Israel Matzav

Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas bury their heads in the sand

I was in meetings most of the day today, and did not hear news until 10:00 tonight. The first news that greeted me was the twisting and turning of the odd couple - Avigdor Lieberman and Eli Yishai - trying to justify their staying in the government.

Lieberman - who just last week was characterized as an opponent of Annapolis in the ad at top left - said that his party is not looking for an excuse to leave the coalition and is not looking for an excuse to stay in the coalition. But if the government decides to dismantle 'settlements' or 'outposts,' Yisrael Beiteinu won't be part of it. In other words, let Olmert commit to whatever he wants, but if he actually does something we don't like then we'll leave and the Bush administration can blame Israel for not fulfilling its commitments. After all, no sense in giving up good patronage money and cabinet seats until you absolutely have no choice.

Eli Yishai, the leader of Shas, said that the speeches at Annapolis are a 'fantasy' and that his party is one of 'realists.' He claimed that his party is staying in the government because it doesn't want to give up ministries and patronage money until there is no choice is going to protect us from fantasies.

The only fantasy I see is the one that the 'Palestinians' are suddenly going to stop trying to murder us and make 'peace.'

Ehud K. Olmert is trying to give the country away and endanger each and every one of us to keep his wife happy and to keep himself out of jail. And all these two-bit politicians can think about is keeping their fat bottoms in ministers' chairs. I have nothing but utter contempt for both of them.

The radio report went on to quote National Union/National Religious Party's Zevulun Orlev as saying that Lieberman and Yishai should stop being ostriches and get their heads out of the sand, that they no longer have an excuse for staying in the government. Of course, Orlev's criticism would carry more weight if the National Religious Party had not propped up the Sharon government - of which he was part - when it decided to give away Gaza.

And then there's the contemptible Otniel Schneller, who tried to convince the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria that Olmert didn't mean it when he said he was going to give away their homes. Now that his home is about to be given away - he lives in Michmash which is outside the fence - that's a whole different story:

Referring to the opening speeches at Annapolis, MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima) said that preventing natural settlement growth was anti-Semitism and should not be part of a peace agreement.

"It is possible to compromise on many issues for peace, but one thing cannot be compromised and that is the natural growth of settlements. That means that my daughters can't have children anymore. These are decrees we suffered from in Egypt and 70 years ago," Schneller told Army Radio.

On this blog, I often refer to people in this country having NotInMyBackYard syndrome. Usually I use that term to refer to the way in which the government and much of the country could care less about the constant shelling and missiles at Sderot and other towns in the Negev that are near the Gaza border, or the way in which much of the country doesn't care what happens anywhere if it's not in and around Tel Aviv.

Tonight, I have to tell you the truth. The truth is that many people in this country - maybe even most people in this country - don't give a damn about anyone outside their own family, their own neighborhood, their own community or their own 'kind.' Most of us are afflicted with a disease where we don't care for others, have no feeling for the common good, and no sense of community. Everyone is out for themselves. Whether it's abandoning land because I don't live near it or cheating on taxes because everyone does it or going on strike because someone else is making more money than I am thereby leaving thousands of adolescents to roam the streets for six weeks, most of this country has no feeling of belonging. Everyone is trying to avoid being a 'frier' (a sucker) and everyone is out for themselves. The chickens are now coming home to roost.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:30 PM