Israeli Elections 2022: The Coalition Competition Will be Fierce

 

Spare Ballots if Needed

Here's the Choice of Political Parties

The previous elections were about a year and a half ago, which seems like ages, considering that the previous few were closer together. Most of those elections ended without coalitions. As I've written a number of times, Bibi Netanyahu and his merry band discovered an easy way to power--- being the interim Prime Minister/Government. 

Well, now Likud hasn't been in power for over a year. For them to return, no matter how many MKs they have, they need to supplement the number so it reaches over sixty to have a majority coalition. But now, the cat's out of the bag, and sitting Prime Minister Yair Lapid can play the same trick if he convinces enough Knesset Members not to join with Netanyahu.

This should be fun to watch.

You may be wondering why I'm not cheering on a specific party or leader. Well, like many Israelis I'm not very enamored with the choices. It's like watching a football or basketball match when you just want to see their skills, and you don't care which team wins.

That may sound strange to you. We are discussing the government which has power over security, growth etc. I'm feeling rather jaded about it. I just keep remembering the excitement when certain people became Prime Minister, and then how they surprised us with policies totally opposed to their platform/ideology, totally opposed to mine, too. So, we'll see what happens and I'll decide issue by issue and pray very hard.

Likud & Cronies Care More About Power Than The Needs of Israeli Citizens

Outgoing Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu refused to politely 
congratulate incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

No doubt you can guess that these are photos of my television screen showing the historic day when Naftali Bennett became Israel's Prime Minister. The dominant figure we see in both pictures isn't Bennett, it is former Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu. You can feel his fury in his eyes and body language.

Bibi showed himself to be a "sore loser." Not only did he lose the office, the political position he cherished and thought would be his for many more years, but he lost the respect of many. Unlike Shimon Peres, whose politics were at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Netanyahu, and in fact unlike all of his predecessors, Netanyahu showed no dignity, no respect for legal process. As we say in Jewish slang:

Bibi's no mensch.

The standard custom in Israel is for the outgoing Prime Minister to publicly congratulate his successor, no matter how far apart they are politically. Afterwards he/she conducts a proper civilized traditional "handover" process in which procedural matters top secret information are passed on so that the government continues to function in an efficient manner.

Netanyahu orchestrated the most disgusting antidemocratic display in the history of the State of Israel. He and his fellow Likud MKs along with the rest of his mafia just screamed, cursed and insulted the incoming government. It was horrifying to see close to half of our Knesset Members acting like drugged/drunk juvenile delinquents. 

Now here we are over a year later, and we have not heard a single apology. In a few days, we will be celebrating the second Rosh Hashanah since that unforgettably horrible scene. According to Jewish Law, a public sin demands a public apology. How anyone can vote for any of them, their parties, ever again is beyond my comprehension! 

If that wasn't proof enough of their moral depravity, the opposition went on a two-pronged attack, macro and micro. The micro* comprised the targeting of various coalition MKs to harass them, taunt them and tempt them, or simply to buy them out with promises of safe spots in the Likud list in the next elections. As proof, former Yemina MKs took their seats from the coalition are now Likud candidates with guarantees to be Likud MKs.

The macro attack required the opposition to vote against all laws proposed by the government, even those which they actually favored. Anything, any political weapon to use against the Bennett government became legitimate in their eyes, no matter what the cost to ordinary Israeli citizens. With a very weakened coalition, see micro*, the so-called Right wing opposition voted against the Settlement Law endangering the security, health and more of Israeli citizens in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. 

If Netanyahu had really led a Right wing government during the decade plus he had been in power, he would have declared Israeli sovereignty on these areas, and then there would have been no need for periodic renewal of the Settlement Law.

 Naftali Bennett was not willing to risk harming Jews whose security, health and more required the renewal of the Settlement Law, so he stepped down from his position as Prime Minister, which necessitated new elections. According to the coalition agreement he had with Yair Lapid, if the government falls because of the actions of the sitting Prime Minister's MKs, then the other one becomes the sitting Prime Minister. Bennett who is an honorable man honored that commitment. 

