Election update

By Ted Belman

DanonYesterday I was interviewed on the Zelda Young Show broadcasting out of Toronto (a weekly gig for me) and I was asked to comment on the elections. I expressed the opinion that the Left is greatly concerned with Israel’s growing isolation and with potential rupture with our relationship with the US. They are willing to accept ’67 lines plus swaps as borders as a result.

The right on the other hand is adamantly opposed to such borders and is unwilling to cede Judea and Samaria for many reasons, not the least of which is security. They are ready to take the heat as the lesser danger.

Contrary to the polls I have read lately showing about 15-17 seats for Bayit Yehudi, they say that they are polling in the low to mid twenties.

Last night I attending a parlour meeting at which Danny Danon was the speaker. Upon hearing his remarks, I was very depressed. Evidently Likud is very split ideologically. The policies they followed in the last 6 years are policies insisted upon by the left wing in their party including Netanyahu. These policies include “quiet for quiet”, pursuit of the two-state solution and acceptance of a building freeze in J&S and even in Jerusalem.

The policies of Feiglin and Danon are not supported by the majority. He didn’t use these words to describe the situation but I think that was his drift. He said we have a lot to learn meaning that the majority still support a TSS. I thought, why would anyone want to vote for a divided party that can’t agree on the most fundamental things.

Danon mentioned that this was all contrary to the platform of Likud that is against the TSS. He said for this reason Netanyahu and Likud in the last election didn’t underscore the platform and ran on other issues. Danon objected to how Netanyahu was prosecuting the war last summer and as a result was kicked out of the cabinet. Good for him but he didn’t make the settlement freeze his redline.

To be fair, neither did Naftali Bennett who stayed in the government notwithstanding the freeze.
Bayit Yehudi has an opportunity here for gaining many more seats if they adopt policies which stipulate no Palestine and no freeze. Likud has left the door wide open. We have yet to see whether and to what extent they make this a promise.

I talked to a senior well respected political figure to the right of Bennett and he expressed the opinion that Bennett is not much different from Bibi. That is because he went along with the freeze and wants to build up the Arabs economically.

MK Elazar Stern, Hutnua, complained:

He also estimated that Bayit Yehudi would not put much emphasis on retaining control of the Religious Services Ministry in coalition negotiations if the haredi political parties demand it as part of the price for them to join the government.

Although Tekuma agreed to run on a joint list again with Bayit Yehudi, senior rabbis from the more religiously conservative wing of the national religious sector, such as Rabbis Dov Lior and Elyakim Levanon are likely to back MK Eli Yishai’s new party, Ha’am Itanu.

Tekuma chairman Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel also backed joining Yishai but the party’s central committee voted to stick with Bayit Yehudi.

Stern said if these figures do end up backing Yishai, they will effectively secure Knesset representatives in both Bayit Yehudi and Ha’am Itanu, especially given the four spots now reserved for Tekuma in the top 18 spots on the Bayit Yehudi electoral list.

“If they [the rabbis] come out in support of Eli Yishai they are likely to profit at both ends, they’ll have their representatives in Bayit Yehudi, and they’ll ensure that their voters will back Yishai, and they’ll have both him and Uri Ariel,” the Hatnua MK said.

“The spirit of Rabbi Dov Lior will rest upon them,” he continued, adding that voters from the conservative national haredi sector could vote for Ha’am Itanu safe in the knowledge that Tekuma candidates in Bayit Yehudi have guaranteed reserve spots on the list.

A Bayit Yehudi party source rejected, however, the claim that Lior, Levanon and others would have increased influence in the next Knesset within two different political factions, describing the idea as a conspiracy theory.

“Tekuma will have only two out of the top 13 spots, and just four out of the top 18, which is a big change from the current situation of four out of 12,” he said. Bayit Yehudi is generally polling in the mid-to high-20s.

“Uri Ariel wanted to jump ship to Yishai’s party because he realized his influence was being diluted, and that Tekuma’s role would be reduced within Bayit Yehudi in the next party.”

