Is Insane Israeli Political Situation Due to Foreign Interference?

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be continuing another few months as "interim," AKA "lame duck" Prime Minister. We're going to have a third round of Knesset elections in less than a year, and unless something very dramatic happens, the situation -stalemate- will continue ad nauseum. I suggest reading Arlene Kushner's article about it.

IMHO there are two guilty parties in this unprecedented situation, Avigdor Yvette Lieberman and the backers/instigators of Benny Gantz's Blue and White political party.

Lieberman has repeatedly destabilized Israeli Governments, and my guess is that there's foreign money behind Gantz and cronies. I'm not sure what's behind Lieberman. Could he have been planted here decades ago from the USSR? Or is he just "having fun" playing politics.

About Blue and White, don't forget that during Obama's US Presidency, there was blatant American interference in Israeli politics to unseat Likud's Bibi Netanyahu, V15. They haven't given up, and now they're targeting both Bibi and Donald Trump. I don't have the capabilities to prove it, but I have no doubt.

Bibi's Not Perfect, But He's Not Corrupt

What the Left, International Left to be exact, couldn't achieve in legal elections, they are doing by inventing crimes. My complaints about Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu are that he hasn't used his legal official position as PM to fully annex all the Land we liberated in the 1967 Six Days War, and he tries to please the world rather than act as a proud Jew. Bibi's attempts to be Centrist weaken the State of Israel. I want him to be a David not a Saul*. But these trumped up charges against Bibi are a coup, just like he claims.

I have no doubt that the funding, backing mentoring for Gantz's Blue and White Party can be traced to the same international Leftist conspirators who brought Obama to the US Presidency and funded the "anyone but Bibi" groups, V15 etc ad nausuem. Now, that's really illegal, but the judicial here and almost everywhere are terribly politically Left leaning.

This anti-Netanyahu coup is not only dangerous for the State of Israel, but it's dangerous for the world. There's no objective "truth and justice. " They've colored everything, spent the last century effectively taking over universities and media all over the world.

Someday it will just be chapter in World History, but it's hard to live through it knowing what we know.

Gd is The True Judge and can override everything. Shabbat is soon, and we certainly need a rest from the mundane world. Thank Gd for creating Shabbat.

שבת שלום ומבורך

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach

May You Have A Peaceful and Blessed Sabbath

*King Saul was from the Tribe of Benjamin, and his weakness as a leader caused Gd to choose David to be King and establish a dynasty.

"Blue & White," Follow The Money

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.

 "Blue & White?"

If Bogie's the Alternative, I'll Stick With Bibi

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.

US - Israel Relations in The Eyes of an Israeli

Israeli and Jerusalem Flags flying outside the Old City Walls

Even though I'm second generation born in the USA, I look at everything happening in America as an Israeli. I voted with my feet when I boarded that boat, the Annamarie, Greek Lines, August, 1970. My chief priority is the security and viability of the State of Israel. Also, as a strictly Torah Observant Jew, aka Orthodox Jew, I see the survival and thriving of the State of Israel as beneficial to the stability and peace of the entire world.

I've spent almost a half a century and the vast majority of my life here in Israel. My husband and I made aliyah, moved to Israel just two months after our wedding. We never actually lived as "adults" in the United States. So please take that as your filter, to understand where I'm coming from, when reading this.

Yesterday evening, when when my husband and I were both home from work watching the Israeli news on television, we were lucky to catch the clip of the warm greetings between  the two first couples, the Trumps and the Netanyahus.

Melania Trump debuts as White House hostess alongside the Netanyahus, YahooNews

This was such a welcome change after the eight frigid and hostile years of Barack Hussein Obama and the eight previous cold, petulant and contentious  Bush years. I know that many American Jews were hoping that Hillary Clinton would win the elections and that there'd be a Democratic majority in both houses, but here in Israel things always look different.

Most Israelis who follow the news will never forget the outrageous and immoral interference in Israeli Elections by the American Government, led by Democrats most notably Obama and the Clintons. They funded the V15 aka "anybody but Bibi" to try to assist the Israeli Left to block Netanyahu's Likud from being able to form a government coalition during the 2015 Knesset 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.
OneVoice has reportedly hired Obama campaign aides such as Jeremy Bird of political consulting powerhouse 270 Strategies to take on Netanyahu's Likud Party. (FrontPage.com)

Their well-funded attempt wasn't successful, because Israeli citizens didn't fall for their lies and propaganda. And many blamed a similar interference when American Democrats, aka the Clintons, helped support Labor's Ehud Barak to unseat Netanyahu in 1999. This is one of the major reasons Israelis and quite a few American Jews did not want to see Hillary Clinton in the White House. The Clintons are better actors than the Obamas and never have had any real problems mugging  and hugging to fake their "love" for Israel and the Netanyahus. But behind the scenes that power couple has tried every trick in the book to undermine and defeat Bibi (the Likud) and promote their pro-Arab, pro-Palestine agenda.