Even with the mask on, you can see that Bibi Netanyahu
isn't happy when he discovered that Naftali Bennett 
had become Prime Minister just over a year ago.

 

Thankfully Not All Israelis Embarrassed Themselves Over Biden's Visit

Everyone who heard that I would be in Jerusalem today thought I had lost my mind; even I had doubts. But since cousins were in from the states, and this was their only day...

Why was this considered a ridiculous irresponsible day to be in Jerusalem?

Street closings for the Biden visit were expected to wreck havoc in Jerusalem. Well, that may have been true in some neighborhoods, but not the routes I and my cousins would be taking to meet each other. 

Israel always goes overboard when top American officials show up, and I'm not just talking about closing major roads and highways. Prime Minister Lapid and President Herzog were smiling so broadly, you'd think they just won the lottery, Nobel Peace Prize and had been crowned Kings of The World.

The so-called pundits on television stupidly took Biden's speech seriously confusing a "speech" with policy. Every time an American President comes they make the same idiotic mistake, and that includes the visits of Clinton, the Bushes and even Obama. Each president, no matter how little they think of Israel comes armed with an amazing pro-Israel speech. And each time we hear the same dumb commentary by pundits and reporters who think that these "I love Israel" speeches are actual policy. It's all cosmetics, like hair dye and plastic surgery.  

The young and memory challenged in the media either forgot or never knew and didn't research that it was davka Biden who was nasty to then Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Besides that, the United States has never really supported the State of Israel when we were in danger. To be honest, I don't care, since Gd's help from our prayers is what we really need. I'd just prefer that our government officials understand it, besides not making up stories about "friendship." We're not allies. We can't rely on the USA. The State Department makes real policy there. Donald Trump overrode it in favor of Israel, consistently going against State Department demands. That's a major reason why he is so hated in Washington DC. But that's another story.

Davka, today I walked through both the Arab shuq in the Old City and the Machaneh Yehuda Market besides taking the lightrail. 

It was business as usual in the Jerusalem I visited. There was no sign of the Biden visit until I got on the bus going home, and the driver was listening to the radio. But I don't pick fights with the bus drivers... I just took out my book and read it.

Old Jewish Joke Helps Explain Russian-Ukranian "Conflict"

Today's Jerusalem Post online

Some of you may have known people who grew up speaking a few languages, because of shifting borders and consequently the need to speak the language of the rulers. Yes, in many parts of the world, borders between countries are rather fluid, shifting like sand on the seashore, or so it seems from far away. 

There's an old Jewish joke*:

Just after World War One, when Poland gained its freedom from Russia and even took over parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, two Jews meet near Lvov. 

One says, "isn't it wonderful we're no longer in Russia?" 

The Second Jews replies, "what difference does it make? Russia is antisemitic, and so is Poland." 

"Ah," responds the first Jew. "True. But I can't stand those Russian winters."

There was a time when other countries barely cared or noticed changing borders. Some border changes are the results of targeted invasions or aggression by a neighboring country. Other times, it was the results of war, either foreigners played god drawing borders, like after World Wars One and Two, or after after the "dust settled," OK the shooting stopped like Israel's victories in 1949, 1967** and 1973. 

This is what I wrote on Facebook:

I know that a lot of people will think that I'm totally insane and disagree without really thinking about what I'm saying. But before I say it, please understand that I've been a "student" of politics and history pretty much all my life, and I'm over 70 years old. I've always seen things differently. That's how I ended up living the life I now live. And I've never been shy about voicing my opinions. They are my opinions, and I have a right to them. I don't trash/insult others for their opinions when they disagree with me and I expect the same manners, behavior.

So about what's going on between Russia and Ukraine...

That whole area is under flux and has been pretty much forever. Barely a hundred years since communists made USSR, and it didn't last long. Honestly, not all of the countries that resulted when the USSR broke up can really exist independently. I'd butt out.