The source also said there were senior rabbis in the sector who would still back Tekuma, and that their followers, as well as the popularity in the community of Tekuma MK Orit Struck would mean that a majority of the sector still ended up voting for Bayit Yehudi.

December 23, 2014 | 33 Comments »

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  1. M Devolin it is telling that your imagery always revolve around dogs but it is my experience that dogs if not mistreated by humans are much cleaner in their habits than is your mouth

  2. “To create the Israeli RT is my hope.”

    Quigley, nobody gives a shit about your hope. I care more for the stray dog I can see right now taking a shit on the snowbank outside my window. And it is incumbent upon no blogger here, and especially not Mr. Ross, to give you any sort of explanation for their views, you f–king Trotskyite parasite. The Jews and the State of Israel do not need your advice. Period. You’re like a European hockey player pretending he won’t get hurt playing Canadian/American style hockey. You and your inane ideas simply don’t fit in, are totally impracticable. So bugger off, you pronoid, self-embellished communist hack.

  3. “The vast majority of media in the US and West do not know more than superficial things about Israel, the middle east and the conflict. So reliance on this media means get partial and inaccurate information.”

    Well said, Bear Klein. And I would like to add that the history these media present is incomplete and biased.

  4. ronnutter, avoid Quigley like the plague. Better you find an eyelid growing on your asshole than you fall in with Quigley.

  5. @ Justin: The vast majority of media in the US and West do not know more than superficial things about Israel, the middle east and the conflict. So reliance on this media means get partial and inaccurate information.

  6. Bernard if you read what I wrote I am saying Israel should be at the head of struggle to defend Christians and minorities against IS and jihad. To create the Israeli RT is my hope. I mean not SOLELY observing events but acting in them

  7. Felix Quigley Said:

    B Ross is an avowed conspiracist and he draws up strategems IN HIS OWN MIND

    I observe and speculate on the actions and strategies of others and then make predictions. So far what I have been saying for 2 years is a more rational and consistent explanation for various odd events than the MSM. you have yet to debunk my speculations with facts. Your posts are merely a dissemination of your religion, trotskyism. there is no logic or rational thought related to current events in your posts, there is merely the application of your theological dogma.

    Tell me: how many trotsky’s can dance on the head of a pin?

    Felix Quigley Said:

    These two are incidental figures though in the grand scheme of things

    Gosh Felicity, aren’t we all?

  8. Felix Quigley Said:

    For example our friends Yamit and B Ross are advocating support for ISIS believe it or not on the basis that Fascism and Chaos outside Israel is good for Israel.

    its difficult to conclude whether you are a serial liar, fraught with reading comprehension disabilities, language dyslexic or just plain nuts.
    I did not ADVOCATE support of IS I merely OBSERVED that the enemies killing each other INSTEAD of Jews is a good thing.

    Do you prefer that the serial, chronic Jew killers kill Jews instead of each other? It appears that you are advocating for the killing of Jews.

    You are so obsessed with your anachronistic trotskyism that you cannot see clearly; you are unable to discern between observing reality and political advocacy.
    Please give us a list of nations who are or were troskyite so that I can evaluate the efficacy of your suggestions.
    Perhaps you should forget about your strawberries and buy some new reading spectacles? Right now you are heading here:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlV3oQ3pLA0

  9. Jeremy Saltan answered some of my question.. He has a few titles in the Bayit Yehudi Party.

    I suggest people looking at the voting records on the Yisrael Hayom Bill. The only parties that voted as a bloc against that bill was Likud & Bayit Yehudi. All of the other parties either split, abstained or voted in favor (the majority).

    There is no party in the Knesset to the right of the Bayit Yehudi. When it comes to freeze, 2-state solution or anything else, people realize there is no other party on the right who is capable of passing the threshold that will voice their opinions on these issues.

    I encourage people to not be tempted to throw their votes in the garbage because that will ultimately lead to more Knesset seats for the left.

