By Ted Belman
Of coarse PM Netanyahu has problems. He heads a right wing party while he himself has moved to the centre-left.
Four years ago, he did his best to control his party and its policies. He strong armed Feiglin out of the list and made sure to include centrists like himself, namely Meridor and Begin, in positions of influence. But that wasn’t enough support for himself. He invited Labour into the government and appointed Ehud Barak as Defence Minister. Thus Barak got to decide what gets built and what gets demolished east of the green line..
He also appointed Yehuda Weinstein as Attorney General, despite the fact, or maybe because of it, that Weinstein was centre-left. Thus Weinstein could thwart the rightist legislation emanating from Likud. In the cases where he couldn’t do it, Netanyahu himself, prevented the legislation from going ahead.
It is imperative for a right wing agenda that the anti-Israel NGO’s be reigned in. Once again Netanyahu wouldn’t let it happen.
This time around Netanyahu is arguing for a broad based coalition. The only reason that I can discern for this is because he wants to govern from the centre and not from the right. His party, much to his chagrin, has moved more to the right by nominating right wingers to the party list. This is an anathema for him. He even threatened to punish Likud members who were settlers for doing so.
In Canada, where I spent most of my life, the biggest political parties do their damnedest to get a majority of seats in government so that they can form a government without other parties. If they succeed, they consider that they have a mandate to govern according to their platforms. The winning party would never invite other parties to join the government to broaden the government.
Netanyahu on the other hand wants to govern with a broad coalition so he doesn’t have to govern from the right. He could, if he wanted, have a centre-right government made up of Yesh Atid and Habayit Hayehudit only, but no, he wants more parties in the government to blunt their influence.
His biggest problem is that Bennett will do his best to prevent the abandonment of Judea and Samaria and from what we read, Lapid will support him in this. Together they prevent him from following in the footsteps of Sharon, Olmert and Livni. Just as they did, he wants to uproot settlements and push the peace process.
That is why he embraced Livni the first and put her in a position to advance his policies and not those of his party and certainly not those of Bennett’s party. Livni as Justice Minister is sure to bury the Levy Report so Netanyahu doesn’t have to take the rap for doing so.
This week Netanyahu has focused on smearing Bennett for abandoning the Hareidi parties. But why must they be in the coalition. They aren’t Zionists. What gives them an inaliably right to be in the coalition?
So far the Likud MK’s have been silent on where Netanyahu is taking them. But they can’t be happy. Sooner or later there will be a revolt. Jabotinsky must be turning over in his grave.
NETANYAHU HAS A PROBLEM?????
NETANYAHU HIMSELF IS THE PROBLEM!!!!
@ steven l:
I would not place much credence on Barak’s “retirement” or on his pal and co plotter Netanyahu’s plans for the future, should he remain as “PM”. Barak seems solid in there. The nefarious connotations remain as well.
NO contruction, FREEZE, destruction and Pogroms. All of the parameters already in motion.
Abandonment finele of Temple Mount. The prelude is being played right now.
Abandonment of vast tracks of the Negev. Also already in the works.
Abandonment of Jerusalem.
Allowing Iran new “red lines” until they are fully nuclear armed.
The solution is offered by groups such as ours. Complete removal of the unJewish cadres from government and real, free elections of NEW and clean leadership. Election of true Judges, new military command and police clean up.
Mr. Lapid and Mr. Bennett have done something remarkable so far, I hope that they will remain adamant and cause the completion of the process.
I wonder what Hagel has to tell Barak who is apparently out of commission!
@ Bernard Ross:
We do not have a clue about the true nature of the “pressures”. If any or if claims of “presures” are used by the untrustworthy gangs to justfy atrocties against the citizens. Arguably you may well be correct on that personal blackmail may have been the principal, but doing so would ignore the time honored practice of the Israeli “elites”.governments of using the “ISRABLOF” procedure.