The area of the FSU Former Soviet Union certainly hasn't "settled" into secure viable borders. Many of the countries won't remain viable independent states. That's the way it is, sort of like yin/yang. International organizations and foreign countries just can't legislate true sovereignty. That doesn't mean they don't try, but it's ineffective. And just because the Ukraine is humongous doesn't mean that it can defend its independence. Size isn't everything. 

*thanks to my husband, Yisrael Medad, for the text of the joke

**For some peculiar reason, many countries and international organizations have condemned Israel for the 1967 Six Days War's resulting border changes, even though it was a defensive war. Losing the war would have meant the end of the State of Israel, and the post-war borders make much more sense, as they are easier to defend, more suited to the topography and allows Israelis access to the key locations of ancient Jewish history.

Letter in The Jerusalem Post

Great Show

I enjoyed reading Lahav Harkov's interview with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. I've been his supporter all along and first met him when he was head of Moetzet YESHA. 

There were little things I noticed in the interview, like using the correct craft/verb when describing his kippah as crocheted. But his politics is more important. It's amazing that he managed to put together this unlikely coalition especially when his "dowry" is miniscule. He's a full generation younger than Bibi, which shouldn't be forgotten. Bennett doesn't need to work, having made his fortune very, very young in hitech. 

Bennett doesn't claim to have a Right wing government, but policies aren't very different from decades of Likud. Please don't forget that there's hardly a Likud Prime Minister, if any, who didn't destroy Jewish communities, and that started with Menachem Begin. Bibi was no different. I remember hearing him say that although he talks "Right" he believes that as Prime Minister he needs to be in the Center. So I don't miss him and his mafia.

Bennett seems to have good control over the various issues Israel faces. I'm more nervous about when Lapid takes over. We'll see what happens. On the whole, I'm happy that the Bibi mafia is out. They found a way to stay in power "safely" by being perpetual "interim" governments sans coalition. Bennett and his coalition partners out-maneuvered them by doing the "impossible." Remember that the pundits claimed it wouldn't last a month....

I've been following Israeli politics closely for over half a century, and it's a great show!

Batya Medad, Shiloh

Guide To The Perplexed, Israeli Political System Simplified

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett 

After over half a century in Israel, I have a pretty good idea how the political system works. I don't think it's like many others. I'm going to try to simplify it here, aiming to say how it's run in positive rather than negative sentences/points. I will try to use easy to understand terminology.

• The Israeli Political System is a parliamentary democracy.
• The Israeli Political System has only proportional representation.
• Israeli citizens vote for political parties*.
• The 120 Knesset seats are proportionately divided among the political parties that received a legally set percentage of the votes and more.
• After votes are fully counted, the political parties negotiate a coalition government, because no single party has ever gotten a majority of the Knesset seats.
• The Prime Minister is chosen/voted in by the majority of Knesset Members who generally are in the political parties that have joined the coalition. 
• Coalition negotiations decide which participating political parties get which ministries, committee chairmanships and other important positions.
• When a government falls and new elections are called, the sitting government continues until after a new coalition is voted in.**

*Each political party has a numbered list of candidates who become MKs according to election results.

**That interim government cannot be voted out. Netanyahu had spent the last few years as interim Prime Minister, perfectly safe from losing his position as long as no new coalition run by another party could be formed.

Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett

I hope that this explanation is clear. If you have any questions, please write in the comments. 

This isn't the place/post to complain that YOU think it's a dumb system. The purpose of this post is just to explain the existing  Israeli Political System.

The Israeli Public Must Choose Between Compromising Ideals & Infinite Elections Ad Nauseum

I think even the most experienced and capable of political pundits here in Israel are getting dizzy from all these useless elections. Not too many years ago, the minimum vote percentage a party needed to get Knesset seats was raised just to prevent a situation like we have now. But it seems like a political party of four plus seats is as stubborn and unrealistic, if not more, as single MK parties.

