Netanyahu is a LINO

By Ted Belman

In February, Obama made a speech in Cleveland to the Jewish community in which he said,

“I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel, then you’re anti-Israel, and that can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel.”

This of course, was meant to suggest he is anti-Likud but not anti-Israel.

Netanyahu got the message. Since he became the head of the Likud Party, Netanyahu has communicated the message that he is someone Obama can do business with. He has also assured Israelis that he is not a rightwinger but someone who intends to form a coalition with Kadimah and perhaps even have Ehud Barak, that fearless non-fighter with the Arabs, as his Minister of Defense.

Netanyahu has become a LINO, a Likudnik in Name Only. This is underscored by his unseemly fight against Feiglin who espouses policies inline with the Likud Charter.

In Caroline Glick’s latest article, How Conservatives Lose Elections, she made the parallel between McCain, who lost the election because he was a RINO, and Netanyahu.

In Israel, the Likud under Benjamin Netanyahu today has the advantage of running against Kadima, whose strategic and diplomatic programs have been largely rejected by voters. On the other hand, he runs against Livni, who is reasonably campaigning on her undeserved reputation for competence and her dubious public persona as a clean politician.

To win, Netanyahu and Likud should be doing two things. They should be continuously pointing out Kadima’s record of failure in office and they should be emphasizing Livni’s personal failures and the fact that she owes her political rise to her association with corrupt politicians like Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.

Instead, Netanyahu is pointing his guns at his own party. He staged an ugly campaign against his intra-Likud adversary Moshe Feiglin. By doing so, he angered a significant portion of his political base.

Netanyahu has also tried to blur the policy distinctions between Likud and Kadima by promising to form a unity coalition with Kadima after the elections and pledging to continue the government’s negotiations with the Fatah movement toward an Israeli withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. He has opted not to highlight his own oft-stated refusal to withdraw from any part of Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.

The result of all this is

His actions have angered Likud’s core supporters. Many are now willing to consider other options for voting. Some are moving to other rightist parties. Some are moving to Kadima. This is why, in a period of two weeks, Likud has lost its 10-15 seat lead in the polls and is currently in a dead heat with Kadima.

It is not too late for Netanyahu to take Caroline’s advice. It is not enough for him to say “he will support taking off the table the core issues of Jerusalem and land swaps because Israel does not have a negotiating partner.” as recently reported. He must say he will never divide Jerusalem, with or without a negotiating partner.

This in effect will abort the peace process. So be it. The world will scream blue murder but Netanyahu will know he is backed by over 60% of Israelis.