Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumPssst! Is Israel going crazy?
http://mondoweiss.net/2014/12/israel-going-crazyThere was that argument in the Knesset in which a Palestinian parliamentarian was dragged out after calling Moshe Feiglin a fascist. Theres that Avigdor Lieberman peace plan that has just one idea: pay Palestinians to leave Israel. And that from the countrys Foreign Minister! Theres the prime ministers bill to bar the Palestinian flag as an enemy flag at demonstrations and deport Palestinian Israelis accused of crimes to Gaza. Theres the new bill to declare Israel the nation state of the Jewish people, which would demote Arabic from being an official language so that the 20 percent non-Jewish population dont get any ideas that this is their country, too. The bill would formally define Israel as belonging to Jews around the world and make Jewish tradition and the prophets of Israel a primary source of legal and judicial authority (per Jonathan Cook).
The bill has already borne fruit. There was a bookburning at a bilingual school in Jerusalem two nights ago. And warnings of more bookburnings from a leftwing graffiti artist: In a place where nation-state laws are passed, books will be burned.
The fascism allegations are going in both directions. Several leading politicians who oppose that bill were pictured on Facebook wearing Nazi outfits. The Times of Israel reports that the minister of public security has demanded an investigation of the satire, because it crosses a line:
Israeli
(4,151 posts)....see : ' CRAZY COUNTRY '
@ http://adam-keller2.blogspot.co.il/
With ref to your above post :
" Several leading politicians who oppose that bill were pictured on Facebook wearing Nazi outfits. "
They did the same with Rabin ....before the days of Facebook .
Moshe Feiglin was a part of that then to .
Last chance for change .....elections are coming .......
A moment before Armageddon
To form a government that can reverse the country's direction, personal egos must be set aside - and the example must be set by Yair Lapid.
By Sefi Rachlevsky
Moshe Feiglin was convicted of sedition. He was sentenced to prison for his part in the incitement and sedition that preceded Rabins assassination. Feiglin is the coalitions deputy Knesset speaker. One should read these lines once again to understand where Israel stands.
Feiglin is working obsessively to change the status quo on the Temple Mount. For him, realizing Israeli sovereignty in the plaza of the mosques is the main thing. Two years ago, before going up on the Temple Mount, fliers bearing his name were distributed to registered Likud voters. These fliers called for cleansing the Temple Mount of the impurity of strangers and the construction of the Temple on the ruins of the mosques. At conferences, Feiglin works with Yehuda Etzion, who was convicted of planning to blow up the mosques. During the war in Gaza, Feiglin published a plan for ethnic cleansing. He believes in transfer, by force in wartime. With all that, he is a major contender for the leadership of the ruling political party. To compete with him, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must contend against him and his doctrine.
Former heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet such as Shabtai Shavit and Carmi Gillon, who are not aligned with the center-left, had good reason to issue the warnings they did against the approaching possible destruction of Israel. The apocalyptic messianism they saw from within was a greater threat to the country than any external danger. A serving police chief such as Yohanan Danino, who is not identified with the left wing, had good reason to come out against the regime in an effort to stop the messianic rush to the Temple Mount.
Throughout much of history and in most countries, the military establishment stands to the right of the government. During times fraught with messianism, it finds itself standing to the left of the regime. This is happening now in Israel. This situation could enable a turnabout. The energy of worrying about the increasing extremism in the uppermost echelons could turn into a lever for change in Israel. But for that, the proper strategy must be mobilized.
The key person who needs to step back is Yair Lapid. Yossi Verter wrote in these pages two days ago about how Lapids insistence on running for the premiership when the public does not want him as prime minister is creating an obstacle to that turnabout. But the issue is broader than that; it goes beyond the personal. Lapid has a strategy that strikes at the Zoabis and fights against the Haredim. So he preferred to align himself with Habayit Hayehudis Naftali Bennett, Uri Ariel and Orit Strock, forming a Jewish Brotherhood alliance. There is a small problem here: There will never be a numerical, right-wing-free replacement for the Rabin-style coalition, which depends on cooperation with Arabs and Haredim.
When people make strategic mistakes, they follow with tactical mistakes. The hallucination of the government with Naftali Bennett is giving way to that of the government with the supposedly more moderate Avigdor Lieberman the same man who combined the citizens of Umm al-Fahm with the Arabs of Jaffa and Acre as candidates for transfer. If thats a plan for peace, it would be interesting to see his plans for war. Of course, the delusional alliance with Lieberman which pushes away the Arabs, the left wing and the Haredim cannot last. As always, the purpose of Liebermans game with the non-right is to obtain more on the right. Or, if the non-right is stupid enough, he will use it to get himself the premiership.
The only road to creating a turnabout goes through Labor: a pact between parties, movements and leading figures under the rubric of One Israel, which defeated Netanyahu in 1999. That is the only way that the concern of establishment figures such as Shavit and Gillon can gain expression. A citizen coalition supported by the Arabs and the Haredim can only be formed by means of such a movement. When the danger is existential, there is no alternative but to make personal compromises.
This is nothing personal. After the last elections, I suggested trying to form a government as was possible then with the Haredim, headed by Lapid. But he chose differently, and the choice carries a price. There will be no similar option over the next several years. Without a willingness to put personal aspirations aside for the sake of a winning strategy one in which you are not in the first slot the government will continue to be ridden by Feiglins messianism. The defense establishment heads warnings of a messianic and religious Armageddon will come true. When our existence and the dream of generations lie in the balance, personal ego must not be the deciding factor.
Source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.629471
oberliner
(58,724 posts)He is really on a roll lately.