My musings, reflections on life here in Shiloh, Israel. Original, personal, spiritual and political. Peace, security and Israeli sovereignty. While not a "group blog," Shiloh Musings includes the voices of other Jews in The Land of Israel.
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MK Gabi Ashkenazi, one of the four leaders of the Blue and White party, expressed his opposition to the establishment of a minority government with the support of the predominantly Arab Joint List party in closed talks between the four leaders, Channel 13 News reported Monday.
However, if such a move is promoted, Ashkenazi does not intend to vote against it and prevent the establishment of such a government, the report said.
Here in the Jewish Calendar, the Jewish World, it's Purim. Purim celebrates the story of how a Jewish woman, in disguise, ended up reversing an evil decree against the Jewish People.
Gd willing, we will see some Blue and White MKs act as true leaders and not followers. I just hope that that very male party has the strength, daring, cunning and strong principles of the very female Queen Esther.
As is the norm for professional, full-time soldiers in Israel, Benny Gantz, Gabi Ashkenazi and Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon retired rather young. Of the three, only Bogie went searching for another strenuous career. Bogie has been in politics, first teasing Likud supporters by posturing as on the Right and strong on security. But it didn't take long for him to disappoint his Right/Likud supporters.
One shouldn't ignore the simple fact that Gantz, Ashkenazi and Bogie made their ways up the power ladder in the IDF when the "rungs" were sawed off for anyone even marginally on the Right of Israel's political spectrum or wore a kippah full-time. Truth be told, the IDF of their time was much more secular and Leftist than today.
Many people were surprised at the sudden appearance of the three with Yair Lapid, as they heralded a new "Centrist" party, which they cleverly called "Blue & White," the colors of the Israeli flag. Lapid the more dedicated and successful politician surprisingly gave up the top spot to Gantz. Political pundits, "anyone but Bibi" supporters and quite a few others on all sides of Israeli politics have commented that the four don't look like a comfortable mix. But in politics there are agendas and backers. I'm interested in the backers. Follow The Money
Who crafted/assembled this "knock out Bibi" party? Who's funding this "knock out Bibi" party?
Shades of V15, the not very subtle American interference in the 2015 Israeli Knesset Elections. Four years ago it seemed pretty clear that the Obama administration and Obama's backers were interfering in Israeli politics to get their nemesis Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu out of office. This year, with Donald Trump as American President, the "anyone but Bibi" forces aren't connected to POTUS. They've regrouped, and I suspect that they're funding Blue and White. Of course, I can't prove anything.
Politics is complicated and not all that simple, nor clean. Gd willing, we'll survive.
Lieberman seems to want some of the Blue & White votes, so he's going rabidly against Netanyahu. Leberman is betting that he'll do better in new elections.
If we really are going to suffer through another round of elections, no doubt they'll be even nastier more childish than the previous ones. There was one basic issue in those, pro-Bibi or anti-Bibi. The antis, especially the Gantz-Lapid-Bogie-Ashkenazi Blue & White insisted that they could do a better job at running the country, because... they're not Bibi. They never really got down to basics on how they'd make the State of Israel better, safer etc. They did not appear competent. They didn't have very detailed or well thought out policies or plans. They just didn't want Bibi. And the parties to the Left of them, like Labor, wanted their votes, so they campaigned that Blue & White was Right. Likud campaigned that Blue & White was Left. While Blue & White just kept hammering it in that they're not Bibi.
I shudder to think of what the next election campaign will sound like.
I have a rather revolutionary idea. The top four of each party elected to Knesset must resign, leave politics and let the lower numbers get in and take over. Maybe they can form a good working coalition for the good of the country, instead of just increasing hatred.
One of the reasons I'm voting for HaYamin HeChadash, The New Right is because I want them to have enough seats in the Knesset so that the Likud will have to give Naftali Bennett the Defense Ministry. The worst thing for the State of Israel would be for Netanyahu to continue holding multiple ministries, including Defense, and even worse than that would be for him to invite the Four-Headed Monster Party aka Blue and White to join a massive Center coalition and crown one of their failed wimpy IDF heads with the Defense Ministry.