  10. Great “Election Update”! very useful!

    Arnold good suggestions in c17…great comment in many ways. I agree and would push to further

    I aree with you that the Jewish people must act and plant their seeds by creating villages and centres all over the place esp área C and East jerusalem and I think the determination of Jews in their religio/national liberation struggles means they are good at that

    The only criitcism is that they tend to do this in opposition to (or more speecifically ignoring or sidestepping of) the ruling elite on the basis that they have to créate facts on the ground. But that leads to a situation where they ignore the issue of state power and leads them into situations of isolation because the elites have great weapons especially the Media at their beck and call

    They are right though and they must act in that way by direct action, yes true, all I am saying that the isue of state power will come through.

    Where I see Israel as being at its weakest is in the way it situates itself in the wider world.

    For example our friends Yamit and B Ross are advocating support for ISIS believe it or not on the basis that Fascism and Chaos outside Israel is good for Israel.

    I find it hard to deal with this and one part of me suggests it is beneath me to try. There is even a difference between Yamit and B Ross on this or on the road they have taken to this. B Ross is an avowed conspiracist and he draws up strategems IN HIS OWN MIND and is a veritable David Icke translated into Jewish patriotic colours running amok on Israpundit. Yamit comes at the support for ISIS from a position of hatred of the Christian poor of the world (such contrast with the great Pamela Geller) with a strong dash of Yamitean “End of Times” chaos thrown into the mix

    These two are incidental figures though in the grand scheme of things though heaven forbid any mortal should say so for they would never agree.

    Still Arnold would you not consider going beyond your internal ideas and consider how Israel can become a forcé in todays world (I mean a political forcé not a “Good news” forcé.

    All right the whole system of capitalism disintegrates before our eyes but even as it stands with the conventional and bourgeois leaders Israel could do quite a bit.

    Look at the Russians and at RT “Russia Today”. Israel could set up a similar organ

    What line would it pursue?

    I would be on the Ukraine issue like a shot. First the US overthrows an elected government then there is the role of Fascists…From a BBC report “Inside the columned central hall of Kiev’s city council, an activist base of operations, hung a giant banner with a Celtic cross, a symbol of “white power,” and an American confederate flag.

    Over the doorway was an immense portrait of Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainian nationalist partisan leader during World War Two, who at one point was allied with the Nazis.”

    Syria and Iraq…have Israel in the lead in defending Christians and all minorities against ISIS

    But those are only two issues. I would wish that Israel develops a Brand name in the world. Israel is so powerful. It has such great industry, great entrepreneurship. Very clever in the modern world of computers.

    But in politics in the world the very opposite.

    That needs to be transformed

    Something else not being discussed is holding Israel back perhaps it is the ancient revered but still conservative ideologies associated with Judaism (I know that the Yamits will cut and past just that idea out and disregard the rest but really they make my point)

  11. @ ronnutter:
    You obviously understand what is going on in the peace process. Yes the Jabotinsky/Weizmann difference of opinion remains with us today. Many people, including Bennett, proudly identify with the Revisionists (Jabotinsky). Bibi’s father worked with Jabotinsky and Bibi was brought up as a Revisionist. Jabotinsky also said that we have to stop apologizing. Bennett picked up on this in a election video that was released a few days ago. Weizmann wanted private diplomacy behind closed doors. Jabotinsky strongly favoured public diplomacy. He didn’t like existing on the largess of others. He wanted to take destiny into our own hands.

  12. The moment I detect a truly new leadership elected by Jewish Israeli voters, I’ll change my tune.
    So far the menu we are offered again is the old offal served here for decades. No real changes of actors or repertoire.
    Peres, somehow remains in the thick of things in Israel for over 50 years, even if never directly elected to lead. He is still betraying with foreigners as his leads. His understudy Livni follow his guide. She is a Mosad trainee of sorts in the correct trade for the work assignment given her. She has been stealing mandates, shifting alliances and betraying for at least half her life.
    No one really new outsider vying for leadership got any posting of consequence. New people of value is never allowed to advance.
    Netanyahu? Oh please! The TV face is as credible as Peres himself. Still, the packagers of “leaders” make that trash… the only electable… GAG!
    All of those in the cauldron are waste merchandise.
    No changes will ensue after elections.

