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There are moments – and in Israel quite a few – when cynicism turns into collective psychosis. We are living one of those moments right now. The fantasy is like that of a Hollywood film: A poisonous regime falls, people festoon tanks with flowers and flags are raised in the name of American freedom.

As to the reality, recall Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and virtually every other country that the United States has entangled itself with or without Israel urging it on.

The image of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as knights on white horses persists. Yet, against the backdrop of [corruption and unbridled power](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-politics/2026-03-05/ty-article/.premium/trump-israels-herzog-a-disgrace-for-not-pardoning-netanyahu-amid-iran-war/0000019c-bf1b-d600-a9be-bfbb362b0000), at least in the case of Netanyahu, adopting the democratic pose is grotesque at best.

The last war with Iran, less than a year ago, was said to be aimed at removing the nuclear threat, which seemed to have been hailed as a total victory after 12 days of fighting.

And yet, without any formal announcement, we're now engaged in another war and one with a new paradigm: Suddenly, it's no longer about Iran's nuclear capabilities but about regime change to one friendlier to the West. We know how well such schemes have worked in the past.

If we were to judge things by what is being said in Israeli television studios and in the Israeli street, the country is in the midst of a humanitarian, if not divine, mission.

It's a war to save Iranian women and aid the amazing people in Iran (the exiled opposition in the West). Suddenly, every taxi driver, every TikToker and social media influencer is concerned about Iranian human rights.

And this is at a time when in the West Bank, good Jews are murdering unarmed Palestinians, expelling them, burning their homes and stealing their herds. And in Israel? Silence. It's truly astonishing how Israelis can identify cruel, evil regimes, but not just their own evil regime.

Here's the really cynical point: Israelis really believe that Israel and the United States are fighting for democracy, freedom and human rights in Iran, and in the Middle East in general. But if human rights were their guiding principle, the state of affairs would not be as it is in the West Bank, and the Gaza war would not have reached the dimensions of genocide.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other tyrannical regimes that repress their people no less than the ayatollahs would not be their allies. Israeli arms would not be seen in the civil wars that have occurred in South Sudan, Rwanda and Myanmar. The long arm of Israel would not be present wherever there is regional instability or genocide in Africa.

Democracy, however, is a malleable currency when it meets interests. And if that weren't enough, an atmosphere of euphoria and joy pervades the war. War is supposed to cause fear, anguish and existential anxiety, but in Israel, the talk is only of resilience (!) and the air is filled with hubris, a lot of it. The broadcasters are part of the carnival – there's no criticism, there's almost no shred of doubt.

In the bomb shelters in Israel, people are holding parties with wine and alcohol. I have never seen people celebrate their wars the way Israelis like to show the world. Social media posts joke amid photos of shelling in Iran and images of Khamenei and Nasrallah hugging each other in the heavens. Everything is vulgar, crude and numbing.

Another eternal war that Israel is embarking on, against enemies that it says threaten to destroy it. Along the way, Israel is carrying out its own destruction, over and over again, everywhere. The main thing is to do it happily.

It's astonishing how Israelis can identify evil regimes, but just not their own