No matter how you play with the numbers/MKs, the only way a working/viable/realistic coalition can be formed is for party leaders and MKs to go against their sworn ideals/platform. Some MKs will need to leave their parties and join this unity coalition. 

For me to say this isn't easy. I'm an idealist, a purist, but I'm also a pragmatist. 

As a pragmatist I'm sure that over sixty elected Members of Knesset can find some basic workable positions in terms of economics, security, development policies that can be the basis of a lasting, at least for four/five years government coalition. It shouldn't be top heavy expensive with Ministers, like that monstrous ineffective farcical Bibi-Gantz agreement. Committee chairmanships should be the "diamonds on the crown." The public will like that much better. It's in the committees where the real work is done.

Gd willing, that's what we'll soon see. Let them leave their egos behind. The State of Israel needs unity not infinite elections.

Elections Again? This isn't Some Sort of Joke; Is It?

I don't know why it has taken me so long to blog about the upcoming elections here in Israel. Usually I'm right on the ball, blogging about the politics even before the decision has been made. This time, eh...

Are we all burnt out between elections and COVID corona?

The twenty first century isn't all it was cracked up to be. It's becoming more of a dystopian horror movie, and we're in it whether we like it or not.

The score card is now under "construction" or something like that. MKs and wannabes are scurrying around trying to find the best chance to "live their dream" or extend their minute of fame.

There will be a deadline in another month or so, and by then deals will be made and dozens more polls will be publicized. Political parties may come and go, disappearing without even experiencing a single election on its own, sort of like a miscarriage. 

Veteran parties will join other historic relics in the political cemetery of has-beens. And Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu will attempt to keep on lengthening his record-breaking reign as Israel's longest standing/sitting/ruling Prime Minister.

While most Israelis are trying to stay alive and healthy and financially solvent, it seems that elections are the last thing we need again. But unfortunately, we haven't had a "proper" government for years, ever since Yvette (Avigdor) Lieberman broke up the coalition, if I remember correctly. 

Please BLAME IT ON YVETTE, NOT BIBI. Look, I don't vote Likud, but this whole mess is the fault of Yvette (Avigdor) Lieberman. And the main reason no party leader can put together a viable coalition is that Lieberman's Bayit Yehudi party doesn't join anyone. He's proving himself to be an anarchist, not a believer/follower in the democratic legal system of government.

Gd willing these elections will result in a better mix/choice of MKs who want the best for the State of Israel and not just an ego trip. A coalition must work together for the good of the country, Knesset Members not just the ministers.

Bennett-Bibi Parallels to Kings David and Saul

Tonight on tv, Israel's Chanel 11, I watched מהצד השני Mehatzad Hasheini "On The Other Hand" with Guy Zohar.

Guy Zohar picks a few issues each program and gives his own spin. Tonight he talked about something he thought peculiar. Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamin Hachadash (New Right) Party, a name I really don't like, though their platform is good, refuses to say that he's campaigning for the position of Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Of course, it's clear that he is, and he is doing very well in the polls under the question "Who should be the Prime Minister of the State of Israel?" For the longest time number two after PM Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu was "none of the above," and now Bennett is well ahead of all competitors and closing in on Netanyahu. His biggest problem is that we don't vote for Prime Minister, we only vote for party Knesset lists, and the party that does the best gets first crack at trying to form a coalition which will be headed by its number one.

Zohar showed clips, almost ad nauseum of New Right's Ayelet Shaked and Matan Kahane saying that Bennett is best suited to be Israel's next Prime Minister. He seemed to find that rather strange. I guess that Guy Zohar isn't familiar with the Tanach, Bible. 

This Bennett-Bibi scenario as presented by Zohar immediately reminded me of King David while King Saul was still alive and ruling. No matter what King Saul did against David, which included trying to murder him, David held back his followers from harming King Saul. Even though Samuel the Prophet had already anointed him, David insisted that he would never harm the king. And Bennett keeps saying that no elections are happening right now, so Bennett is not campaigning against Netanyahu to replace him as Prime Minister.

