He must be rolling around in his grave. The handful of ultra-Orthodox, to whom he gave indemnity from work and military service, have become a million. Presidents and Cabinet ministers have landed themselves in jail for rape, corruption, and nepotism. ‘Proteksia’ is Israel’s official religion and all of its streams agree. The Knesset and the High Court are locked in a battle to the death, and the Knesset is winning. We have lost Turkey. And hardly anyone has moved to the Negev. If he were not already dead, he would resign. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Shimon Peres
Israel’s existential threat crisis
I’m trying to make up my mind, you know, about ‘it’. Should I be worried about it, really worried about it, somewhat worried about it? Should I panic? Should I pack an emergency suitcase? Or is it not as serious as some people make it out to be?
As a Jew born into the generation of Jews who are lucky enough to have come back to our historical homeland – after 2,000 years of exile and horror – you can understand my anxiety when serious people tell me that Iran’s nuclear program threatens to put an end to this historic homecoming. Continue reading
Poll shows political backlash against religious
Once every couple of months, Israel Radio’s Thursday morning political talk show Hakol Diburim (It’s All Talk) publishes a poll by Shvakim Panorama that tests the political waters in Israel. This week’s poll, coming as it does on the backdrop of intense media coverage of ultra-Orthodox exclusion and abuse of women, is particularly interesting, as it predicts a dramatic wellspring of support for a secular party, should one arise. The poll predicts that should TV journalist Yair Lapid [son of the late Yosef Lapid – leader of the secularist Shinui party] decide to join the political fray and establish a secular party, he would win 15 Knesset seats and overtake both Kadima and Israel Beitenu. Lapid hasn’t stated what his intentions are yet, but this poll will surely give him pause to consider entering politics. However, he could also be thinking that, since elections are only scheduled to take place in October 2013, the country’s current preoccupation with religious extremism will be long gone by then, replaced with another burning issue. As Shimon Peres famously said: Polls are like perfume, sweet to the smell, but deadly to drink. Continue reading
What Peres has to say on Iran
President Shimon Peres today ruled out an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. He’s been speaking a lot lately in public about Iran. Here are a few choice quotes:
This year so far:
August 16: “Talk of a possible Israeli attack on Iran is not true. The solution to Iran is not military.”
August 13: “Sooner or later, the world will realize that Iran wishes to take over the Middle East, and that it has colonial ambitions.” Continue reading
What Peres really told the Iranian people
Presidents Barack Obama and Shimon Peres both addressed the Iranian people this week in broadcast messages in honor of the Iranian new year, Nowruz. Obama sent a video message that was widely received and spoke in a respectful, conciliatory tone of a “new beginning”. Peres’ message was broadcast to a narrow audience on Israel Radio’s Farsi Service and was less optimistic – calling on the Iranian people to choose a better leadership. The Israeli President’s message was different to Obama’s, and reflected the gloomy mood in the Jewish state. The differences in the messages reflects the wide gap between an American administration willing to give diplomacy with Iran a serious push, and an Israeli leader’s apprehension of a coming disaster. Continue reading
Reviving the Arab Peace Initiative
Seems there is a coordinated campaign to revive the Saudi Peace Plan, [AKA Arab Peace Initiative]. In what seems like a coordinated media blitz, several regional leaders and commentators have brought it up today.
First, there was Ehud Barak, who said on Army Radio this morning that Israel was seriously reconsidering the plan: “There is room in the Israeli coalition for the Saudi initiative,” he said. “We have a mutual interest with moderate Arab elements on the issues of Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.” Continue reading
The Chatter-Patter-O-Meter
Just sat in on the final panel of President Shimon Peres’ ‘Facing Tomorrow’ Conference, where Mr. Television Haim Yavin hosted Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Trade and Industry Minister Eli Yishai and opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu.
All four politicians were asked by the moderator to give a speech, lasting ten minutes, about what Israel means to them. Needless to say, each one used the opportunity to present what amounted to his/ her own electoral platform. Perhaps they are smelling elections in the air.
The speeches were void of any real headlines or news; just the fact that all four of them were on the stage together was interesting in itself. What I found more interesting however was the crowd’s reactions to each of the speakers. There were at least several thousand conference -goers in attendance, and I think many of them were tired and restless at the end of a very busy three-day conference.
Instead of dissecting what the speakers said, I thought I’d give you an observation of the level of chatter and patter by the audience members during the speeches as an indication of who was charismatic and who was not, who held the audience’s attention and who meandered and lost the crowd, which messages were welcomed and which missed the mark. I call the it chatter-and-patter-o-meter, from 1 [audience chatted amongst themselves very little and were absorbed by what the speaker was saying] to 5 [audience basically ignored the speaker and chatted and pattered away freely]. Continue reading