So, I'd appreciate a little understanding and historic perspective from friends and relatives who are horrendously upset that Trump is the new POTUS. I agree that he's not ideal, but compared to Hillary -look at her deeds and agenda not her chromosomes, please- he's a gazillion times better for Israel.

May Gd Help Us All

Trump is Right Not to Visit Israel Now

newyorker.com

There are two major reasons why Donald Trump should not pay the traditional POTUS wannabe visit to Israel.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is hesitant on the issue of a possible visit to Israel, despite reports last week that Republican Jews are laying the groundwork for such a trip in the coming weeks, The Jewish Insider reported Monday. (Arutz 7)

1. It's conventional and phony.
2. It's bad for Netanyahu.

We all remember that visits of previous candidates over the years and the lies they told of how they love and support and understand the security problems and Arab terrorism against Israel and Israelis. And then once elected, the same candidates show their true colors and suddenly haven't a clue about the dangers of arab terrorism. I'm sure that most real thinking Israelis just don't want Trump, who has prided himself on his unconventional and refreshingly honest campaign to play the old game and read the old scripts.  Not even Hillary is talking about coming, and she would bring great pro-Israel speechwriters who would make her sound more pro-Israel than Golda Meir. In all honesty, "pro-Israel" is no longer a vote-getter for American Presidential wannabes. 

And in all honesty, I don't think that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wants for be pushed into any sort of involvement in American elections. The Americans, especially those supporting Hillary, were behind the big "anybody but Bibi" aka V15 campaign against him, just over a year ago. Netanyahu is playing the high road now and does not want to be involved in any way or form in the American campaign. It is best for both him and Trump to stay out, and one way is for Trump to stay out of Israel. He can visit after his victory, and no doubt such a visit will be planned and planned well.

Bibi Should Not Voice Opinions About American Elections, but...

Bibi Should Not Voice Opinions About American Elections, 

but I can since I'm just a blogger!

There was a pretty superficial opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post about Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the American Elections, What the prime minister thinks but cannot say out loud, by Gil Hoffman.

I think it's pretty clear that Netanyahu knows enough about American politics to know that:

• None of the wannabes can be trusted to keep any pro-Israel campaign promises. 
• Whatever he says will end up backfiring.

And even more serious for him is the fact that:

During the most recent Israeli Elections, the American government found underhanded and illegal ways to support V15 aka anybody but Bibi NGOs!

State Department-Funded Group Bankrolling Anti-Bibi Campaign

A U.S. State Department-funded group is financing an Israeli campaign to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and has hired former Obama aides to help with its grassroots organizing efforts.
U.S.-based activist group OneVoice International has partnered with V15, an “independent grassroots movement” in Israel that is actively opposing Netanyahu’s party in the upcoming elections, Ha’aretz reported on Monday. Former national field director for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign Jeremy Bird is also reportedly involved in the effort.

State Dept. scrubbed from anti-Bibi group's website

TEL AVIV – A non-profit at the center of controversy regarding its campaign to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Tuesday’s polls has removed the State Department from its website’s list of “partners,” WND has learned.

Below is a snapshot taken by WND last month, which clearly shows the U.S. Department of State, replete with a logo, listed as a “partner” of the OneVoice Movement on the group’s website.

Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine also has a cache image taken in 2014 showing the State Department listed on the same “partner” page.

The State Department logo is missing from the current version of the same page listing OneVoice’s partners.

The Americans play dirty, and it really doesn't pay for Netanyahu to get involved. With the Republican top wannabes still trading attacks on each other, it's looking more and more like Hillary will get to be the first female POTUS. And she can be even worse than Obama. Remember that she was his Secretary of State during his first term. And her Suha kiss will never be forgotten nor forgiven.

The doubts about her swelled in November 1999, when she palled around with Yasir Arafat’s wife, Suha Arafat, in the West Bank. During one speech, Suha Arafat accused “Israeli forces” of spraying “poison gas,” causing “an increase in cancer cases among Palestinian women and children.” Throughout the tirade, with Arafat’s words translated simultaneously, Clinton kept smiling. After the speech, Clinton kissed Arafat warmly on the cheek. Critics charged that the first lady had shown her true colors, implicitly endorsing this modern blood libel. (WorldPost)

No doubt Silence by Bibi is Best

Lame Duck Obama and PM Bibi Meet Again

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2010.
Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters

From what I've been able to glean from the news, both United States President, the lame duck, Barack Hussein Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, are hoping for a polite drama-less summit this week. They went head to head last time Netanyahu was in the states over the "Iran deal," and with elections to replace Obama just a year away and Israel's suffering daily Arab terror attacks, neither of them want negative headlines.

I highly doubt if their personal chemistry can ever improve. Obama and Bibi are so extremely different in both their ideologies, educational backgrounds and mentalities. Obama was raised by his extreme, far-Left mother, who even gave him foreign, rather than American education and culture. Netanyahu comes from Israel's Right; his father, Professor Benzion Netanyahu PHD, was a world renown historian who taught in prestigious universities around the world and raised his sons to be IDF heros. It's possible that Bibi had more years of mainland American education than Obama did. Even more than political ideology, there's a frequent phenomenon I've noticed here in Israel which can be seen in the bad chemistry between Bibi and Obama. American and Israeli males are very different and can have serious trouble establishing friendships.