As I've said many times, as rocky as the present coalition is, the two main components Likud and Blue and White are both terrified of elections, since their leaders know very well that they've lost popular support. That's the glue holding the Bibi-Gantz government together. The political party showing most improvement in the polls is Bennett's New Right.

This is very much a three way competition. Gantz has no real chance to form a ruling coalition on his own. Bibi's attacks on Bennett over the years, even though he did give him good positions in his last interim government, also parallels King Saul's treatment of David. Even when trying to kill David, King Saul would sometimes order him to come and calm him with sweet music.

David eventually became King of the Jewish People and Land. I wouldn't dare try to predict who will be the true successor to Bibi Netanyahu. It may take a few short terms by successors until a new strong leader takes the helm.

Letter to The Jerusalem Post: Shocked by Yaakov Katz's Op-Ed

Editor's Notes: Politicizing a health crisis

From the first few lines of Yaakov Katz's op-ed in Friday's paper, I was sure he'd mention the old standby "Don't change horses mid-stream," but instead he attacked the Likud and not Blue and White. Maybe Katz doesn't quite understand the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis that is endangering the State of Israel, and most of the world.

Compared to most countries, Israel is doing an extraordinarily good job in keeping things under control, bringing back stranded citizens and caring for the ill. This isn't a time to change governments, even if Blue and White had received many more Knesset seats than Likud. We all know that not only didn't they receive as many as Likud, but Gantz had promised not to add the Joint List to his coalition. The only ones playing politics in this time of national and international crisis are the supporters of Benny Gantz.

If Gantz and crew really cared about the State of Israel at this point they would have immediately gone to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and offered to join an Emergency National Unity Government in any capacity needed for the sake of the citizens and residents. But they haven't. They and their followers are the ones playing politics, caring only for their personal egos and ambitions. 

Batya Medad
Shiloh

Politics: Sometimes You Have to Hold Your Nose...

I had a talk with a neighbor at the makolet* last night about it**. We both felt that in the world of politics/compromise/deals, Otzma is useless. Sometimes you have to hold your nose and vote either Likud or Yamina or whatever they're calling themselves this time round.

* local supermarket
**upcoming Israeli Elections

"Politics is the art of compromise." 

This is a popular version of what Otto von Bismarck had said:

"Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable - the art of the next best."

In Israel, more than in some other countries, the meaning of this slogan is 1,000% accurate.

The Israeli Political System does not include direct voting for the Prime Minister, executive branch of government. Actually we don't vote for individuals at all. We vote for a list of potential Knesset Members, and the head (#1) of the list succeeds in crafting/negotiating a ruling majority, minimally sixty-one 61 out of the one hundred and twenty 120 MKs becomes Prime Minister.

This isn't a simple process. I guess we should be grateful that for the first seventy 70 years of statehood, we never needed a "redo" election. Now we're about to try a third time, and the polls again predict a standoff, unless elected MKs break ranks and follow Bismark's suggestion. Neither side has to luxury of uncompromising principles.

We must choose to vote for a political party that has a serious platform for the security and betterment of the State of Israel. Politics isn't supposed to be a personality game. That's why those who decided on our political system decided against direct elections for Prime Minister.

Gd willing, in our next Knesset Elections, the voting citizens of the State of Israel will choose wisely, even if it necessitates going against uncompromising idealism.

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.

Israeli Elections 2019, 5779, Redo, Caution & Clarification

Israeli politics is a team sport, like football. If you can't or won't work with others, you won't succeed. 

1. In Israel we don't vote for the Prime Minister.
2. In Israel we vote for lists of potential Members of Knesset.
3. In Israel political parties and Knesset Members must join together, compromise, work together to form coalitions. 
4. Israel is governed by COALITION GOVERNMENTS headed by a Prime Minister.

Obviously this isn't easy. Being the Prime Minister of the State of Israel isn't a simple matter of just making decisions and giving orders. Actually the army isn't good training for national politics. 

