In an interview published by Zo HaDerech, Knesset Member Ofer Cassif (Hadash–Communist Party of Israel) issued one of his sharpest denunciations yet of Israel’s political direction. With uncompromising clarity, Cassif accused the government of orchestrating genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and erecting what he calls a fascist regime within Israel itself.
Far from being isolated crimes or tragic mistakes, he argued, these are the pillars of a calculated plan that has been years in the making—one that aims to secure permanent domination over Palestinians while dismantling democracy for Jews and Arabs alike.
Cassif traced this trajectory back to what is known as the “Determination Plan,” first articulated by far-right Minister Bezalel Smotrich in 2017. According to Cassif, the plan has two intertwined “legs”: the first is the internal regime coup, a transformation of Israel into a dictatorship grounded in Jewish supremacy; the second is the violent elimination of Palestinian national aspirations through military conquest, forced displacement, and mass death. In his view, October 7 did not create this reality but served as a pretext for accelerating it. “The genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank are not accidents of war—they are policy,” Cassif declared.
For Cassif, the issue is not whether Israel still holds elections or maintains the appearance of parliamentary procedure. He insists that half the people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean are excluded from meaningful rights, and that what exists now is closer to fascism than any kind of democracy. He points to the intensification of militarism, the cult of leadership around Netanyahu, and the silencing of parliamentary dissent as unmistakable signs. In this climate, opposition voices like his own have been targeted with suspensions, censorship, and a systematic campaign of delegitimization. Yet Cassif refuses to be intimidated.
The MK called on progressive forces to unite into what he described as a “historic bloc” against fascism and genocide. This bloc, he envisions, would bring together Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, communists, conscientious objectors, the progressive religious left, and marginalized Mizrahi communities—all those who suffer most under the policies of the current regime. He insists that the struggle cannot be surrendered to despair or fatalism: “No revolutionary movement has ever declared its society lost. Resistance is our duty.”
Resistance, he emphasized, must be waged on two fronts: inside the country and internationally. Domestically, Cassif advocates non-violent civil disobedience, protests, and the mobilization of every democratic mechanism still available. Internationally, he welcomes sanctions and boycotts against Israel as long as its genocidal policies continue. He is clear that such measures are not antisemitic but essential for stopping mass crimes and saving both peoples from catastrophe. Short-term costs, he argues, are nothing compared to the long-term survival of democracy and peace.
Cassif situates his demands in both the immediate and the historic. Urgent steps, he says, must include an end to the war in Gaza, the safe return of abductees, the release of prisoners, and a halt to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. But beyond these goals lies his vision for a different future: one of repair, peace, and justice, where both peoples live as equals and the structures of oppression are dismantled. Israel, he warns, has crossed from an “ethnocracy” into outright dictatorship; without decisive resistance, the descent will only deepen.
The message of Ofer Cassif is unmistakable. He is not merely critiquing policy but naming the system itself as criminal, genocidal, and fascist. His words are a rallying cry to those who refuse to normalize the destruction unfolding before their eyes. In a moment when silence is complicity, Cassif calls for rebellion—non-violent, democratic, and unyielding—against a regime that thrives on fear, nationalism, and death. For the establishment, his intervention is a threat; for the forces of liberation, it is a call to arms.
For Cassif, the issue is not whether Israel still holds elections or maintains the appearance of parliamentary procedure. He insists that half the people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean are excluded from meaningful rights, and that what exists now is closer to fascism than any kind of democracy. He points to the intensification of militarism, the cult of leadership around Netanyahu, and the silencing of parliamentary dissent as unmistakable signs. In this climate, opposition voices like his own have been targeted with suspensions, censorship, and a systematic campaign of delegitimization. Yet Cassif refuses to be intimidated.
The MK called on progressive forces to unite into what he described as a “historic bloc” against fascism and genocide. This bloc, he envisions, would bring together Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, communists, conscientious objectors, the progressive religious left, and marginalized Mizrahi communities—all those who suffer most under the policies of the current regime. He insists that the struggle cannot be surrendered to despair or fatalism: “No revolutionary movement has ever declared its society lost. Resistance is our duty.”
Resistance, he emphasized, must be waged on two fronts: inside the country and internationally. Domestically, Cassif advocates non-violent civil disobedience, protests, and the mobilization of every democratic mechanism still available. Internationally, he welcomes sanctions and boycotts against Israel as long as its genocidal policies continue. He is clear that such measures are not antisemitic but essential for stopping mass crimes and saving both peoples from catastrophe. Short-term costs, he argues, are nothing compared to the long-term survival of democracy and peace.
Cassif situates his demands in both the immediate and the historic. Urgent steps, he says, must include an end to the war in Gaza, the safe return of abductees, the release of prisoners, and a halt to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. But beyond these goals lies his vision for a different future: one of repair, peace, and justice, where both peoples live as equals and the structures of oppression are dismantled. Israel, he warns, has crossed from an “ethnocracy” into outright dictatorship; without decisive resistance, the descent will only deepen.
The message of Ofer Cassif is unmistakable. He is not merely critiquing policy but naming the system itself as criminal, genocidal, and fascist. His words are a rallying cry to those who refuse to normalize the destruction unfolding before their eyes. In a moment when silence is complicity, Cassif calls for rebellion—non-violent, democratic, and unyielding—against a regime that thrives on fear, nationalism, and death. For the establishment, his intervention is a threat; for the forces of liberation, it is a call to arms.