Basically it was instituted to rip off wide eyed and targetted to be duped “donors”. The famous tree planting ceremony…
The ISRABLOF institution would plant trees in one spot for a group of donors and stealthly remove most of them and “re plant” them elsewere for other donors. It was not limted to tress though…
Along those lines G.d only knows what is fact and what is fiction regarding the unJewish possible libretto variations for the theme. ISRABLOF reigns unchallenged. Is the Samson option in that line? Good question.
jeff Said:
Wasn’t Kadima formed to accomplish disengagement?
jeff Said:
perhaps the leadership should be more forthcoming on the details of the “pressure” so that the citizen can determine if it is the state or the individual being blackmailed. The consistent corruption scandals involving Israeli leadership should raise eyebrows, especially when there are sudden sharp turns. At the time of Sharon’s disengagement he and his family were under investigation. All foreign intelligence organizations make a business of aiding the corrupt into positions of power for the simple goal of being able to control them with blackmail. Perhaps a politician faced with revelations and dangerous possibilities to himself and family will make sudden sharp turns. An insider, or party member,should be aware of these possibilities.
SHmuel HaLevi Said:
Who did the pressuring and what cards did they play that allowed their “pressure” to be successful. My wager is personal blackmail and extortion rather than national blackmail. If the nation of Israel was being blackmailed and extorted then the ethical option would be to inform the Israeli people of the details of any foreign blackmail and extortion of the nation. It appears to me that most of those who gave away Israels patrimony were embroiled in corruption scandals. I do not know about BB or Barak but my nose tells me it is not national blackmail but personal blackmail. The only other possibilities pointing to national blackmail is that the dependency on the US is much greater than anyone knows or that the samson option is non existent.
jeff Said:
Sharon gave away gaza and drove Jews out by force.
SHmuel HaLevi Said:
Other than the “far right” is there any party whose platform goes further than annexing E1? From what I can fathom none of the parties with knessset seats are for full annexation of YS or even area C in its entirety.
@ jeff:
Shalom Jeff,
Most of us including myself fought risking our lives here. And also on behalf of the USA.I do not want to repeat my other posts detailing this. But if want to exchange notes, I will. I am also a former Likud member and veteran Central Committee member who was a chairman for the Sharon first campaign. I resigned in disgust almost two years ago.
Both Sharon and Netanyhu volunteered to be “pressured” and the later never stopped. His hystrionics do not impress those that know him.
Netanyahu is a most dangerous egomaniac looking for his Nobel at any price… to us.
Trusting that individual is suicidal. Believing his promisses is at least silly.
He and all that cadre must be removed and the best way is new elections soon.
When will we say enough of voting for supposedly right-wing governments only to get leftist policy?
Arik Sharon anyone?
Arthur Said:
Frankly Arthur, I don’t care what you think.
Maybe I am not remembering history – but was it not Sharon who was the Zionist, settler champion who turned left when he became PM? Was it not Netanyahu who stood for the settlers and the land so strongly that Sharon needed to form Kadima so he could rule from the center? Now it seems that Bennett is Sharon’s Netanyahu.
Maybe it is not the person but the position.
We have no idea, and probably most MK’s have no idea, the type of pressure that is put on the PM from the world including the US.
Complain all you want about Bibi (and believe me I am not excited about him), but the choice now is Bibi for PM or Lapid for PM – which do you think will be better?
Bibi has his problems as did Sharon, but both of these men served Israel with their very lives (much more than most of the writers to this post). Both stood against world opposition much stronger than Peres, Barak, Olmert, etc. Both have been pushed left, but have held on as much as possible.
I doubt Bennett, Feiglin, and certainly not Lapid, will be able to stand any stronger. At least Bibi knows what he is up against. These other babies have no idea what storm would come against them. And none of them have put their lives on the line for Israel like Sharon and Bibi.
If Bibi would have supported Sharon more Sharon might not have had to move so far left. If Bennett would support Bibi more instead of Lapid, Bibi would not have to look left.
Bibi was probably looking for a Likud, BY, Hardim colalition. It is Bennett who went left embrassing Lapid, not Bibi.
Again, who do we want for PM – Bibi or Lapid? There is no third option right now.