I hope you know enough Hebrew to get the message from this campaign video by The New Right. The message is that it was only due to Bennett's pressure on Benny Gantz, then IDF Chief of Staff, and Bogie Ya'alon, then Defense Minister, that the army put together an operative plan to destroy the terrorist tunnels in the south. The clip quotes actual security cabinet meetings to prove it.
An important theme of the New Right campaign is to give them your vote so that Ayelet Shaked can continue rehabilitating the Israeli Judicial System and Naftali Bennett can take charge of Security/Defense.
You need a sense of humor and imagination at times to follow Israeli politics. Many times, pretty much before every Knesset election, some backer comes up with a "tasters menu" of losers and wannabes to run together as a "great white hope" political party.
Even if these new parties make it into the Knesset, they are a disaster, as they have nothing but ambition and failures in common. The latest such Frankenstein being touted, still nameless of course, though backed by a group of reform-minded sic activists called “Beshvil (For) Yisrael,” would include Adina Bar-Shalom, the daughter of the late Chief Rabbi of Israel and cofounder of the Shas party Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Yeruham Mayor Michael Biton and breakaway MK Orly Levy-Abekasis daughter of popular former MK and Minister David Levy.
After following Israeli politics almost half a century, nothing is really new to me. I've seen and heard it all before. None of these politicians, and you don't have to be an MK to be one, show real leadership and trustworthiness. I can easily see how many polls asking Israelis who's best for Prime Minister show "none of the above" as first choice.
Simply put, I see Bogie Ya'alon as the Right's Ehud Barak.
If you've been wondering why I haven't written about attending any of the "anti-corruption" rallies, it's because I don't see them as sincere, or as it's said in Hebrew, לשם שמיים, lisheim shamayim, for the sake of Heaven. They are clearly political tricks/cons to get Prime Minister Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu out of office. I agree that he's far from perfect, but I don't see anyone who can replace him, certainly not former Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon.
It's pretty obvious, that this "movement" is backed by people with a not so hidden agenda, and their agenda is to get Netanyahu out of office. If anyone has the means and connections, then please FOLLOW THE MONEY. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up coming form international Leftists, like Soros and those who financed the "anyone but Bibi" and V15 during the last Israeli elections.
The Obama administration is using taxpayer dollars to fund a radical anti-Israel group that aims to drive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office in March parliamentary elections.
And the U.S.-based group receiving the U.S. government money, OneVoice International, in turn is working with V15, an "independent grassroots movement" in Israel, according to Ha'aretz. V15's unofficial motto is said to be "anyone but Bibi," a reference that includes the prime minister's nickname. complete article click
The International Left has plenty of money, but it didn't help them in the USA 2016 Elections. Trump won.
I don't trust Bogie any more than I'd trust Ehud Barak or Barack Hussein Obama and his backers. Years ago, I'd heard Bogie touted as the "great Right hope," and I never saw him prove it when in office. That's why I spent yesterday evening at a football game, American tackle football. I saw more honesty on the field, than I would have heard from the speakers at the demonstration.
An explosion and smoke are seen after Israeli strikes in Gaza City. (photo credit:REUTERS) Jerusalem Post
Most everyone here in Israel, and in many parts of the world, are happy that for once the State of Israel has shown some strength in its response to Arab Gazan terror attacks on the south of the country.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip launched a rocket that landed in the Israeli border town of Sderot on Sunday and Israeli aircraft and tanks responded by shelling the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, the army and police said...
An Israeli shell during an initial retaliation damaged a Beit Hanoun water tower and there were no casualties, local residents said.
Multiple air strikes later in the evening hit at least 30 different sites in the Gaza Strip belonging to Hamas, the smaller Islamic Jihad and other militant groups and two people were lightly hurt, Gaza health officials said.
A music festival in Sderot attended by hundreds of Israelis was temporarily disrupted as people sought shelter, television footage showed.
Have you noticed that even Reuters has properly sequenced its headline? Could this be a sign the Moshiach (Messiah) is getting closer?
Is our new Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman really changing the rather useless gentle fly swatting responses to the dangerous missile attacks by Gazan Arab terrorists to proper and suitable bombing? Or is this a one time event? Only time will tell. Most Israelis have gotten fed up with the namby-pamby Israeli responses and the very Leftist utterings of the previous Defense Minister Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon. The big problem with Lieberman is that he is so totally inconsistent, but he does have the knack to say what the public wants to hear.
I wouldn't venture a guess as to how long this new policy will last, but in the meantime, I support it!
My son plays and coaches tackle football. One of his good friends and teammates was interviewed not long ago about football and when asked about the "brutality" of the game, he acted offended and said that he looks at the game as an intellectual game, just like chess... I'm pretty sure that Prime Minister Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu and the incoming Minister of Defense Avigdor "Yvette" Lieberman are chess players. I wonder if they also like American Football, because it seems to me that they pulled one of those "Trick" football plays.
While Isaac "Buji" Herzog and Bibi were busy discussing the issues and negotiating how to bring Herzog's Zionist Movement into the coalition, and all eyes and pundit were on them, suddenly Lieberman ran with the ball for a touchdown! And he managed to knock Bogie Ya'alon off of the field without losing speed for even a second.
As Minister of Defense, Moshe Bogie Ya'alon should be perceived as supporting Israel's IDF soldiers in a most difficult situation/war against our enemies, including the terrorists. Instead he has seriously and consistently veered Left in a very complicated war of words, ideas, bullets, knives etc.
Maybe he once was very much on the political Right and strong on defense etc. But since taking office as Minister of Defense, he has veered so far Left he makes Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu look good.
In the War of Arab Terror Against Jews, we are all on the frontline. At least those of us who aren't guarded 24/7 and aren't driven in protected cars, like Bogie. We know that terror is a "political mugging," like the Biblical Amalek who preyed on the weak, and not some random acts of ordinary criminals who may be susceptible to de/reprograming and rehabilitation.
I am very disappointed in the reaction of Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and her defense of Bogie. He has been interfering in the case against the soldier who shot the terrorist. His Left-sounding knee-jerk condemnation of the soldier is dangerously anti-Justice and anti-democratic.
Their bandwagon reactions are dangerous for Israelis all over, because they sympathise with the terrorists, rather than the Jewish victims and the IDF soldiers who are doing their best to protect us.
By blocking the sound on the video from the Arab terror attack on innocent Jews in Hebron last month, B'tzelem managed to distort reality and turn the Arab terrorist into an "innocent victim," sic, when a soldier executed him as he (the terrorist) began moving. There was legitimate fear/suspicion that under the terrorist's coat, which was a sure sign, that some weapon or bomb was hidden and ready to use against the Jews around him.
And very tragically our hapless and gullible Minister of Defense fell for the con and has been leading the B'tzelem extreme Left anti-Israeli security campaign against the quick-thinking soldier.
Family of shot terrorist threatens Israel with legal action
The family of Abd al-Fattah al-Sharif, the terrorist who was shot by a soldier in Hevron last week after a stabbing attack against Israelis, on Monday threatened the IDF with legal procedures, the Ma’an news agency reported.
In a press conference at the Hevron governor’s office, al-Sharif’s uncle Fathi al-Sharif also urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, to file legal procedures against Israel at the International Criminal Court, over the incident.
We are at war, and in a battle things happen, and Bogie Ya'alon seems to have forgotten it in his quest for "good press."
Soldier charged over shooting Hevron terrorist appears in court
Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, Jerusalem for illustrative pictures of the price in human lives paid by the State of Israel and the Jewish People
Considering that the arrest and condemnations of the the soldier who shot the wounded terrorist last Thursday were based on a purposely silenced video broadcast by an extreme Leftist group, B'Tselem, I find the support for the soldier very important and encouraging.
