Israel Matzav

Israel's Jimmy Carter?

In a tweet sent sometime during the night on Tuesday, my friend Noah Pollak referred to Ehud K. Olmert as 'Israel's Jimmy Carter.' There are parallels between Olmert and Carter. Both were not re-elected after their first term. Both lost a war they should have won. Both weakened their countries. Both tried to weaken their countries even more.

But there are huge differences between Carter and Olmert. Carter never stole a penny from anyone. Carter lived frugally and at least did not rub his mendaciousness in the faces of his country's citizenry. Olmert lived opulently at taxpayer expense. He embezzled money. He took bribes. He lied and he cheated. He managed to make an offer to the 'Palestinians' when he was clearly on his way out, which was more generous to the 'Palestinians' than anyone imagined was possible after Ehud Barak's offer was turned down. He managed to keep its details secret until he was no longer in office. He did it with the apparent malicious intent of tying the hands of future Israeli governments. And in the not-too-distant-future he will likely find himself a resident of Ma'aseyahu, the white collar prison. Olmert is one of the most reviled politicians in this country's history - reviled by supporters of both the coalition and the opposition. And it is most unlikely he will ever recover.

Why is this worth pointing out? Because it has to make you wonder why the Likud bothered to respond to the drivel that triggered Noah's tweet.

Olmert said Netanyahu's government should stop "arguing with and offending the whole world" explaining that it could lead to Israel's political isolation in the world and damage Israel's economy.

Olmert attacked Netanyahu's policy makers and said "you think in your opinion that it's OK to argue with the whole world, to offend the whole world and to enjoy the economic fruits these states have to offer.

"There are those who believe it is possible to separate the political situation from the economic situation and these people use the phrase 'economic peace'," Olmert said, alluding to Netanyahu. "This is a great phrase but in reality it doesn’t actually exist."

"When we raise doubts about if we support a two-state agreement, everyone will talk about the settlements," Olmert said.

The Likud slammed Olmert - and his successor as party leader, Tzippi Livni:

In response to Olmert's comments, Likud issued a statement criticizing Kadima, saying, "After Tzipi Livni's speech on Monday and Ehud Olmert's speech on Tuesday, one could think it was heaven here under the Kadima government, but the Israeli public remembers the truth," the statement read.

"Three years, two wars, thousands of missiles launched into Israeli territory, one Goldstone report, massive political concessions that led to nowhere, and a deep economic recession. That's the country that Livni and Olmert left."

"The Netanyahu government led us to economic prosperity, and returned calm and security to the Israeli people. The government is involved in peace negotiations while standing up for Israel's national security interests, and also maintaining strong relations with the United States."

Here's hoping Olmert winds up in prison for a long time to come and is never able to return to politics in Israel (if he's convicted of a crime that includes moral turpitude, he will never be able to run again for all intents and purposes).

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:17 PM