Too many fingers, not enough pies

We are seeing clips of a self-satisfied Netanyahu ridiculing Ehud Olmert from the podium of the Knesset in 2006 for wasting taxpayer money with a government inflated with useless ministerial appointments. Now, having appointed a government some 30 percent larger than Olmert's, Netanyahu is saying it's the price the public must pay for having voted the way it did in the recent election.
 
Not necessarily.
 
If Netanyahu had brought Kadima and Labor into his government with the Likud, he would not have had to invent appointments to satisfy claimants in his own party, after passing out so many goodies to all the other smaller parties he needed for a Knesset majority.

Read the rest of this post   |  Comments (1)

Netanyahu's coalition: A test of faith... and patience

European Union officials have threatened the prospective government of Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu with serious consequences should Israel abandon the idea of a two-state solution: Palestine alongside Israel. The warning is vague, perhaps reflecting views that the Palestinians are not ready for a real place in the sun. A Palestinian official has chimed in, adding to Europe's specifications. He says Israel must recognize a Palestinian state with the borders of 1967.

Netanyahu has not ruled out a Palestinian state. He has said the Palestinians must demonstrate a capacity to govern themselves. Better than working immediately toward a state, in his view, is economic enhancement that gives the Palestinians a reason to be patient with whatever steps evolve toward their future.

Prominent among those who quarrel with that approach are international figures who cannot stand to have their mantra challenged for first place on the agenda. They adhere to the slogan of a "two-state solution" despite the dismal character of Palestinian authorities in the West Bank, and the reprehensible character of those in Gaza. 

The shape of things to come

Israel's election took place on February 10, and the results were known the next day. 

Remember that the Likud won fewer seats than Kadima, but President Shimon Peres, along with much of the population, concluded that the Likud would have a better chance of putting together a coalition that would get the support of a Knesset majority. So far, agreements have been reached with Israel Beiteinu, Labor, Shas and Habayit Hayehudi. Together with the Likud, they amount to 69 seats, a clear majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Negotiations continue with United Torah Judaism and National Unity.

Some Labor MKs may be angry enough with party leader Ehud Barak for joining Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu's government that they will not support the coalition. Some members of the Likud may be angry enough with Netanyahu for giving away prized appointments that their support will be tepid. Individual Likud MKs may work subtly - or not so subtly - to undermine Netanyahu in the hope an early election can be brought about.

Persuasion, perspective and public relations

Israel has an image problem.
 
It has worsened due to Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, a foreign minister-designate percieved by many as a bigot and a prime minister-designate who speaks out against what is widely held to be the key to peace in the region - the idea of a Palestinian state.
 
EU  foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said Europe would reconsider its relationship with Israel if it did not remain committed to establishing a Palestinian state.
 
Israeli officials are worrying about a leftward tilt in the American administration. Liberal Jewish Democrats are unhappy with what they saw in Gaza, and what they see in the new government.

The grass isn't greener on Hamas's side of the fence

Marathon efforts to free captive Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit have failed. According to Israel, Hamas hardened its conditions and withdrew concessions they had accepted earlier.

Perhaps the campaign mounted by the Schalit family backfired. The indications of wide support among Israelis for freeing prisoners "with blood on their hands" may have led Hamas to refuse compromise, or even to increase their demands. Hamas denies those charges however,  and blames Israel for the failure of negotiations.

Gilad's father Noam Schalit blames Olmert.

Read the rest of this post   |  Comments (2)

When you think Bush, think Bibi

Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu has not announced the details of his new government. He is keeping himself, as well as the rest of us, on the edge of our seats. Commentators are saying  he isn't happy with what is taking shape. Neither are a lot of ordinary folks.
 
There are parallels with the experiences of our American friends, just exiting from eight years under George Bush and Dick Cheney during which religious fundamentalists led the cheers.
 
When you think of Bush, think of Bibi. Both talk in simple and attractive sentences - perhaps too simple to be real.
 
When you think of Cheney, think of Israel Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman: powers not too far from those of the throne, viewed with fear and trembling.

Read the rest of this post   |  Comments (6)

'In your face' politics

Read the rest of this post   |  Comments (5)

Peace is not on the horizon

Pardon my cynicism, but the continued, new, or renewed insistence of the United States, European governments, some Israelis and other hangers-on to pursue negotiations with Palestinians, Syrians and Iranians strike me as the playthings of children. Think of the performances that elementary school children give for their parents. Aren't they all cute?
 
Lip service is another appropriate metaphor.
 
One must aspire to peace, and go through appropriate motions. Correct political aspirations demand it.
 
Don't hold your breath waiting for positive results.
 
Why these damning predictions about the efforts of numerous worthies from credible countries, who otherwise do much good for their own citizens and the world at large?

Read the rest of this post   |  Comments (4)

The electorate moves right

The campaign for the election of February 10 is far enough along to risk some commentary.
 
Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud is holding a lead with a projected 28-30 seats in the Knesset; Tzipi Livni's Kadima cannot seem to rise above 21-24 seats; and Ehud Barak's Labor is stuck in the range of 15-17 seats.
 
There are 120 seats in the Knesset. Kadima currently has 29 seats, Likud 12 seats, and Labor 18.
 
Reinforcing the polls were phone-in responses to the three leading candidates' appearance on television. Netanyahu came in first, Livni second, and Barak third. A query on a popular web site found 73 percent of 44,000 respondents indicating that they would not vote for Livni.

Labor's death throes

The once mighty Israel Labor Party has descended into a deep crisis, and may even be twitching in its final moments. It led the Jewish community of Palestine and then Israel unchallenged from before statehood until the election of 1977. It came as close as any party to winning an absolute majority in a national election when it gained 56 seats in the 120 member Knesset chosen in 1969.
 
Latest polls show it winning as few as seven or even six seats in the coming election. There are conversations that could join what remains of Labor with the Kadima party. The party may go the way of the Wachovia Bank, that is also poised to disappear into a merger meant to save something from annihilation.