Israel once more.
October 7th was not a legitimate military operation, it was a terrorist attack engineered by Iran. Hamas did not have the capacity to occupy Israeli territory. The intention of Hamas was to halt the Abraham Accords peace process for the benefit of Iran, not to win territory.2
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is qualitatively different. Russia does have the capacity to occupy Ukraine. It is larger and more powerful. Russia’s attack on Ukraine is existential. If Russia wins, it will “denazify Ukraine,” which means erasing Ukrainian culture, nationality, and sovereignty. Hamas does not (right now) have that capacity in Israel.
In the long term, Hamas should be destroyed, alongside all of the Iranian proxies, including Hezbollah and the Houthis. However, in the short term, America should focus on arming Ukraine in order to achieve a victory against Russia as soon as possible.
Does Netanyahu want WWIII?
These five things are not identical, but are unfairly conflated:
Jews;
Israelis;
Neo-cons;
Netanyahu allies;
People who want WWIII.
Netanyahu does not want a multi-regional conflict (WWIII). The War in Ukraine drives Russia and Iran together. That is disastrous for Netanyahu, who has spent decades trying to cultivate a relationship with Putin and prevent a Russian-Iranian alliance from being expanded or formalized.
Netanyahu has not been very successful as of late, since the Iranians are sending Putin their drones to bomb Ukrainians. Netanyahu’s desire to turn back the clock to a simpler time is understandable. The Netanyahu strategy, in which America is encouraged to seek reconciliation with Russia, is the best strategy for isolating Iran. This strategy makes sense if your only priority is Israel.
Ukraine is a crucial part of a wider geopolitical struggle with China. Iran, by contrast, is less important. In terms of the geopolitical conflict with China, a win in Ukraine would be worth a loss in Israel. Thankfully, that isn’t likely — postponing a conflict in the Middle East (by establishing a ceasefire) would not result in the end of Zionism. However, the reverse is not true: a ceasefire in Ukraine on Putin’s terms threatens the long-term viability of the Ukrainian state.
According to the neo-isolationists, I am pro-WWIII and pro-war with Russia. I am, according to Ramaswamy, a neo-con. I think Haley, Bolton, and Pompeo have a better policy on Ukraine than Vance, Musk, and Thiel. But the neo-con label isn’t exactly accurate, because interventionism isn’t a linear spectrum, but a two-dimensional political compass.
As you can see, the Netanyahu position is, relatively speaking, anti-war, at least in the sense of a multi-regional WWIII with Russia. Hence, Musk, Ramaswamy, and Vance are all anti-war Netanyahu allies who support defunding Ukraine.
The campaign against Ukraine is facilitated, in part, by Netanyahu, who wants to make a three-way deal between Russia, America, and Israel, where Russia agrees to isolate Iran in favor of gaining Ukraine. Netanyahu is terrified that if Russia is pushed too hard in Ukraine, it will deepen its ties with Iran. Netanyahu is correct, but this doesn’t change the overall calculus in favor of Ukraine.
Russia’s cooperation with Iran will continue as it is pushed further and further from victory, just as its cooperation with China and North Korea is increasing. Still, Ukraine is much more important than Iran at this very moment. America should finish the job in Ukraine, rather than allowing Russia to win.
It is possible to disagree with Netanyahu on these matters of civilizational interest and not become an anti-Zionist or antisemite. I understand that is difficult for most people to understand.
Netanyahu prefers antisemites to Ukrainians.
Tucker Carlson, like Sacks, Musk, and Ramaswamy, has been critical of Israel. My argument isn’t that every individual in the neo-isolationist faction is slavishly pro-Israel — far from it. My argument is that their purpose, function, and strategy is to defund Ukraine so that Netanyahu can negotiate a Russian-Israeli isolation of Iran.
I have been accused of promoting a convoluted “4D chess” narrative, but it’s very simple. If there are 10 anti-Ukrainian activists, and 1 of them is part of a Netanyahu influence network, then my general argument is correct. We can quibble about the quantitative degree — is Netanyahu more influential than the Kremlin, or Beijing? Is it 1/10 or 6/10? That’s probably unknowable given the lengths to which these networks attempt to conceal their influence.