  13. @ Ted Belman:
    @ Ted Belman:
    This reminds me of my recent reading about Ze’ev Jabotinsky. I hope I’m not too off base here, but Naftali Bennett almost seems like a letter-day Jabotinsky saying “Let us Israeli men and women stand up and end the appeasement.” Bibi, on the other hand, seems more a latter day Weitzmann seeking resolutions through the U.S. umbrella of power as Weitzmann sought to work with the British. Jabotinsky excoriated Weitzmann for wanting to work through the British and never calling them to task. Jabotinsky’s argument was to call the British on the carpet for maintaining the anti-Semitic Administration of Palestine, for eliminating the Jewish Brigade after WWI, for not allowing Jews to arm themselves for defense, for not allowing Jewish police forces, for not enforcing the Barmen Declaration for a Jewish Homeland. Instead, because Britain did none of these things, the Arabs saw an opportunity. The result was Arab pogroms and killings of Jews who, for the most part, couldn’t defend themselves and who weren’t defended by the British. Had Weitzmann followed his lead, Jabotinsky argued the Arabs would have seen what was up and never had “rising expectations” of getting rid of the Jews. Much like today. Palestinians do not want to work toward peace. They look at the lay of the land and say, “Why should we?” They see that eventually Israel will be isolated and alone. I firmly believe they are wrong in that, but the actions of various governments, including now the U.S. under Obama, gives them reason to think so. In short, Jabotinsky argued, as Ted did here, “Perhaps it would have been better to hang tough” than to negotiate with the U.S. and the Palestinians a la Oslo.
    I actually feel sorry for Bibi having to work with Obama. I wrote about churches on another thread on this site, but take a look at the church Obama attended while he lived in Chicago. It is thoroughly anti-Semitic. Obama will not miss any opportunity to put Israel down, and Netanyahu. And we have to go through two more years of this. Wish we could call elections now as you can in Israel. Obama would be even more overt in his actions against Israel were it not for members of Congress who would call him on the carpet for doing so, as well as the general public. A real test will come when Abbas officially makes a move at the U.N. for Palestinian statehood. The question is whether the U.S. under Obama’s leadership, will or will not veto it. Frankly, no one here really knows, proclamations of anonymous “White House” sources notwithstanding.

  14. Justin Said:

    there is a perception that Netanyahu is just giving lip service, while apparently you think that he is a reluctant believer?

    I wonder why it is important to you which BB is doing? of more importance is how the west and the USA fabricated a road map which deviated from Oslo, then Bush fabricated a letter which went ignored by Obama… the deception of Israel by the west and the US is more important…. once one party deceives the other will likely operate with the same MO. Were you unaware of american deception?

  15. Cumulative facts on the ground emplaced throughout the entirety of Area C — namely Jewish settlements with annually-increasing Jewish population increases — are the only factors that would absolutely and positively derail creation of an Arab state on the soil of Eretz-Yisrael. That process, if continued, will in fact prove to be the de facto annexation of some 62 per cent of Shomron and Yehuda, because the larger the Jewish population, the greater the likelihood that the US State Department, some elements of the US Defense Department, and, above all, the Congress of the United States will politely but irrevocably park Washington’s two-state solution in the filing cabinet of polices that may have sounded good to them at the time someone schemed them up, but proved impossible to implement.

    If memory serves me correctly, the population register maintained by the Israel Ministry of the Interior showed that as of January 1, 2014, the Jewish population of the annexed parts of Jerusalem had risen to 330,000 and its counterpart Jewish population of Area C of Shomron and Yehuda had reached 373,992. In other words, a few thousand above 700,000 Jews in lands the Arabs imagine they can talk the USA into compelling Israel to award them in total.

    I also understand that demographic trends among Jews likely to be found moving into the settlements is about 3 per cent or more. Unless my mathematics are incorrect, that should indicate about 21,000 more Jews moving into or born into annexed Jerusalem and Area C. And I also recall that in years without these on-and-off freezes, the growth rate reached the point whereby the Jewish population would double in 12-15 years.

