The one thing that humanity can agree on today is that we are living in a world of constant chaos where the norms that guided the conduct of nations in the aftermath of World War II until recently seem to have totally evaporated.
However, while we may agree that this is indeed the case, how did this happen? Did we all simply wake up one day and realize that everything had changed for the worse? That’s what we took for granted when it comes to how nations deal with each other, simply morphing into chaos overnight?
I think not. An examination of the cause of the chaos in which humanity now finds itself points to the worldwide rise of agents of chaos, individuals who, by their actions, whether intentionally or otherwise, act as the catalysts that unleash chaos. Such individuals exist throughout the world and seem very much at the core of the chaotic situation in which we find ourselves.
Here in Israel, we were unwilling spectators earlier this week, during the 50th birthday party of our National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, where his group’s birthday cake and a smaller one presented to him by his wife, were each adorned by a golden noose.
Clearly, the noose was not meant for him but rather to demonstrate his desire to see large segments of the population of Israel eliminated from the land. This is not to say he wants all of Israel’s perceived enemies as he defines them hung, but rather to symbolize his desire to see them no longer here, whatever that may mean.
As such, he is clearly an agent of chaos, given that by his posturing and his actions, he aims to undermine the democratic nature of the State of Israel.
On the other side of the Atlantic, last week, US influencer Tucker Carlson sat for a long, 111-minute interview with The New York Times investigative reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro, who traveled to Tucker’s home in Maine to hear what he really thinks.
While the interview is painful to watch, it does give one insight into the scary mind of someone who has had direct access to US President Trump for more than 10 years and to whom the US president gave his ear.
Carlson at one point opined that he believes US Senator Ted Cruz and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are “more morally repulsive than Nick Fuentes,” a known antisemite and holocaust denier about whom Carlson pointed out when challenged that, yes, “he said something naughty that I disagreed with.”
That was probably the first time that anyone ever referred to the lies of an antisemite as “naughty,” but that’s typical Tucker Carlson. He just throws out these statements, wanting to see where they will fall, unconcerned about their effect and seeming to revel in his role as an agent of chaos.
Sadly, Tucker Carlson is not alone as an online agent of chaos. He is joined in the US by the likes of Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, Laura Loomer, Joe Rogan, and, of course, pure antisemites like Nick Fuentes.
Truth be told, Trump is also an inveterate agent of chaos. While he has done some very good things for us here in Israel, and I give him full credit for those, his operational strategy seems, time and time again, to be based on creating chaos.
The current war with Iran is a good example. For sure, it was and remains imperative that Iran be prevented from developing a nuclear weapon.
If a joint US-Israel attack to make that happen was the only way to achieve the desired result, so be it.
However, clearly, there was no well-thought-out plan on the part of the US that would govern what happens after all of Iran’s defensive capabilities are destroyed. Instead, there is constant waffling on the president’s part from intending to destroy a civilization to blockading the Iranian blockade with a US blockade, and on and on.
Each day is a different pronouncement, adding to the chaos, with the war now in its third month, and with no reasonable resolution in sight. Sowing chaos may well be the intended strategy, but for the rest of us, the president becomes yet another of the world’s agents of chaos.
Of course, every terrorist group in the world is being led by one or more agents of chaos as well. Whether Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis in Yemen, or the mullahs in Iran, if we look just at our little corner of the world, all the leaders of these groups qualify as people dedicated to creating chaos worldwide.
Given all of this, what choice do we have, those of us who are negatively affected by these agents of chaos and their depravity? What are our options? We could start by “turning our backs” on these people, literally when in proximate physical space, literally at the voting booth when there are elections, and virtually whenever there is an opportunity to do so. Agents of chaos should be the ones who are given no quarter by the public whenever the opportunity arises.
At one point in the movie, The Joker, the Joker says he says: “Introduce a little anarchy, upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!” Frankly, no, it is not fair.
It is disruptive, destructive, and disgusting… ”fair” is the one word in the English language that does not apply at all to sowing chaos. We need to call it out whenever we see it and stop our collective support for those who choose to be agents of chaos.
The writer, a 42-year resident of Jerusalem, is a former national president of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, a past chairperson of the board of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and a board member of the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM).