Israeli Elections Musings #10 & War Musings #82: Crucial Questions About Bibi's Government's Responsibility for October 7th Disaster

 

I hope that you've been listening to the discussions of the UNDECIDEDS, which I both blog and participate in. We've had five discussions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 organized by Jonathan Feldstein of Genesis 123 Foundation.  Participating has been a very special experience for me. As different as we're considered politically, it's amazing and encouraging how much we all have in common politically when it comes to the upcoming Israeli Elections. If I'm not mistaken, there's something we all agree on, whether Right, Left, Center. We really don't want to see the same people who've been running the Israeli Government and IDF continue. We want Binyamin Netanyahu and his coalition to take responsibility. There must be an investigation. Arnie Draiman, one of the panelists put it very well. He shared with us these questions which he had sent to a friend going to a Likud meeting. I have his permission to share them with you.

* Why has Likud actively blocked an independent State Commission of Inquiry into October 7, and why did the government attempt to remove the requirement for a "full, thorough, and independent investigation" from its proposed alternative panel?

* How do you respond to the specific allegations made by Prime Minister Netanyahu's former military secretary regarding the falsification of October 7 transcripts to shield political leaders from blame?

* Why has Benjamin Netanyahu still refused to publicly accept personal responsibility for the intelligence and operational failures of October 7, while nearly every top military and security chief resigned on his watch?

* Why didn't a single cabinet minister or Likud lawmaker resign or force a leadership change inside the party immediately following the worst tragedy in Israel's modern history?

* Why is Likud actively attacking democratic "gatekeepers" and challenging the neutrality of the Central Elections Committee ahead of the vote?

* How can you claim to champion democratic choices when Netanyahu changed the party rules to bypass internal primaries and give himself direct control over reserved list spots?

* Given that the "conceptzia" (the strategic concept of containing Hamas through economic incentives) completely collapsed on October 7 under your 15-year watch, why should voters trust your long-term security vision?

* With Israel currently locked in multi-front conflicts, zero long-term diplomatic strategy for the day after in Gaza, and growing diplomatic friction, why do you characterize the opposition's call for reconstruction and regional alliances as an absolute "free fall"?

* How can Likud justify continuing to pass coalition funding and political exemptions for Haredi draft-dodgers while the regular IDF and reservists face unprecedented, exhausting deployment burdens across multiple fronts?

Personally, I consider the top echelons of the IDF and Defense Ministry the decade before and including 2023 as responsible as the government coalition. Arnie's excellent questions are to the Likud, because that was the event they had been written for. I also consider it necessary to investigate how Israel's trust and dependence on the the United States weakens us and requires trusting them, rather than trusting our soldiers and citizens on the ground who had observed and reported suspicious, dangerous actions by the enemy... deja vu 1973 when our security observers suspected pre war/attack actions by Egypt and Syria, but they were overrode by American assurances. The USA admitted that they had lied to Israel when Bruce Brill's memoir, Deceit of An Ally passed American censorship.

Food for thought... What do you think?

Israeli Elections Musings #9 The Undecideds' 5th and Final Pre-Elections Discussion

 

Last night night the Undecided Panel, a group of Anglo Israelis holding a variety of political opinions, had its fifth and final pre-elections discussion. Some of us have a feeling that we'll only decide at the last possible second when unenthusiastically choosing one of those pieces of paper indicating which political party is getting our vote. One thing we all agree on is that we will vote and pray, in one way or another, that our vote won't be wasted. 

Jonathan Feldstein, of the Genesis 123 Foundation, has done an amazing job organizing/producing these panel discussions. We are all from different backgrounds and political opinions, besides being native English speakers. And we're also different ages; I'm the old lady and have memories of events the others have only heard or learned about. But I find our discussions wonderful and tolerant. 

Instead of having you read what I think, I suggest that you listen to the discussion. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments. I'll get your specific question to the other participants if necessary. I'd really love to hear your opinions and reactions. Many of my friends also consider themselves undecideds... What about you?