    Netanyahu, his party, and their Knesset coalition partners all but certainly will form the next government of Israel. By then, Obama, Kerry and their administration, under the thumb of a wall-to-wall Republican-controlled US Congress, will have little policy wiggling room in the Middle East or just about anywhere else in the world. And without taking any extraordinary action, the Jewish population of annexed Jerusalem and Area C will have arrived at and perhaps surpassed three-quarters of a million Jews. In short, it shall prove to be an omelet comprising eggs that are way passed the possibility of being unscrambled.

    Meantime, the separate leaderships of Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in Ramallah shall never give up contending with each other in their boastful plans to destroy the Jewish State of Israel. That, plus the great big Jewish omelet, spreading endlessly over some 2000 square miles of lands west of the Jordan River, shall increasingly be a fait accompli. All this will prove rather similar to the Russian re-taking of their former Crimean lands — and probably before Putin is done with America and Western Europe, much if not most of Novorus in the Donbas and other parts of what Kiev (Kiiv?) imagined was part of Greater Ukraine. One thing about Putin that nobody can deny. He knows how to twist feckless pipsqueaks such as Barack Hussein Obama and John Kerry. They do that and get away with it because they have power and they know how to wield it. I only hope that Jewish leaders of the future will trend in the same direction, in the interests of the Jewish nation.

    If all the above suggests a good strategy, let us see what can be done to make it impossible for anybody to even think of making making Area C or East Jerusalem Judenfrei. A settlement or two here and there, and keep building more Jewish housing. And in hardly any time at all, a population of maybe 725,000 Jews grows into a population of 1.5 million Jews. Then 3 million. Etc, etc. Most of you probably have little or no experience in city and regional planning, dealing with good old American style urban sprawl. But think about it a little, and it will occur to all of you how to put it to appropriate use, for the permanent benefit of the Jewish nation.

    Arnold Harris
    Mount Horeb WI

  16. Justin Said:

    Is the entire American press (including a good deal of the conservative media, to which I am more receptive) somehow deceiving America? Is it just stupid? To me, this is one of the fascinating disconnects –

    If yo only get your news from US or international MSM like reuters, AP, BBC, etc your news will be manipulated. this has been demonstrated countless times by various watchdog orgs. It takes some time to learn how they do it and see the deceptions. Headlines are intentionally inaccurate and always in a direction, news favorable is left out, pal terror is played down(you only get the major inescapable ones), when exposed they play down the retraction or say nothing, etc. You CANNOT hope to be objective with those sources.
    Justin Said:

    (including a good deal of the conservative media,

    Fox was invested into by saudi prince, the saudis have invested into many global media and universities. Murdoch mate a share trade for arabic ventures. BBC cannot be succesful with BBC arabic if it reports anything favorable about Israel. In studying the media approach to the Jenin “massacre”, the al dura fakery, the BBC lebanon war fakery, the gaza reporting.. it becomes apparent that the MSM has fallen apart in credibility on this issue. They also rely on local muslim reporters instead of their own for much of their “news”. Look at the CNN fraud in the gulf war/

  17. Justin Said:

    Who, other than Netanyahu, is electable in Israel and palatable to the Washington establishment?

    you should read up on the parliamentary system and the Israeli system because in those it is a party rather than an individual who is elected, quite different from USA who elects their reps separately from their executive. Israel also differs from parliamentary system I believe In the parliamentary system one elects an MP to represent his locational district and then the elected MP’s vote for the leader who becomes PM.

  18. why would anyone want to vote for a divided party that can’t agree on the most fundamental things.

    I dont see much difference between BB approach and the left wrt YS and dealing with hamas, the pals,and the foreign deletimizers.

    I talked to a senior well respected political figure to the right of Bennett and he expressed the opinion that Bennett is not much different from Bibi. MK Elazar Stern, Hutnua, complained:

    I thought Hatunua was to the left of BB?
    Bear Klein Said:

    The one thing Sharon said that I believe is true everything looks different from the Prime Ministers chair.