It's not enough for an Israeli political party to get the most votes to make them the ruling party. When Zippy Livni headed Kedima, it got more votes than Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu's Likud, but she couldn't gather/negotiate a ruling coalition. Bibi could and formed the government as its Prime Minister. 

And a few months ago in the first Israeli Elections 2019, 5779, Likud scraped by with the most votes, but not enough MKs were willing to join a coalition with them. 

If the polls are right, Israeli Elections 2019, 5779, #2 will have the same basic results as #1. This can go on forever, because the political parties on the Left, Center-Left, including Avigdor Lieberman's,  have centered their platform on "Anyone but Bibi" as a coalition condition. Considering that polls consistently show Netanyahu as most popular for the position, we have a problem.

Who is more suited to serve as Prime Minister?
42% Netanyahu, 28% Gantz, 15% Don’t know, 4% Shaked, 3% Lieberman, 3% Peretz, 3% Barak, 2% Lapid

see Jeremy's Knesset Insider

To be truly successful in Israeli politics, one must be willing to work together and compromise. Gd willing, enough of those elected to the Knesset will put their egos aside and do what's best for the State of Israel.

Sick and Tired of Politics, A Short Break

The Israeli political situation seems worse than it has been for years. As I wrote  not long ago, I'm pretty disgusted with the lack of idealism in MKs of today. Instead of being willing and wanting to serve the citizens of the State of Israel, idealism is far behind the opportunism and "gimme, gimme," "I want" you hear from those elected.

Just the thought of another election campaign after the worst one in my memory makes me sick.

So far, I just can't get excited and optimistic. I also haven't a clue as to which party I'll support or vote for.

For as long as I can remember, I've always loved politics and found it very fascinating. But politics have changed. Not only have campaigns become really nasty, off topic and very negatively personal, losers try to delegitimize winners. In my youth we'd call them "sore losers." Today instead of losing with dignity and recognizing that democracy doesn't guarantee the results you may have dreamt of, losers try to galvanize the judicial to jail or impeach the winner. This is happening in the United States and Israel.

Sorry for this depressing post. What do you think?

I feel sorry for the youth. They expect to get paid for things we did as volunteers. They are for sale, rather than like us idealists of olde.

Sexist "Vote Female" Voting Facilitated Rise of Radical Leftists

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against Women's Rights. I have nothing against seeing more women in positions of political and economic power. But voting "blind" for women, just because you want women's number to increase" to governmental positions is dangerous.

Many Americans, even in the Democratic Party, and political observers all over the world are horrified at the antisemitic, shockingly ignorant photogenic chutzpadik Radical Leftist females who are now getting all the press in the United States Congress.

It's hard to believe that so many voters would have voted for them if they had paid careful attention to the qualifications and statements, opinions prior to the new congresswomen's campaigns. Most of the newbies moderated their positions a bit to make them more palatable for the electorate, but their unsuitability to such important public office was obvious. They all come from the very radical Socialist Left. The Democratic Party has moved to the Far Left of the political spectrum, and even the more "moderate" Democrats are trying to excuse and whitewash the antisemitic, anti-Israel, pro-Socialism policies of the new Members of Congress.

Unfortunately, American Jewry is at the forefront of this Leftist-Socialist radicalization of the Democratic Party. They are major donors and supporters of the Extreme Radical Left in some perverse and totally inaccurate opinion that the Democrats have always been the best for the Jewish People and State of Israel. Facts are very different. FDR Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Joseph Kennedy I did everything they could to keep Jewish refugees out of the USA during the Holocaust. And when Harry Truman overrode the State Department to demand that the American Ambassador to the United Nations vote in favor of a Jewish State, it was his private/personal decision after a friend spoke to him, not due to the Democratic Party. Remember that the most recent Democratic President, Barack Hussein Obama was the most anti-Israel president. In an unprecedented move, he used his time as a "lame duck" to an support extremely anti-Israel resolution in the United Nations. And the most recent Democratic National Convention had a strong anti-Israel and anti-American content.