We all know that in today's modern world every camera and cellphone record sound along with action, and the fact that the B'Tselem crew silenced the sound meant that the sound would totally disprove their agenda. So, anyone with half a brain should have immediately suspected something sneaky and crooked and distorted in the silenced video that B'Tselem sent off to the world.
The fact that so many government and IDF bigwigs, from the Prime Minister and Defense Minister on down, so quickly fell for their scam is not very encouraging. How dumb and gullible they all are!
Just like the fact that B'Tselem had erased the sound should have been a warning light that it was a trick, the fact that the terrorist was in a coat in hot weather was a sign that he could very well be hiding weapons and bombs on his body. The dialogue that B'Tselem did not want anyone to hear was that everyone was being warned that the terrorist was starting to move and that he was most probably boobytrapped or about to brandish a weapon or blow all of them up.
http://media-ios.a7.org/a7radio/misc/video/16/mar/250316-telrumeda.mp4
In the above video you can hear very clearly that the soldiers and bystanders are being warned that the terrorist, who had already attacked soldiers, was probably carrying more weapons or explosives and had begun to move.
Improv entertainment groups are fond of a technique, I've seen many times, in which they ask a member of the audience to translate some gibberish said by one of the actors, as if there's an interview of a foreigner or man from Mars or whatever. Considering that this is a totally made up dialogue, based on the imagination of the "translator" I see a connection to B'Tselem's edited/silenced video which was publicized, davka, in that format purposely to distort the truth and they should be prosecuted. This is no joke.
Monday, March 28, 2016 Breaking news: MDA investigation: IDF sapper warned terrorist may have bomb
even after shotDr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA 28 March 2016
As Defense Minister Yaalon continues issuing statements attacking the IDF
soldier who killed the terrorist last Thursday in Hebron in an incident
featured in a B'Tselem video, Channel 10 news reports that according to an
internal investigation conducted at the request of Magen David Adom (MDA)
Director General Eli Bin, the military sapper on the scene instructed the
paramedics not to provide medical care to the wounded terrorist - and that
this order remained in effect even AFTER the now controversial shooting of
the terrorist by the IDF soldier.
For the report in Hebrew:
http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1181926
According to the Israel Radio Reshet Bet item covering the MDA
investigation, the investigators noted that the reason the sapper was
particularly suspicious was the the terrorist had a zipped up jacket despite
the very warm weather (25 degrees Centigrade [77 degrees F]).
Ironically, the Israel Radio report intersperses new remarks by Defense
Minister Yaalon against the soldier with this information that strongly
supports the version of the soldier and also raises serious questions about
the veracity of the IDF claims that the IDF determined that the terrorist
did not present a danger [or in plain English - the very real possibility
that some people in the IDF decided to make a barefaced lie that served the
agenda of the COS and DM who have opted to dig in their heals to defend
their original statements against the soldier rather than back down.]
Bibi, after jumping on the B'Tselem led bandwagon has issued a further statement sans apology, trying to hoist himself on the fence. A better, more David/Yehuda type leader would have completely apologized for his condemnation of the soldier. Netanyahu says soldier's father 'touched my heart':
In his comments, the prime minister remarked on the statement issued by the soldier's father, who asked that his son not be made the victim of a media trial. The soldier is currently under arrest and charged with murder.
"Like you I heard the words of the father of the soldier," said Netanyahu. "I have to say that as a father of a soldier the words touched my heart."
"IDF soldiers, our children, stand before murderous terror attacks by terrorists who come to kill them. They have to make decisions in real time, in field conditions, in stress conditions, in uncertain conditions."
Netanyahu emphasized that "I rely 100% on the IDF, on the Chief of Staff, on the investigation. I trust that the investigation will consider all the conditions that I described, including operational conditions. I am certain that the investigation will be professional and fair towards the soldier."
I must say that nothing is fair if the Defense Minister has condemned the poor soldier already, and the Prime Minister had, too. I'd like to see Defense Minister Yaalon resign, because if this is how he reads, watches, investigates and analizes security reports he is not competent to be Minister of Defense for the State of Israel.
"What happened is that [the soldier] was placed on a field trial before the Military Police even started its investigation," Bennett said, adding, "Two terrorists came to kill civilians. Both were shot and killed and there was a very serious incident. Between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. that Thursday, before the Military Police investigation even began, the entire Israeli leadership in both the opposition and the coalition determined that the soldier committed a crime.” "Then the case goes to young Military Police investigators, and how can they conduct themselves in an objective way?" Bennett continued, demanding that the murder charges against the soldier be dropped. Soldiers acting on a battlefield, in such a situation, cannot be branded murderers, he said. "We sent him to defend us in battle. He may have erred seriously, maybe not. We need to hear him." (Arutz 7)
None of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's fancy words and flawless delivery can hide the fact that he, Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon and COS Benny Gantz have allowed the Gazan Arab Hamas terrorists to defeat us by Just look at their posture and faces; body language says it all.
The Israeli public had given them overwhelming support to defeat the Gazan Hamas Arab terrorists and take over if necessary, and instead instead, like the Biblical Judah's son Onan who refused to have a child with his brother's widow Tamar they withdrew our IDF troops too early to do the job. The Bible tells of that Onan was punished by G-d, killed, for this sin, and no doubt G-d will find a way to effectively punish these failed leaders.
Right now there isn't a Rightist party in the Knesset, but if elections were to be held now, a party like former MK's Arye Eldad and Michael Ben-Ari's Otzma li'Yisrael would do well. Bibi's support has dropped under one third of the population and even fewer feel that we won this war. Poll on IMRA:
Did Israel win?
Yes 29% No 59% How would you term the performance of PM Netanyahu in the last week?
Good 32% Bad 59% Don't know/refuse reply 9%
Percent good by polling date:
25 August 38%
21 August 55%
5 August 63%
23 July 82%
Israel is a very small country with a large percentage of the population army veterans or connected to veterans, so you can't con us about war and defense.
In blatant hypocrisy, Netanyahu after preaching to Obama that ISIS and Hamas are two sides of the same coin, recognized Hamas and made an agreement with them. Read Evelyn Gordon's analysis of the connection between the two, ISIS and Hamas: Spot the Differences.
It is hard to see what Israel is getting out of this ceasefire except a stronger enemy the next time Hamas begins attacking us.
“In order to preserve the lives of innocent people and prevent bloodshed, and in accordance with the Egyptian Initiative of 2014 and the Cairo 2012 memorandums of understanding, Egypt has invited the Israeli and Palestinian sides to a comprehensive and mutual ceasefire with the opening of the crossings between the Gaza Strip and Israel to allow a speedy entry of humanitarian aid and relief, reconstruction supplies and fishing permissions from six nautical miles. Indirect negotiations over other topics are to start in a month. As both sides accepted the ceasefire, it shall start at 7pm Cairo time on 26 August 2014." from official MFA statement
Am I imagining it?
Here's the Jerusalem Post summary of the agreement:
Immediate steps: • Hamas and the other terrorist groups in Gaza halt all rocket and mortar fire into Israel. • Israel stops all military action, including air strikes, ground operations and targeted killings. • The Palestinian Authority will lead coordination of the reconstruction effort in Gaza with international donors, including the European Union, Qatar, Turkey and Norway. Saudi Arabia is also likely to be a major donor, with the expectation in Jerusalem being that unlike Qatar, it will take pains to ensure that its funds will not be directed to Hamas, but rather to build up the PA. • Israel is expected to narrow the security buffer – a no-go area for Palestinians that runs along the inside of the Gaza border – reducing it from 300 meters to 100 meters if the truce holds. The move will allow Palestinians more access to farmland close to the border. • Israel will extend the fishing limit off Gaza’s coast from 3 miles to 6 miles, with the possibility of widening it gradually if the truce holds. Ultimately, the Palestinians want to return to a full 12-mile international allowance. • Israel agrees to open the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings to the supervised transfer of goods, including humanitarian aid and reconstruction equipment, into the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians in Gaza celebrate cease-fire Photo: REUTERS
Honestly, I'm not alone in feeling positively ill about it. Please don't forget that Israel is now being attacked from the north. Anyone who thinks that it's just an unrelated coincidence is crazy.