I agree with Alan.Bibi’s appeasement of Obama is pathetic and unnecessary..Bibi is a liar and a hypocrite and how he has gotten so far is beyond me. But of course he is no different from that long list of”leaders” who have failed Israel so miserably. Hopefully if there is another election he will be booted out.
@ NormanF: I agree with your analysis, but add the following. Perhaps it would be better for the future of Israel IF BiBi no longer sits as PM. As YOU said, he is only a wimp, pushed to and fro, interested only in power. His attitude: the State be damned. I DON’T SEE IT THAT WAY!!!
@ yamit82: I think your comment is off the mark—-way off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bibi, who should have been standing up to the little jerk currently occupying the White House on a consistent regular basis, chooses instead to appease him – and appease those who hate Israel. Oren has done little to stem the tide of the growing anti-semitism of the Democratic Party, as evidenced by the Hagel vote, among other things.
If Bibi persists in being the “Mitt Romney” or “John Boehner” of Israel, he needs to be replaced – and replaced fast. Bringing in the whore Livni was not exactly the move of a genius, and spurning, insulting Bennett and Bayit Yehudi in favor of the Left is definitely unwise, especially now, when you have an administration in Israel where the top is filled with the most anti-Israel figures in US History and one that will do NOTHING to stop Iran now, despite their mealy mouthings. Bibi had better get balls, or the Likud had better find itself – and find itself someone who DOES have them.
We, our group that is, have been at a loss trying to fathom why Israelis and Olim seem to be unable to detect false coins in our midst. Fascinating.
Has not the unJewish cadre provided ample evidence of ill intent, falsehood, sabotage, untruthfulness? How many times they have to assault, abuse, demean Jewish people until we understand who are those folk?
Netanyahu is one of the worst of those assaulting the Jewish people in line with Peres, Burg, Ben Ami, Sharon, et all, Livni, Meridor, Olmert, Mitzna, Mofaz, Barak, Hertzog, Weinstein, Beinish, Sarid, Beilin, etc.
Why did anyone believe Netanyahu will allow JEWISH construction?
Why anyone believes he will attend for effect Iran?
He will never pass the Judge Levi Report or any legislation equalizing the rights of all Jews to Eretz Israel.
Really a spectacle worth many years of research, but time is not our most plentiful commodity.
The Netanyahu styled element must go. Otherwise Eretz Israel, including Jerusalem will be abandoned, betrayed and to a great extent, destroyed.
this year rain fell on Sukkot, and according to the Talmud this is a sign of curse. so this year we shall have bad news, and indeed… but next year everything can change. if we accept all the sufferings with love and acknowledge that they come from G-d, then next year G-d will pay our ennemies back eye for an eye! And the days of BB as PM may come to an end… already next year!
yamit82 Said:
Netanyahu has never been a Jewish nationalist. He could easily have joined Labor or Kadima without any idelogical qualms. What has always motivated him is power. Everything else is purely secondary but in spite of amassing power, he is a coward. He will give in the end to the slightest pressure. Both Lapid and Bennett know this fact of life well and by hanging together, they can make life very difficult for Netanyahu and he is being forced into a position where the survival of the government will be in their hands rather than in his. This is exactly the nightmare coalition situation he has tried with increasing desperation to avert over the past month but has failed. And early elections are not what Netanyahu wants because next time he might not sit in the PM’s chair. So exigency and political necessity are forcing him into a coalition that he didn’t want in the first place.
If this story is true then things look bad
http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/03/03/obama-plans-to-extract-timetable-for-israeli-pullout-from-west-bank/
BB is not today right wing and I don’t think he ever was since he entered politics at least.
The Likud is not right wing and hasn’t been since Begin handed over all of Sinai to Egypt.
The religious parties are already threatening Bennett with non support when BB begins to dismantle Settlements. They put petty political disputes on the same level as the “Land of Israel”? They call themselves religious? Best they sit this government out and learn some humility.
Another option might be them returning to Poland and North Africa.