Today's Democratic Party isn't the party of Adlai Stevenson or LBJ Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Check the "fine print" before voting. The gender of the candidate shouldn't be your deciding factor. Vote SMART not sexist.

The sun is setting on a truly tolerant America

Objective Journalism, Does it Exist?

I used to be a real newshound, addicted to listening to the news, reading whatever newspapers I could find, watching news shows. Yes, the whole works. And I loved the dynamics of politics ever since I was a teen. Now, as you may have noticed from the blog posts here, I'm disgusted and horrified.

There is nothing that even vaguely resembles objective news reporting. Not only do they all have their agendas, but there's no such thing as fact checking. It's beyond ignorance. There's an innocence in ignorance, but nowadays a don't see that at all. There are vicious attacks, like a modern version of the auto-da-fé.

An auto-da-fé or auto-de-fé (from Portuguese auto da fé [ˈaw.tu dɐ ˈfɛ], meaning "act of faith") was the ritual of public penance of condemned heretics and apostates that took place when the Spanish Inquisition, Portuguese Inquisition or the Mexican Inquisition had decided their punishment, followed by the execution by the civil authorities of the sentences imposed.
The most extreme punishment imposed on those convicted was execution by burning. In popular usage, the term auto-da-fé, the act of public penance, came to mean the burning at the stake. Wikipedia

Media interviews are more like either vicious interrogations or the fawning style seen in simplistic fan magazines of old.

At first I was very excited to discover that we could watch BBC News on our television, since I had happily listened to the radio version for decades. Then I had considered it, except for news on Israel*, pretty objective. But as the last American Presidential Campaign began to heat up, their support for Hillary and the Democrats so distorted their reports I could no longer trust their objectivity about anything. And not only hasn't it gotten better, it has gotten much worse. We don't have cable, just a simple "dish," and recently we don't even get the Israeli stations. CNN was never known for its objectivity.

Then  I discovered the English French TV News Channel, and I had great hopes for it, since it's not that interested in American news. I began watching it, but then they began a feature about the Israel-Arab "conflict." It begins with:

"In 1967  Israel invaded..." 

Grrr... That's what people all over the world think, and what is taught in universities even in the USA. And I have this nasty, frightening feeling that even some Israelis are oblivious to the facts, the Arab aggression that led up to the 1967 Six Days War. In order to survive, Israel had no choice other than shoot first.

About thirty 30 years ago, in the days when we hosted many journalists of an amazing selection of international media, I had a talk with a top editor of an American newspaper. I asked him what training, education he looked for when hiring someone starting in the profession. He said that he does not like to hire those with degrees in journalism, since they don't know anything other than how to write. He looks for those who majored in History, Economics, Science etc.

"Any knowledgeable university graduate can be taught how to write a good article, but I can't teach a Journalism graduate facts."

Things have changed drastically in the international media. I no longer have objective sources to learn current events and get an accurate idea of what's really happening in politics. I just know what's happening on the ground here in Israel, but not from the media. Today fake news is all over, and when trying to check accuracy, you really need to be an expert. This is both dangerous and sad. People are making decisions based on lies, fantasies, fake news and worse.

I can't see how it will get better. I am pessimistic for the future.

Here's a picture of a program from the French news channel.

*During the Intifada Part 1, I was horrified to hear an excited BBC radio reporter telling that he was with Arabs throwing rocks on Jews and how they tried to protect their eyes from the teargas the Israeli soldiers aimed at them to stop them. And in those days BBC even came to our house to film us and ask us questions.

Who Said That Trump's Not a Politician?

There's a very important characteristic in politicians. They can act charming and friendly even with people who have maligned and insulted them, people they really can't stand with good reason. To be a good/professional/successful politician one must be able to swallow ego and pride at times.

Donald Trump and Barack Hussein Obama

When the Obamas had to host the Trumps, it certainly was difficult for all of them. The Obamas had both campaigned for Hillary by so seriously maligning Donald Trump that they definitely skirted or crossed legal barriers in the nasty things they said about him. But they did the proper thing, and Trump said all of the nice words, as if the negative malicious campaigning had never happened.