The Israeli military said that since the cease-fire deal was to have gone into effect, Hamas had fired 123 rockets at Israel, one killing a civilian - the first Israeli fatality in the fighting. (Reuters)
The majority of the Israeli public is against a ceasefire with Hamas at this time, a poll conducted for Channel 2 News on Tuesday found. 53% of respondents said they opposed a ceasefire with Hamas, while 35% said they support it. 12% said they did not know or refused to answer. At the same time, a majority of respondents were pessimistic about Operation Protective Edge bringing an end to the rocket fire from Gaza. 92% said they believe that the operation will not end the rocket fire, and only 6% said that they believe that Hamas would stop the rocket fire after the operation. (Arutz 7)
The cycle of attacks, retaliation, ceasefire, improved terrorist weapons and then more attacks on Israeli civilians has been going on for more than a decade. The only change has been the expanded range of the Hamas Gazan Arab terrorist missile launchers. Today's Arab weapons reach a once unthinkably large swath of Israel, including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and beyond.
COS Benny Gantz
Minister of Defense Moshe Bogie Ya'alon
As my husband and I watched and listened carefully to the official announcements by Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon and IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz that we would respond with even more force I was hoping to hear that the name of this "military operation" from the easily mocked "Operation Protective Edge," better suited for condoms, to something with more punch and determination, like "Finish Them Off."
Even Israel's strongly Left-slanted news couldn't find supporters for the ceasefire. Only the very extreme Left, like the Meretz party believes that we can negotiate a peace. That's the linchpin of their ideology. They refuse to recognize that the ultimate aim of not only Hamas but Fatah is Israel's destruction. And you can't negotiate peace with people who want you destroyed.
It's heartening to see that there are people in this world who recognize that Israel isn't at fault for the death of Gazan civilians. This cartoon says it all.
Just a couple of days ago, Israelis and proud Jews all over the world reveled at the honesty that had come from Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon when he told the truth about the Arab terrorists who are supposed to be our "peace" sic partners. Now here we are less than a week later, and he has already buckled and apologized.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon found himself apologizing for the second time in recent weeks for harsh comments made about the US government. In a phone conversation with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Wednesday night, he said that his comments "were not intended to express opposition, criticism or offense to the United States," adding that maintaining strong ties with the United States is Israel's utmost priority. Ya'alon expressed his appreciation for the close relationship Israel shares with the United States, and emphasized his full commitment to cooperation between the two nations.
What can I shout other than WIMP?
What kind of defense can a man like that administer?
Honestly, I hate to say it, but I'm not all that surprised. Many of you readers already know that I think of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's coalition as marionettes on the stage, all controlled very efficiently by tightly held strings.
That's the deal that Bibi makes when he signs people into his governments. And that's why I don't consider being in the Israeli Government Cabinet as having real power. Bibi holds muzzle power over his cabinet and coalition. To be part of the Netanyahu government one must promise to be a team player and play only according to Bibi's rules. He's a strict enforcer and as unhappy as some of the coalition may be, nobody has the guts to walk out on him.
After each rebellious peep, there's a kowtowing apology and then silence.
Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon is the Israeli Defense Minister. Many people from Israel's Right had been hoping that he'd be Bibi's appointee for the previous administration, but Ehud Barak got the nod instead. Here in Shiloh, the eye of the storm, it has been very difficult to notice much improvement now that Ya'alon is supposedly in charge. He signed the order to destroy a Jewish house in the Shiloh area without properly examining the facts. It's still painfully difficult for Jews to get building permits, and the latest Netanyahu government has continued cooperating with the American Secretary of State John Kerry's dangerous faux "peace" sic talks which aim to establish an Arab terror state in the heart of the Historic Jewish Homeland at the expense of Jewish Rights and communities.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is not a partner for a permanent peace agreement, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) said in a Channel 2 interview on Saturday, just days before Abbas is set to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House."Unfortunately, an agreement will not happen in my generation," Ya'alon said. Ya'alon also questioned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's impartiality. "I am not sure Kerry is a fair mediator," Ya'alon said. "We'll see at the end of the process." Ya'alon said that a peace deal could not be reached without Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. "Abbas has resorted to the Oslo trick, no recognition and no promises," Ya'alon said. "Abbas is a partner who takes, not a partner who gives. He is not a partner for a permanent peace agreement that includes recognition of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people. He just takes back prisoners. A country isn't founded by U.N. declaration, but on the ground. Judea and Samaria and Gaza are dependent on us. If we aren't in Judea and Samaria, Hamas will take over instead of Abbas." "What transpired with regard to Kerry's mediation is between us and him. He knows we did not commit ourselves to releasing Israeli Arabs [from prison], and so the issue is open on the table. Abbas received assurances regarding the prisoners, not the government of Israel," he said.
I don't know what caused Ya'alon to take off the mask. Maybe it was Purim. Actually, I couldn't have said these things any better myself. To be honest, I've been blogging the same stuff for years. But you readers are members of a very exclusive club. Too few people read my articles. If you agree with what I write, please help publicize the posts, thanks.
Last night I attended the opening of the Jerusalem Conference. I sat next to Arlene Kushner and agree with her report on Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon speech, which you can find on her site. She left soon later and probably would have been as disgusted and disappointed as most of us were at Ketzaleh's clown-like behavior. He treated it like an election rally and never answered the questions he was asked, nor did he pay any attention to what the others were saying. Some people would say that the conference was "his baby," and he thought that he was above all. No, it won't affect my plans to vote for Ichud Le'umi.
And even while I was very impressed by the two young Likud representatives, MK Gilad Erdan and Tzipi Hotobeli (Likud candidate/hopeful,) I don't think that they will have any real influence on the Likud. Bibi Netanyahu is controlling it very tightly. Erdan lost his cool when discussing the fact that most of the Likud MK's supported Disengagement. He couldn't explain it, and I was among those entirely incredulous, not quite comprehending his defense of the Likud. I would love to see Erdan and Hotobeli in Ichud Le'umi. I think they're wasting their energies and talents in the Likud, where they will be stifled.
MK Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) was his usual obnoxious, illogical and irrational self. He insists we need "two nations for two Peoples," but he wouldn't transfer Arabs from their homes and fled the conference before questions to the panel. He mocked all those, like Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon and Katzeleh, who "enter politics at sixty," after successful careers in other spheres, claiming they don't know anything about being politicians. I kept thinking of what one newspaper editor told me:
"I prefer to hire those who have degrees in history, science, economics etc, because any intelligent person can learn how to write an article. Those who study journalism don't know anything about what they're supposed to be writing."
Too many politicians just learn how to be elected, and they really don't understand the issues, history and background.
I'll just return to Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon and MK Gilad Erdan before closing this post. Yes, they did say all the right things, but I still have my doubts. I didn't hear Ya'alon's shouting and leading anti-Disengagement demonstrations after resigning. Nor did MK Gilad Erdan forcefully voice and publicize his opposition. As Likud MK's they don't (won't) have the freedom to do as they please, as they believe.
That's another reason why I'm voting Ichud Le'umi and consider it the wisest choice. I don't want to vote for people who must guard their tongue and compromise.
