News coming out today from the Prime Minister’s Office could lead one to believe that the atmosphere inside the most important and sensitive office in the country is on the chaotic side of late.
Firstly, the sensational story about alleged harrassment by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau chief Nathan Eshel. Continue reading
Will the Israeli silent majority vote in larger numbers in the next general elections than they have in previous elections?
There are signs that it may. Over the past year, it is the silent majority, and specifically, those who consider themselves centrists in their political and economic outlook, which has been most heavily involved in three public campaigns that seem to have shaken it awake from its political slumber. Continue reading
Legislation to bend the legal establishment to the will of politicians; legislation against left-wing NGO funding; laws mandating loyalty oaths, fines against boycotts, increasing the minimum fine against libel, enforcing noise pollution on mosque muezzins, and much, much more.
What’s behind this ‘Assault on Democracy,’ this rush of legislation from the ruling coalition and its satellite parties? Why are young Likud legislators working overtime on changing the nature of the state? On the one hand we want our lawmakers to make laws, but on the other hand, many are alarmed at the rate of the laws being proposed, as well as their content. Continue reading
What’s in store for Israel in 2012?
Will Israel attack Iran’s nuclear facilities? And will the attack succeed? What will Iran’s retaliation look like? Will there be Knesset elections in Israel, and what effect will this past summer’s social protests have on the country’s political landscape? What will become of Egypt and Syria, Israel’s large and unstable neighbors? What of the peace process with the Palestinians, now that Hamas and Fatah seem to be moving closer to a unity government? What of the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Sinai – a badlands awash with weapons, terrorists, and economic migrants? And who will win the US Presidential elections towards the end of the year, and how big a part will Israel ultimately play in the campaigns of both Republicans and Democrats?
So many questions and possibilities present themselves in the coming year. Here are some trends I believe are worth looking out for in the coming year. Continue reading
Some thoughts on the situation
1. Silvan Shalom, the Likud’s number 2 man, had no idea that PM Netanyahu was planning to bring forward the Likud primaries date. He was caught completely by surprise. And just for that, he doesn’t deserve to be Likud leader. In this profession, and in this neighborhood, if you’re not constantly trying to politically or militarily outmaneuver your opponents, chances are they will get you. The wolf and the sheep have not laid down together yet here. If Shalom doesn’t know that by now, he’ll never know it, and he can’t lead the Likud, or this country. Continue reading
In case you didn’t know already, here is a reminder of what’s really stopping peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Continue reading
Some thoughts on the situation.
1. Arab Israeli Member of Knesset Dr. Ahmed Tibi traveled to NY with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, to advise him during his bid for statehood. Tibi stayed with the Palestinian delegation at an expensive hotel in NY. Tibi even sat with the Palestinian delegation at the General Assembly hall. The Knesset allows its members a budget for “outreach with the voters.” Obviously, this budget comes from Israeli taxpayers. So which voters am I paying for Tibi to reach out to? Continue reading
The government has set up its committee of experts to address the demands of the social justice protestors. No mandate or parameters have been publicized yet. Probably because there are none. Continue reading
Reacting to Prime Minister Binyamin Nentanyahu’s statement over the weekend that Israel would begin to withdraw the special privileges that Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails receive, Hamas’ Gaza spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri made what must be the most ironic, absurd, and maddening statement I have heard from a terror group for, well, maybe ever; and wins this month’s “Terrorist quote of the month”:
“It is a violation of international and humanitarian law. The international community must intervene as it is a blatant attempt on Netanyahu’s part to cover up his failure to achieve a prisoner exchange deal.” Continue reading
The two coin-operated black-leather massage couches, the kind that you sit in and relax while the little motorized balls inside the leather work their way up your leg muscles and into your back and back down again, should have been working overtime. But none of the 1200 Labor Party convention delegates packed into the smoke-filled cafeteria at the Tel Aviv Convention Center on Tuesday had any time for a 5-minute massage.
The last time the Labor delegates convened two months before the general elections in November was over a simple vote on internal party rules and procedures. This time they were deciding Labor’s future. Sitting around cafeteria tables, the conversations were about how Labor’s anti-coalition MKs would behave after they lost Tuesday’s vote, whether they would split the party, whether the party itself had any future, and, which jobs would be given to which ministers and MKs. Continue reading
The job that frontrunners Tzipi Livni and Binyamin Netanyahu are vying for today has to be the most difficult, high pressurized job on the planet. Ahead of Israel’s fifth general elections in ten years, one wonders what kind of person would actually want to be Israeli Prime Minister.
The person in that job carries on his or her shoulders the fate of a good part of the Jewish people — no more, no less. It’s a job in which miscalculations, even honest, well meaning ones, can lead to the loss of many of lives. It means having to withstand huge pressures from abroad, and relentless machinations and complaints from within. It means trying to rule unruly Jews — something that even tested the patience of a Moses. Continue reading
New year, new war.
Some observations:
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is taking the most aggressive approach to Hamas this time round, rejecting ceasefire proposals and saying that when she wins the general elections and becomes Prime Minister, she’ll destroy Hamas. Livni is trying to take moderate voters away from the Likud who may be worried that Netanyahu’s party is too right wing. Livni’s talking tough because a) she is tough [her family hail from pre-state Jewish underground groups] and b) Kadima is lagging in the polls behind Likud, so taking a hard line stance on Hamas should endear her to many on the right. This election will be decided by about 8-10 percent floating voters, most of them to be had between Kadima and Likud. Continue reading
The political scene is buzzing today as the Likud announced that former Science Minister Benny Begin, the son of the late Likud leader Menahem Begin, would be making his comeback to politics and rejoining the Likud.
Shunning preferential treatment, Begin apparently did not ask for a slot on the Likud list to be reserved for him, preferring instead to campaign in the upcoming primaries. This decision fits in neatly with Begin’s image as an old-school, clean-cut incorruptible politician, the man who took the bus to work at the Knesset, and not a government Volvo. Continue reading
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that his government considers the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa as an inseparable part of Israel and will continue to build there. This comes just a few days before US Vice President Dick Cheney’s arrival. America sees continued building in the settlements and East Jerusalem as an obstacle to peace, and Cheney will definitely make that point when he arrives Saturday. So why is Olmert seemingly picking a fight with the US Vice President?
I think Olmert has found himself in a position in which he has to keep Shas inside the coalition in order for him to survive politically. Nothing else seems to be sticking: Annapolis [the sides are talking but nobody really expects a deal either side can implement]; electoral reform [nothing serious moving here]. Poll show that if general elections were held now, Olmert would lose and Kadima would crash. Now Shas is not monolithic, contrary to popular belief, with Yishai pulling out of the government and Attias trying to stay in. The real question is what Ovadia thinks, and Ovadia and Olmert are tight.
To keep Shas in, Olmert has to give them gifts, and keep on giving, like permits for haredi housing, cheap housing because many haredim don’t work, and where do you get cheap housing? Over the green line.
The way I see it Olmert is stuck between a hard place [an implacable Shas] and two very fast moving rocks [the Labor party and the US administration] to stop pandering to Shas and start getting serious about Abbas.
A clash is inevitable, unless Bush, Condi, Cheney find some sort of formula that gives Olmert some leeway so that he can stay in power for now. I guess that’s what Cheney is coming for. Bibi winning an election within the next year will destroy any chance of Bush-Condi achieving even the slightest success in the middle east policy – and no legacy.
What to look out for is how much rope they Americans are going to give Olmert; how much do they think Bibi is a threat [polls show him winning big here]; and if Bibi himself is sending any messages to the US administration about his views for a peace process with the Palestinians.