Donald Trump and his team have also been in touch with many powerful establishment Republicans, even though they did their best to sabotage his campaign for the Presidency. And, no doubt, quite a few powerful positions will go to them.

Trump and Romney meet

Donald Trump could never have built some of his massive projects, for example all of the changes to the West Side of Manhattan that had to be done for Riverside Blvd and the buildings there, if he wasn't a "politician."

To be a successful politician, one must be a pragmatist and be willing to work with everyone to achieve your goal.

Bush Republicans- Sore Losers!

In American democracy, like baseball, tennis and American football, there's no such thing as a tie. There's one winner and winner takes all. True democrats, small "d,"  are supposed to accept their losses, and when it comes to a Presidential nomination, support the winner, even if he/she is the candidate least favored. The majority wins. That's what democracy is all about.

At this point in the American Republican political calendar, it doesn't really matter which of the wannabes you supported, a loyal Republican leader, like those in the Bush Clan, have a responsibility to accept that their candidate lost, and Donald Trump won the nomination to be the official Republican Presidential nominee.

Social Delta

I have no doubt that the Bush Machine is supporting, in one way or another..., the Republican minority that is undermining/sabotaging Trump's democratically chosen candidacy.

Convention drama: Trump campaign stops rules rebellion
Cleveland (CNN)Open discord and revolt broke out on the floor of the Republican National Convention Monday as GOP officials crushed an attempt to change party rules, a maneuver that could have embarrassed presumptive nominee Donald Trump.
In a highly unusual show of disunity and anger on the floor of a modern party convention, a group of states tried to force a state-by-state roll call vote on the rules of the convention. The rebellion apparently caught Trump's campaign team by surprise, and his lieutenants were seen frantically whipping votes on the floor to squelch the effort amid scenes of deepening disarray.

Without powerful backing, the anti-Trump Republicans would have accepted their loss and either played ball fairly for Trump, or quietly wiped their tears and started working on 2020. This does not look good for Republican democracy, not at all.

It's clear that these sore losers would rather hand the Presidency over to Hillary Clinton and the Democrats than support Trump. Remember that no Republican got close to Trump in the primaries. It's a sorry state for the Republicans to be so un-American, so antidemocratic, so disloyal to their own party, so selfish and so disregarding the wishes of the voters.

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.

Trump is Inching Ahead of Hillary, No Surprise!

abc news

Too many people have been claiming that Donald Trump is bad as the Republican Presidential Nominee, because he hasn't a chance in hell to win against Hillary Clinton. Well, if that's your best excuse against him, you had better look for another one.

Fox News Poll: Trump tops Clinton, both seen as deeply flawed candidates
Donald Trump tops Hillary Clinton in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, according to a new Fox News Poll that also finds majorities of voters feel both frontrunners lack strong moral values and will say anything to get elected.
Trump has a 45-42 percent edge over Clinton, if the presidential election were held today.  That’s within the poll’s margin of sampling error.  Last month, Clinton was up by 48-41 percent (April 2016). 

Personally, I am not at all surprised.

From the very beginning, the media and pundits have overwhelmingly underestimated Trump's appeal to American voters of all colors, socio- economic groups, stripes etc.

No doubt that history will call the American 2016 Presidential Elections, the voter rebellion or the rise of the anti-establishment candidates. The fact that Bernie Sanders of the Democrats has not only refused to concede defeat to Hillary Clinton, but actually is continuing to win primaries, and Donald Trump has totally mowed down every single Republican wannabe is a wake up call to all willing to listen.

American voters are disgusted with how the country is going down the drain, whether it's the legitimizing of illegals, outsourcing which is leaching jobs from America or the fact that they don't feel at all safe in public toilets with the now very flexible definitions of male and female.

With less than six months to the U.S. Presidential Elections, what's your prediction now?!?