Netanyahu’s ‘Super-Sparta’: a flawed analogy with dangerous implications

Hours before launching a ground offensive against Gaza City on Tuesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu shocked Israelis by warning that Israel may soon be forced to become a globally isolated “super-Sparta” with “autarkic features” — meaning little or no engagement with international trade.

“We will increasingly have to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics. It’s a word I hate. I’m a proponent of the free market. I worked to bring Israel a free market revolution, but we could find ourselves in a situation where our weapons industries are blocked. We will have to develop weapons industries here. We will have to be Athens and a super-Sparta.”

In his speech on Monday, at a Finance Ministry conference, Netanyahu blamed foreigners for Israel’s growing isolation, which he described as a siege organised by a few states. “One is China, and the other is Qatar. And they are organising an attack on Israel’s legitimacy in the social media of the Western world and the United States,” he said. To the west, he added, the threat was different but equally dangerous. “Western Europe has large Islamist minorities. They’re vocal. Many of them are politically motivated. They align with Hamas, they align with Iran,” Netanyahu declared.

“They pressure the governments of Western Europe, many of whom are kindly disposed to Israel, but they see they are being overtaken by campaigns of violent protest and constant intimidation,” he added, referring mainly to the UK and France.

The future the prime minister laid out for Israel — a more militarised society, a partial autarky with limited trade options, relying on homemade production — has stirred backlash among Israelis increasingly uneasy at the prospect of becoming a pariah state.