    I beleive that Benett recently expressed a similare view when he said that being PM is a 100 time more difficult.. I got the feeling that this was in preparation to veering from his election campaign platforms.
    Bear Klein Said:

    Bibi was threatened with a weapons cut-off, no longer protecting Israel diplomatically and more if Bibi did not agree to a two state solution.

    Perhaps Israeli citizens and Jews should be put in the TRUE picture regarding threats… those making such threats cannot really be considered allies. As it stands no one really knows what is the truth. One can only choose to trust or not trust. This is why so many likudniks support BB in spite of his obviously leftist actions….they beleive he is a tactician trying to forestall the enemies pretending to be allies; but is it true?

  19. The irony of this discussion is that all talk of a TSS by any Israeli on either side of the equation amounts to obsessing over a fantasy that even our Arab “partners” admit they want absolutely noting to do with.

  20. @ Ted Belman:
    Maybe Ted.

    I had a very credible former (very right wing non-Likud) Knesset member tell that early in the Obama administration Bibi was threatened with a weapons cut-off, no longer protecting Israel diplomatically and more if Bibi did not agree to a two state solution. This is when he came up with his Bar Illan speech. So when I say Obama coerced Bibi I am not exaggerating.

    The one thing Sharon said that I believe is true everything looks different from the Prime Ministers chair.

  21. Bibi was arm twisted to accept a TSS possibility by Obama based on threats to Israel. So he came up with what he believes Israel could live with but not less than that.

    Jerusalem will stay undivided under Israeli rule.

    Israel shall retain security as it determines in all critical points of Judah and Samaria. The Palestinian State must be demilitarized (this is part of Oslo)

    The Palestinians must recognize the Jewish State of Israel. This is important because they are willing to end the conflict.

    No right of return to Israel for any Arabs (Palestinians).

    It so happens that the Palestinians are not willing to agree to the above items. Bibi certainly realized this then and now.

    The question to ask a leftist reporter, why should Israel give land to the Palestinians if they are not even willing to talk about a Jewish State. In other words the Palestinians view a state in the “west bank and Gaza” as an interim step to capturing the rest of Israel. Israel left Gaza and Hamas shortly thereafter took over. This same thing would happen if Israel left parts of Judah and Samaria within months. This would start another war in which 1000s would die.

    Bibi realizes the Palestinians will not agree to his terms for a state. That does not make him an obstruction but a realist trying to balance the needs of Israel and its standing in the world. This makes him a target to those of us who say NO PAL STATE EVER!

    The EU and Obamites leftists want him to surrender Jerusalem and move hundreds of thousands of Jews from their homes to placate the Palestinians who want to destroy Israel. Why would any responsible Israeli leader agree to surrender to the weaker party? To make Obama happy that he created a Palestinian State. This has been Obama’s goal not peace in the middle east.

  22. @Ted, Danon wants to be the Head of the Likud and he was fired as Dep. Defense Minister for what was viewed as attacking the Prime Minister during a time of war. He is still fighting to be the head of Likud and is not helping the party because he is causing it to lose seats.

    I am not against his positions but pointing out he is actually not helping himself nor the Likud.

    TED WHY IS MY OTHER mild comments to Justin under moderation?

  23. @ Justin:
    Bibi was arm twisted to accept a TSS possibility by Obama based on threats to Israel. So he came up with what he believes Israel could live with but not less than that.

    Jerusalem will stay undivided under Israeli rule.

    Israel shall retain security as it determines in all critical points of Judah and Samaria. The Palestinian State must be demilitarized (this is part of Oslo)

    The Palestinians must recognize the Jewish State of Israel. This is important because they are willing to end the conflict.

    No right of return to Israel for any Arabs (Palestinians).

    It so happens that the Palestinians are not willing to agree to the above items. Bibi certainly realized this then and now.