There's also a lot of personal anger between Netanyahu and Obama. The Americans illegally and immorally funded and supported the last Knesset campaign against Bibi, the V15, which had a slogan/motto of "anyone but Bibi."

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. (Frontpagemag)

It's no secret that Netanyahu has many supporters and long-time friends in the Republican Party, which continuously irks Obama, but nothing that Bibi has ever done can be compared to the immoral, and probably illegal, V15.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the aim of this upcoming meeting is "common ground." So, no doubt both Obama and Netanyahu will try to follow whatever script that has been planned in advance, or they would not be meeting at all.

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu look out a window before their lunch at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. (photo credit:OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO / PETE SOUZA)

Obama, more than a decade younger than Netanyahu, is most probably looking forward to his forced by law early retirement, while there doesn't seem like a dignified and respectable way for Bibi to leave office in the near future.

Whose Expertise in International Terrorism Do You Trust More, Obama or Netanyahu?

The American and Israeli Leftist won't let the issue die. They are campaigning hard against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. They don't want to see him in office any longer. The fact that the Republican John Boehner invited Netanyahu to speak to Congress about the Iranian nuclear threat, without the approval of United States President Barack Hussein Obama has them livid and loaded with weapons to use against Bibi.

Netanyahu is likely to note that a deal that keeps Iran on the edge of nuclear capability will ignite an arms race among America’s longtime Arab allies: oil-rich Sunni gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which fear Tehran just as much as does ­Netanyahu.
In this, he would echo one of the president’s own former military commanders, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis who says the options will be “very bleak” if Iran comes away from any US deal with its nuclear program intact.
Apart from the president’s desperation to produce some policy triumph in the Middle East, he is no doubt thinking Iran will be an ally in the fight against the Sunni terrorists such as ISIS.
Talk about rose-colored glasses: Sen. John McCain rightly calls the idea that a deal with Iran means we’ll all be working ­together ­“delusional.”
In recent weeks alone, Iranian-backed forces have taken the capital of Yemen; Iranian-backed Hezbollah has killed two Israeli soldiers; Iran’s influence in Iraq grows while America’s declines; while in Iran itself the nation is about to put a Washington Post reporter on trial.
So forget Netanyahu the messenger. Far more critical is the timely message about Iran he will deliver. (NY Post)

Yes, in Israel there's an election campaign going on. The Israeli Left, backed by American funding, is pulling no punches in their campaign against the Likud and its leader Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. This is a street fight, not one of those highly regulated Olympic wrestling or judo matches.

Deputy ministers Tzipi Hotovely and Ophir Akunis, MKs Miri Regev and Yariv Levin, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attorney David Shimron presented evidence connecting the Zionist Union to V15 (Victory in 2015), an organization working to bring down the government, which has received funding from non-Israeli citizens S. Daniel Abraham and Daniel Lubetzky.
They spoke about V15’s funding from One Voice, which has received contributions from multiple foreign governments, organizations and non-Israeli citizens. They said Zionist Union candidates Yoel Hasson and Danny Atar and former Labor MKs Ephraim Sneh, Colette Avital, and Rabbi Michael Melchior were on One Voice’s advisory board...“This NPO scandal is worse than the first, because this time no one can say they didn’t know,” Levin said. “We are witnessing criminal behavior by Herzog and [his Zionist Union No. 2, Tzipi] Livni. When the first NPO scandal happened, Livni was in the Likud and she said the party was facing criminals. Then she stood for the rule of law. Now she stands beside Herzog in silence.”
Herzog chose to remain silent during the investigation of the 1999 NPO scandal. Regev dared him to go to police now and testify.

Many of us in Israel are more concerned about Israeli security and sovereignty than the issues Herzog, Livni and other Leftists are bringing up against Netanyahu and the Likud. I speak for many Israelis when I say that kowtowing to American demands in order to attempt to get on the "good side" of the virulently antipathetic Obama is not what we want Israel to do.

The true story of American-Israeli relations is checkered at best. Rarely has there been a United States President who truly felt a warm friendship to Israel. There was no American aid to Israel until after the June, 1967, Six Days War. I remember that war very well. I wasn't a child. Israel didn't have a single ally in June, 1967. The world stood by and watched expecting the three Arab armies, Egypt, Syria and Jordan, to easily defeat us.

It was a continuation of the attitude of the world during the Nazi rise to power and subsequent Holocaust. World War Two had nothing whatsoever to do with saving European Jewry. It was to stop the Nazi invasion and conquering of Europe and Great Britain.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is an expert on International Terrorism. That was his field before going into Israeli politics. What was United States President Barack Hussein Obama before going into American politics? "Community organizer?" Netanyahu didn't need any "affirmative action" to get into M.I.T. when competition for its few elite places was its fiercest while "baby boomers" were most numerous.

The American People should be happy that they have politicians willing to listen to hard news. The Iranian nuclear danger is international, not just targeting Israel.