Russia has a long history of boosting American isolationism through the libertarian movement of Ron Paul and the leftism of Jill Stein. Netanyahu’s relationship with Putin means that he is attempting to placate Russia by boosting and amplifying “neo-isolationism.” This is the platform of JD Vance. Netanyahu has a long history of supporting and befriending antisemites. That’s why he can align Carlson, who platforms antisemites like Douglas McGregor.
Colonel MacGregor went on Tucker’s podcast to suggest that Victoria Nuland hates Russians because “these people have ancestors who came from that region of the world and have a permanent ax to grind with the Russians.” Tucker Carlson is also friends with Candace Owens, who disguises her antisemitism with code-words like “Frankists.”
None of this is new for Netanyahu. He is happy to “ride the wave” of antisemitism if it provides certain tactical advantages. In a grand sense, Netanyahu may feel that increasing antisemitism abroad is good for Israel, since it activates a Jewish instinct for self-preservation. When Americans come under attack, they unite around their leader, and Israelis, like all peoples, share that tendency. Netanyahu may cynically see value in antisemites like Carlson not just because they oppose Ukraine, but because antisemitism is good for Netanyahu’s particular brand of Zionism. Love him or hate him, you have to admire the cold logic.
carrot and stick.
Throughout this article, I have suggested that figures like Netanyahu, Peter Thiel, and Elon Musk have always been against the war in Ukraine. The reality might be more complicated. Palantir and Starlink have both provided services to Ukraine. How do we reconcile this support for Ukraine with the push now to defund Ukraine?
The key phrase is “carrot and stick.” By establishing a foothold in Ukraine and threatening Russia with an embarrassing debacle (Prigozhin, Kursk, mass emigration of high-skilled Russkiye), Musk and Thiel established the “stick.” Like the mafia, they promise to Putin that “we can make this all go away, if you just isolate Iran.” For Putin, Ukraine is essential, but Iran is actually an economic competitor in the oil market. If Iran is bombed into oblivion, that’s good for Gazprom.
Musk and Thiel have shifted their positions over time. Both figures are subject to external pressure, and their own sets of carrots and sticks. Just because Musk is the richest man in the world does not mean he is “independent from pressure.” His purchase of Twitter was dependent on foreign investors from Saudi Arabia who are highly interested in destroying Iran. Musk owes them.
I want to make it clear that Saudi Arabia has as much of an interest in isolating Iran as Israel does. Netanyahu is not the only one running an anti-Ukrainian campaign — there are dozens of foreign actors who stand to gain from Ukraine’s defeat and Iran’s isolation. But Netanyahu is a key part of the puzzle, due his relationship with efficacious and influential organizations like AIPAC, as well as his personal relationships with Miriam Adelson, Ben Shapiro, Peter Thiel, and Elon Musk.
Conclusion:
Netanyahu wants to isolate Iran. Iran’s greatest ally is Russia. If Russia were to cut ties with Iran, Iran would be surrounded on all sides by hostile powers. In order to achieve this, Netanyahu wants to make a trade: Russia gets a free hand in Ukraine, and in exchange, it abandons Iran.
But this isn’t a good deal for NATO, because Iran can wait, but Ukraine cannot. Musk, Ramaswamy, Vance, Thiel, and Sacks are all correct to critique neo-cons and warn that America should not fight two wars at once. But they are wrong to ignore the value of Ukraine in a larger struggle with China.
If America demands a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu may face prosecution, but Israel will survive. If Russia wins in Ukraine, then NATO will be thrown into chaos, and Germany may reestablish economic ties with Russia.
So far, Trump has been nominating both neo-cons and neo-isolationists. If I am wrong, then the neo-cons will successfully defeat Russia and Iran simultaneously. Great! But if Elon and I are right, then we should have chosen one war over the other. This two-front war strategy could potentially cost trillions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives, and lead to a global recession. I hope I’m wrong, but that’s my honest analysis.
