Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated their country will have to become more self-reliant, arguing they will need to turn into a “super-Sparta”.
Netanyahu made the comparison on Monday after claiming the country is facing increasing isolation (particularly economically) on the world stage, citing Sparta as an example they will have to follow in the years to come.
The Israeli PM’s comments come in the wake of European countries calling for arms embargoes and sanctions against Israel during the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Israel is in a sort of isolation,” Netanyahu said at a conference of the Finance Ministry’s accountant general in Jerusalem.
“We will increasingly need to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics.”
He noted they could find themselves in a position where their arms industries are blocked, saying:
“We will need to develop arms industries here — not only research and development, but also the ability to produce what we need.”
Netanyahu added that Israel would be “Athens and super-Sparta” in this context.
“There’s no choice; in the coming years, at least, we will have to deal with these attempts to isolate us.”
The Israeli PM claimed that demographic changes in Europe as a result of immigration from Muslim-majority countries and the influence of anti-Israel actors on digital platforms (naming China and Qatar as examples) have helped foster anti-Israeli sentiments since the escalation in the war with Gaza in October 2023.
Netanyahu’s comments drew the fire of the political opposition and industry groups in Israel.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid stated:
“Isolation is not fate. It’s a product of a wrongheaded and failed policy by Netanyahu and his government, who have turned Israel into a third-world country, and aren’t even trying to change the situation.”
However, he said, Israel’s longstanding security challenges have been replaced by new diplomatic issues, which, he said, were long-maturing, but have come to the surface since the war’s start.
The Democrats chair Yair Golan added his own comment in disapproval of Netanyahu’s remarks, saying “this year, we will replace you and save Israel.”
Gadi Eisenkot, the former member of Netanyahu’s war government who recently left the National Unity party, noted:
“If the prime minister doesn’t know how to fix the situation, then he should turn over the keys and return his mandate to the people, immediately.”
