Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger coined the famous aphorism that "Israel has no foreign policy, only domestic politics." In the half century since this insightful pronouncement, the situation has only deteriorated. Today, Israel is a state in disarray. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brought the lack of management and control to an art form of rare perfection. With the number of coronavirus infections breaking daily records, Israel is verging on anarchy.

The final nail in the coffin of Israeli governance was hammered in Sept. 7 when the chair of the Yisrael Beitenu party, Avigdor Liberman, called on Israelis to stop obeying government-issued instructions related to controlling the COVID-19 epidemic. “I call on the people to act in accordance with common sense and not in accordance with government guidelines,” Liberman said, accusing Netanyahu of having “sacrificed the public’s health for the health of his coalition, and therefore government decisions being made now are illegal.”

Following Liberman’s widely quoted remarks, Netanyahu sent an urgent letter to all the heads of the Knesset opposition factions (among them Liberman, Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid, Meretz party head Nitzan Horowitz and others), urging them to stop undermining the government. The lawmakers immediately fired back angry responses, calling on Netanyahu to step down and accept responsibility for the chaos.

Liberman’s exhortations reflect what appears to verge on a campaign of organized civil disobedience. The government of Israel and the project manager it appointed to deal with the spread of the coronavirus, Dr. Ronni Gamzu, are unable to come up with a publicly credible, organized response. Public trust in the government’s coronavirus-related decisions, motivations and performance has plunged to record lows. More than 65% of Israelis give Netanyahu’s handling of the country’s health and economic crisis a failing grade. Moreover, that is not all. The government has lost almost all ability to issue publicly acceptable instructions and to translate them into action. The prevailing sense is one of a free-for-all, of every man and woman for himself or herself.