If I were in Netanyahu’s position, I would follow his plan to a T. It is a very logical and well thought out plan. But Netanyahu’s strategy does not put NATO first. Those who seek a more globalized world under western hegemony should put the interests of NATO before Israel. Ukraine currently faces a greater existential threat than Israel.
Netanyahu is not Israel, nor is Israel the whole of the Jewish people. Disagreement with Netanyahu does not equate to support of Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, or Hitler. It is ridiculous to assert such things, especially when 76% of Israeli voters preferred someone other than Netanyahu in the last election.
Thank you for reading.
My first article ever published was on Israel, so this follow-up article has been a long time coming. I appreciate my critical commenters who fact-check me and help me learn and improve, rather than dismiss or malign.
There I go again, casually asserting that Elon bought the election without providing evidence. I could provide the evidence, but first I need you to post a comment calling me a conspiracy theorist, so I can respond with an essay. Spoiler alert: Twitter won the election, and it cost $44 billion.
I understand that Hamas had crazy maps to occupy Israel, but the attack was ultimately instigated by Iranian puppet-masters, not by Hamas acting independently.
This article started out really, really bad, and I was all set to write a comment about how shit it was, but it got better. However, you are obviously hoping that no-one notices you have changed your theory. Originally you argued that Bibi ‘has engineered a global campaign to dump Ukraine’ because he is competing for limited stores of foreign aid, and because he wants to prolong the Gaza war for his own incarceration status. This was rightly panned by all the commentators as (a) extremely implausible and (b) totally without evidence. (Your subsequent attempt to divert the discussion into allegations of antisemitism which, in fact, no-one made is low and beneath you).
In addition to moderating the extent to which Bibi is responsible for this global campaign (in blatant contradiction to your original article) you are now making an entirely different thesis, namely that Netanyahu wolud prefer western tensions with Russia to cool down in order to stem the trend towards closer relations between Russian and Iran. Now, this is actually a perfectly reasonable observation, and, in fact, this is clearly settled Israeli policy and not particularly associated with Netanyahu (Bennett clearly pursued this policy more aggressively). Thus all the blather about alleged links between Bibi and Candace Owens can really be dispensed with. I would make the following three observations:
(1) This is basically the same concept as the realist idea that the Russian-Ukraine war should be ended to stem the tide towards closer Russia-China relations.
(2) This is not, in fact, an anti-Ukraine policy. The war has to date killed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, and millions more have fled. The longer the war goes on, the less likely they are to return. Given Ukraine’s absolutely awful TFR, the war represents a genuine existential threat to the existence of Ukraine as a nation and country. This would be obvious to Ukrainians were it not for delusory nationalism (amplified by their average IQ of 90). Even so, war fever in Ukraine does seem to have died down significantly.
(3) Your preferred policy is massive increase of assistance to Ukraine from all NATO nations. This is not going to happen because no-one wants to do it. Ukraine is objectively not important to any of the member states of NATO except America, is not a real European country, and just isn’t worth the financial cost, let alone the risks of escalation. Poles and other Eastern Europeans with a more direct interest in combatting Russia don’t like Ukrainians, for obvious historical reasons, and are not going to risk their own interests for Ukraine. You can argue this is unwise because it only puts the inevitable conflagration of or whatever, but that is the reality. The only real options are (i) keep on with this war with devastating consequences for Ukraine or (ii) a negotiated settlement. The only people really emotionally invested in Ukraine are Anglo centrist Dad types and, even so, your escalationist views are shared by maybe 5% of the US population and no more than 10% of the defence establishment. Move on.
Other than that, there is a lot of crap in this article like screenshots that obviously don’t prove the point they are supposed to support. Presumably the goal of this is to exhaust and bewilder your audience so they give up and give you a pass on your original implausible and unsubstantiated assertion. But you don’t have to do this. You write too much, and this leads to inevitable quality control issues. You would be better off cutting the number of articles you write by 50%, editing them more, sitting on the for a few days, and sending them to a critical friend before you publish.
You are a jew???