So dominant have the rabbis become that Gadi Eisenkott, the military chief of staff, called last week for their role to be curbed.
In Israeli cultural life, Palestinians appear only as an enemy. Two shows offering a rare insight into life under occupation face closure by the government. Critics, including Mr Bennett, of one play -- about Palestinian political prisoners -- object precisely because it humanizes its subjects.
In the political arena, the ever-present bogeyman is the Palestinian, Arab or Iranian.
The Knesset's Arab MPs, even moderates, are barely tolerated, while the occupation is pushed into the political shadows. Last week the parliament refused a debate to mark the 48th anniversary of the 1967 war.
Regional political disputes center on how Israel should achieve military supremacy. Should Israel attack Iran alone or lobby the US to do it instead? How can Israel best destroy Hizbollah and its tens of thousands of rockets aimed at Israel's heartland? All but a tiny left is agreed that a Palestinian state would be an existential danger.
In this world of perpetual fear, Arabs and Iranians are viewed only as distant and dangerous objects, not people. And in the world of worst possibilities, Mr Netanyahu is king.
But Israel's enemies are changing. Where once it fought Arab states, now its tanks and attack helicopters struggle against the guerrilla tactics of Hamas and Hizbollah.
That same heavy artillery will provide even less protection against Israel's next opponents: civil disobedience, an anti-apartheid struggle, international boycotts and war crimes investigations. Then Mr Netanyahu may truly have reason to be afraid.
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