Netanyahu's 'Super-Sparta' gamble
I worry this vision will hollow out Israel's society from within. How can you sustain a 'permanent war' footing without sacrificing education, health, and your own people's well-being?
Israel’s permanent state of war comes with economic, social costs
JERUSALEM: The enormous costs of Israel’s multi-front war and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s determination to turn his country into a “super-Sparta” of the Middle East are driving up the defense budget and raising fears of cutbacks in education and health care. The total cost of the series of interconnected regional conflicts that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 stood at 405 billion shekels ($138 billion) as of late April, according to the governor of the Bank of Israel, Amir Yaron.