    The question to ask a leftist reporter, why should Israel give land to the Palestinians if they are not even willing to talk about a Jewish State. In other words the Palestinians view a state in the “west bank and Gaza” as an interim step to capturing the rest of Israel. Israel left Gaza and Hamas shortly thereafter took over. This same thing would happen if Israel left parts of Judah and Samaria within months. This would start another war in which 1000s would die.

    Bibi realizes the Palestinians will not agree to his terms for a state. That does not make him an obstruction but a realist trying to balance the needs of Israel and its standing in the world. This makes him a target to those of us who say NO PAL STATE EVER!

    The EU and Obamites leftists want him to surrender Jerusalem and move hundreds of thousands of Jews from their homes to placate the Palestinians who want to destroy Israel. Why would any responsible Israeli leader agree to surrender to the weaker party? To make Obama happy that he created a Palestinian State. This has been Obama’s goal not peace in the middle east.

  24. Justin Said:

    To me, this is one of the fascinating disconnects – in the US, especially within elite opinion, there is a perception that the press is wholly biased “toward” Israel. It seems that within Israel, at least based on reading the comments and posts on this blog, the impression is totally the opposite.

    You got that right. Almost. The american people support Israel, the mainstream media does not starting with the NYT who are the worst. Maybe Huffington Post is even worse. CNN is also horrible and MSNBC not so bad but still bad.

    Who do you perceive as the conservative media?
    There are pro-Israel outlets such as American Thinker, National Review Online, Front Page Media, PJ Media, Breitbart and some others.

  25. @ Justin:
    It is immaterial who is palatable to the US admininstration. That issue is of no concern to the Israeli voters.

    Yes for sure Bibi supports Oslo and the TSS. He just rejects the ’67 lines plus swaps as the borders. So does the vast majority of Israelis. Obama had no business imposing himself on the outcome of negotiations that he supports with a pre-determined outcome.
    Justin Said:

    Netanyahu is almost single-handedly responsible for the subversion of Oslo.

    This is totally wrong. He fought against Oslo before it was signed but he supported it in the WYE agreement. Look it up.

    There is no question but that he wants to get a deal on the TSS where we keep more land and the Arabs don’t get full sovereignty over what is left. That doesn’t make him against Oslo, he is just against Obama dictating what it means. It never meant that the Palis get sovereignty over any part of the land and certainly not over 100% of it.

  26. @ Ted Belman:

    And again, to be perfectly clear, I’m not saying Oslo was desirable for Israel or the US. I’m merely saying that it was an agreement,one that Bibi ostensibly supports in principle, and yet one on hand, over in the US, there is a perception that Netanyahu is just giving lip service, while apparently you think that he is a reluctant believer?

  27. @ Ted Belman:

    Who, other than Netanyahu, is electable in Israel and palatable to the Washington establishment? You’re saying Bibi is some kind of wooly-eyed Oslo idealist, but that’s certainly not the impression we get in the US. In fact, we are often told that Netanyahu is almost single-handedly responsible for the subversion of Oslo.

    Is the entire American press (including a good deal of the conservative media, to which I am more receptive) somehow deceiving America? Is it just stupid? To me, this is one of the fascinating disconnects – in the US, especially within elite opinion, there is a perception that the press is wholly biased “toward” Israel. It seems that within Israel, at least based on reading the comments and posts on this blog, the impression is totally the opposite.

  28. Paul Eidelberg wrote to me.

    The plagues that struck Egypt before and during the Exodus had a dual purpose, to teach the children of Israel that HaShem is the God of History as well as the God of Nature. This teaching has been ignored by Israeli prime ministers who have foisted the Oslo ”peace” charade on the Jewish people. But what shall say of we say of the dozens of political parties that have participated, and continue to participate, in this charade, parties that fail to denounce it as murder legalized by Israel’s Supreme Court?

    The plagues that devastated the people of Egypt were not enough to humble the Pharaoh, the despot of that country. Similarly, the devastation of the lives of many thousands of Jewish men, women, and children is not enough to humble the democratically elected Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, who persists in worshiping Oslo.

    Why do we hear no party leader screaming to high heaven denouncing that covenant of death? Have all the men in the Knesset been castrated?