Israeli Elections Musings #3 These Are The Choices & We're Still Undecided

 

For this discussion, Jonathan Feldstein asked each of us to give the ideology* of the various political parties in Israel of those which are mostly in the Knesset at present, plus a couple of realistic hopefuls. A reason for this is that many listeners to our panel don't live in Israel and have minimal knowledge, at best, about the multitude of political parties here. To be honest, many Israelis are only familiar with their favorites and at best their most hated. 

In Israel one can't be 100% sure of which parties will be competing until close to the deadline for applying. 

Here's our discussion, and yes, I call it a discussion, not a debate.  

As in the first of our discussion (here's the link,) lots of interesting points are brought up. We aren't a "bunch of friends." I doubt that one person in the group actually knows everyone else personally, and that includes Jonathan Feldstein. That makes our conversations even more interesting.

There's a transcription on the screen, so you can follow by reading, not just listening.

I'd love to hear your opinion and feelings and questions about our discussion. Thanks for taking the time.

*I must admit that I didn't quite follow his instructions, because I see the political parties as products of their leaders and history. In addition many do not have actual policies that match their names and/or stated political ideologies. I've been following Israeli politics since making aliyah in 1970. For instance despite the fact that the Likud markets themselves as Israeli Right, their actual policies aren't, and I'll never forget Bibi Netanyahu's speech at the 2008 International Jewish Blogger's Convention. I blogged about it calling the post "Impressive." He pledged to rule as a Centrist, and that's a good description of what he has been doing since returning to office of Prime Minister. For me facts on the ground, the bottom line are more important than how one markets oneself.   

Israeli Elections Musings #2 The Undecideds Will be Meeting Again to Mull Over Our Choices

Whom to vote for?
That is the question

Many of you from all over the world may have listened to our first discussion, organized by Jonathan Feldstein, live or the recording. There were some very good reactions. The Israeli Electoral system is rather different from most. Ours is a much more representational type of government. There are many classic Jewish jokes like:

Two Jews having three opinions

In addition Israel is a very small country, barely the size of New Jersey. Electoral districts wouldn't work here, unless you want to see the most extreme and unfair example of gerrymandering... 

Until a couple of decades ago, if that long, the votes per 120 seat Knesset was simple math, meaning that you could have one person parties, since one needed less than one percent 1% of the votes to get into Knesset. The minimum has been changed, so that the smallest political party must get enough votes for three seats. Prime ministers aren't directly elected. He or she who heads the party that can negotiate a coalition of at least sixty-one 61 MKs Members of Knesset becomes Prime Minister. 

By the time we vote in the next elections, there will probably be about a dozen political parties or more. You'd think that we'd all have an easy time choosing with such a big choice... but many of my friends fellow Israelis of all political persuasions are in panic mode. We don't want to waste our votes. We can give you a long list of parties WE DON'T WANT TO VOTE FOR, but we don't even have a shortlist of those we're considering. I've labeled us "political orphans."

Our second discussion will be Wednesday June 17 at 8:00pm Israel time, 1:00pm Eastern (US) during which we will touch on how some of the recent current events may impact our vote, the polls, and more. If the first conversation is any indication, this week's conversation will be lively and important too. Please feel free to register to listen in live at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../WN_77hPoiyFRgWBbH3ozixC-w

Afterwards, I'd love to hear what you think, thanks.

Elections Musings #1 With Israeli Elections Approaching-- Whom to Vote For? Undecided Panel

 

Here in Israel we're getting into the "pre-election season" yet again, and as many of you may remember, there's no political party or leader which automatically gets my vote and support. You can call me a "political orphan." 

I've been disappointed and deserted by numerous Israeli politicians and parties. Jonathan Feldstein of the Genesis Foundation has invited me to join a panel of Israelis to discuss our mutual quandary. His plan if for us to talk together via Zoom every month or so as Israeli Elections grow closer, as will the deadline of our decision. Those of us on the panel are from various political opinions, Right, Left and Center, but we're all rather rudderless in the storm of war and insecurity.

I'm inviting you to listen to our discussion, and please don't be shy about voicing your opinions in both comments section, this blog and the YouTube video. Of course you can share the post and YouTube with others. We're interested in everyone's reactions.