A new government is sworn-in in Jerusalem - A moment without cynicism

I am moved by the right that has been bestowed upon me to live as a free man in the historic Jewish homeland; to live a life free of the burden of others; a life of national pride; a life that has the potential to realize an immense vision for the benefit of all humankind

Dr. Haim Shine..
Israel Hayom..
19 March '13..

During the long years in exile, the Jews developed two very clear defense mechanisms that enabled them to endure the prolonged suffering — cynicism toward others and self-deprecating humor. These two qualities became a sort of second nature in the renewing Israeli culture. This second nature has prompted many among us to lose faith in elected officials, in government institutions and in the rule of law.

As a new government is sworn-in in Jerusalem, I hereby remove the old iron dome of cynicism and humor from myself, I put aside all the politics of the election campaigns and coalition negotiations, and I feel truly moved. The emotion is real. It is natural, and powerful, and it bursts forth from the depths of the Jewish soul. I am moved by the right that has been bestowed upon me to live as a free man in the historic Jewish homeland; to live a life free of the burden of others; a life of national pride; a life that has the potential to realize an immense vision for the benefit of all humankind.

The exile that our people endured warped our character, diminished our pride and extinguished the healthy instincts that free peoples normally possess. Wherever the Jews were, they would sow entire fields and not reap an iota of the crops. Various ill winds hit entire generations of Jews and nearly wiped them out. But the Jews never despaired. They made an amazing conscious decision to continue to exist at all costs.

On the Verge of Revealing New Israeli Government?

P. David Hornik..
frontpagemag.com..
05 March '13..




President Obama is supposed to be in Israel in about two weeks. Israel doesn’t have a government.

The Israeli elections were on January 22. Contrary to widespread expectations, the right didn’t score a big win; instead the electorate returned complex, angular results. The religious right gained, the secular right lost a lot, and a brand-new party that could be loosely described as secular-centrist, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, made a big splash by coming in second with 19 seats (out of a total of 120 in the Knesset).

Binyamin Netanyahu, for whom the election results were sufficient for a third tenure as prime minister, has been trying ever since to negotiate his way to a coalition. It’s been brutal.

The basic struggle pits, on the one side, Netanyahu, striving for as broad a coalition as possible including the two haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) parties. And on the other, an alliance that has formed between secular-centrist Lapid and Naftali Bennett, head of the nationalist-religious Habayit Hayehudi party that also did well in the elections. Bennett wants to weaken the haredi camp; Lapid insists on excluding it from the coalition entirely.

Just now, the Israeli media is reporting that the very tight (at present) Lapid-Bennett alliance has prevailed, with Netanyahu agreeing to their terms—meaning that a coalition without the haredim is on the way, possibly by the end of this week.

What’s at stake here? Netanyahu’s preference for a wide coalition is easily understandable. Wide coalitions are more stable, with no one party wielding extortionate power (by threatening to bolt the coalition and thereby dissolve it). Netanyahu also sees Israel facing critical security (particularly Iran), diplomatic (particularly getting along with Obama), and economic (particularly budget-cutting) challenges for which a wide coalition can give him the most ballast.

Putting together a team of first class Israeli elephant pilots with impressive credentials.

After all, the Palestinians could argue that the UN General Assembly vote already established that the sovereign Palestinian state includes every square centimeter beyond the Green Line. An interim deal doesn't forfeit Palestinian sovereignty, it just facilitates the first round of Israeli withdrawals.

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA..
19 February '13..




Observation: Netanyahu Appoints An Elephant Pilot To Negotiate With The Palestinians

These are days that put the integrity of Likud MKs to the test.

After all, as they breathlessly wait and hope to get a ministerial portfolio or at least the chairmanship of a high profile Knesset committee, the last thing that they want to do is annoy Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

And why jeopardize one's prospects, however slim, over something that may ultimately be of no consequence?

After all, if Ehud Olmert wasn't able to cut a deal with Mahmoud Abbas after offering to divide Jerusalem, pull out of almost all of the West Bank, compromise on the return of refugees to inside Israel, etc., then why expect anything to actually develop from Livni's negotiations with the Palestinians.

But it isn't so simple.

Livni did not agree to take responsibility for negotiations with the Palestinians in order to show the world that the Palestinians are to blame for the failure of the "peace process". She made this move expecting to make history.

So while Binyamin Netanyahu may have set his standards and requirements for a deal with the Palestinians that simply cannot be genuinely attained, thus essentially conditioning agreement to a sovereign Palestinian state to elephants being able to fly, Ms. Livni can be expected to put together a team of first class Israeli elephant pilots with impressive credentials.

IMRA Weekly Commentary: Abbas will drop the ball?

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA Weekly Commentary..
10 May '12..




When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dramatically increased the size of his ruling majority by bringing in the Kadima party he committed himself to a “do list”.

And he is already making his way through the list – announcing today that he expects within 75 days to pass legislation replacing the Tal Law dealing with national service.

That “do list” includes the Palestinians.

Consider Mr. Netanyahu’s predicament: with his huge coalition basically guaranteeing that he will remain in power until at least November 2013, he will be hard pressed to attribute his negotiating positions to coalition needs rather than his own personal red lines. This will make it considerably harder to face up to pressure.

But it takes two to tango.

So here’s the question:

Tobin - No Dissension Within Israeli Coalition on Iran

Jonathan S. Tobin..
Commentary/Contentions..
09 May '12..

With the dust settling from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s brilliant political maneuver in which he vastly expanded his coalition and his power, the question remains what will he do with it in the next year? While Israelis seem more interested in domestic political implications of the move, not surprisingly, most foreign observers are focused on the impact of the new coalition on the issue of Iran’s nuclear threat. Some of Netanyahu’s frustrated critics are holding on to the hope that somehow the addition of Kadima head Shaul Mofaz will moderate the prime minister’s stand on the issue. But this is not only a misreading of Mofaz but of Netanyahu’s position.

As the prime minister demonstrated today in his meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, far from Mofaz’s entry into the Cabinet acting as a restraint on him, the creation of a government that can count on nearly 80 percent of the Knesset means that when Netanyahu speaks now there can be no doubt that he represents a strong consensus within his country on the issue. By bringing Mofaz as well as Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to speak to Ashton, Netanyahu demonstrated that there is across-the-board support for his demands that Iran’s nuclear program be stopped dead in its tracks.

Ashton, a virulent critic of Israel who has been ceded control of the P5+1 talks with Iran by President Obama, may have intended her visit to Israel as an opportunity to mend fences so as to allow her to continue the diplomatic minuet she is dancing with the Islamist regime to continue unimpeded by Israeli actions. But Netanyahu used the meeting to lay down the guidelines for the upcoming negotiations in Baghdad. As Haaretz reported today: