It's been a couple of days. Having trouble writing anything....
Yesterday, a mother of six children was murdered in her own home by a 'Palestinian' terrorist. Yes, the picture on the right is her kitchen floor and that's not paint....
The woman has since been identified as 39-year-old Dafna Meir, a
mother to six children, two of them foster children. She waas
initially critically wounded in the attack and succumbed to her wounds
shortly after.
The Arab terrorist who carried out the attack succeeded in breaking
into the town, entering the woman's home and murdering her
before fleeing the scene.
The woman, who works as a nurse, fought with the terrorist at the
entrance to her home as her children were nearby, according to
testimony. The children did not see the attack but heard her shouts and
came running, and then called up security forces to hunt the murderer.
Security forces are currently pursuing the terrorist, aided by a
helicopter, and residents of the town were asked to stay in their homes
during the manhunt. The IDF has clarified that the terrorist is no
longer in the town.
Witnesses of the attack have said the terrorist worked in the town and
used his familiarity with the community to carry out the attack.
Some people have made the connection between Israel's Left and the encouragement of 'Palestinian' terrorism.
Former Interior Minister Eli Yishai, chair of the Yachad party which
narrowly failed to enter the Knesset, responded to the murder by blaming
the radical leftist groups B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence.
"I am shocked by the murderous attack in Otniel. The cruelty of the
murderers knows no bounds," said Yishai. "Again we come across the face
of uninhibited evil. An awful murder of a Jewish woman hy''d in her
private home, with her only 'sin' being that she was an Israeli Jew."
"The struggle against incitement needs to be escalated. The
Palestinian incitement at the side of the Israeli (incitement) managed
by leftist organizations B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence is
responsible for another despicable murder. God will avenge her blood."
For the Hebrew proficient, here's an Israel Radio interview interview with one of Daphna Meir's nursing colleagues (she was a neurosurgical nurse who also gave pre-nuptial classes to women after being in a boarding school herself by 5th grade) who traveled with her often from Otniel to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva.
Sunday's murder came moments after another terrorist was stopped at the gates of Kiryat Arba.
And today, a pregnant woman, the daughter-in-law of prominent coexistence advocate Rabbi Menachem Froman z"l, and an activist in the Leftist political party Yesh Atid (led by Yair Lapid), was stabbed by a 'Palestinian' terrorist.
“America harmed its allies in Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority by ignoring their demands and coming to the table with a plan that was not approved or even semi-approved by any of them," said Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir (Yisrael Beytenu). "Maybe it’s because they have a problem with the regime in Egypt and they thought that by going through Turkey and Qatar, they’d be seen as an honest broker. But instead, they lost the allies that they had and didn’t get any new ones. Kerry lost credibility in the eyes of everyone, and the president ended up undermining him.”
Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely said Israel must reject Obama’s cease-fire proposal, which she said only serves the interests of Hamas. She said the government of Israel must change the rules of the game in the Gaza Strip and defeat Hamas.
Her Likud colleague Danny Danon called upon Obama and his government to "cease firing at Israel."
"We need to withstand the exorbitant pressure that is put on us and deal with the interests of Israel," he said. "Would America cease fire on al-Qaida when it is being attacked? John Kerry is disconnected from reality and ignores the security concerns of Israel.”
MK Eli Yishai (Shas) said “The security of the citizens of Israel must come before our relations with the United States." He said that although Israel owed much to America, "that obligation cannot come at the expense of Israel’s future.”
The criticism of America's handling of the cease-fire proposal also came from the Left side of the political map.
“America has displayed a shameful lack of elementary understanding of how the Middle East works," said Hatnua faction chairman Meir Sheetrit, who ran for president last month. "No matter what America says, it is forbidden to end the war as long as there is a threat of tunnels and rockets. I hope our friends in the US and Europe won’t get in the way by insisting on an immediate ceasefire. The free world must support Israel, not weaken it, and I hope our friends in the US give us their backing.”
MK Nachman Shai (Labor) said Obama’s demand to stop the fighting prevents Israel from maximizing its military and public diplomacy achievements. He said he doubted America's ability to demilitarize Gaza and prevent future war there.
But there were also voices on the Left praising the US and attacking Netanyahu and his government.
Wow. I cannot remember the United States coming under attack by an ally like this. And I cannot remember the United States attacking an ally like this either. The attacks on Kerry are well-deserved.
Oh my: Look who's likely to be the swing vote if the government decides to expel Jews from 'settlements'
Gil Hoffman reports that despite the Knesset being split 61-59 in favor of the Right, if a plan to expel Jews from 'settlements' comes to a vote, the Left believes that it will carry the day. The Shas party (and maybe United Torah Judaism as well) are eager for the chance to take revenge on Naftali Bennett for excluding them from the government.
“The haredi parties will be partners in the peace process,” Hatnua MK
Amram Mitzna told the haredi radio station Kol Chai this week.
“A majority can be created in the Knesset for evacuating settlements.”
Mitzna
said haredi MKs have told him they cannot wait to take revenge against
Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett for blocking their parties from
entering the coalition. He said he could also see a scenario whereby
haredi parties join the current coalition at Bayit Yehudi’s expense when
the diplomatic talks with the Palestinians progress.
“The
priorities of the haredim have changed,” Mitzna said. “They say they
aren’t in anyone’s pocket anymore. They know the Right has always
betrayed them.”
I would not believe everything Mitzna says, but it is known that the Haredim were furious at being excluded from the coalition and they (correctly) place the blame for that on the deal between Bennett and Yair Lapid. While they expected that kind of behavior from Lapid, they did not expect it from Bennett, and that's why most of the fury is directed at him and his party (that's also playing out in the current mayoral campaign in Beit Shemesh by the way).
But with respect to Shas, there's another aspect that makes this story plausible. Aryeh Deri (pictured at top), who returned to the party in the last election after a lengthy suspension due to a bribery conviction, has always been a Leftist at heart, and he now has the ear of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef much more closely than does the more Right-leaning Eli Yishai. It's more than plausible that Deri will convince Rav Yosef to order Shas' MK's to vote in favor of an expulsion.
The Right is trying to hold on to the Haredi vote.
The Right also understands the importance of the haredim and their
votes in the Knesset. Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit
Yehudi) said Wednesday that he would advance building projects for the
haredi sector not only in Betar Illit and Modi’in Illit on the Green
Line but also in Tel Zion, a haredi neighborhood of the Kochav Ya’acov
settlement north of Jerusalem that is not considered part of a
settlement bloc.
“It is wrong to look at haredim as second-class citizens,” Ariel said. “They deserve building, too.”
But not, apparently, the same funding for their yeshivoth and schools and other educational institutions that the rest of the country gets, and certainly not special concessions from the army. At least in the view of Ariel and his party. While the Haredim have the advantage that the vast majority of their constituents who live in Judea and Samaria live along the green line, something tells me that their votes won't be sold for housing starts that may never be completed. But they might be sold for something better than has been offered to them on the 'sharing the burden' front.
Could something be up? Frustrated with the pace of coalition negotiations, Prime Minister Netanyahu met on Tuesday night with Shas leader Eli Yishai.
Coalition talks between Likud Beytenu and Yesh Atid and Bayit Yehudi
remained at a near-standstill Tuesday, meaning that the
government will most likely be sworn in next week. Amid the growing
hurdles to form the government Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met
with joint chief of Shas MK and Interior Minister Eli Yishai on Tuesday
night.
Likud Beytenu’s hopes
of signing an agreement with Yesh Atid and Bayit Yehudi by Tuesday, presenting
his choices to President Shimon Peres Wednesday and then having the government
sworn in on Thursday following the legally mandated 24-hour waiting period, were
dashed. Netanyahu’s deadline to form a coalition is
Saturday night.
A new bone of contention arose between the parties – the
chairmanship of the Knesset Finance Committee – and this time, Bayit Yehudi
joined in the wrangling.
In a clear sign of strife between former
allies, Bayit Yehudi made public its demand for the powerful committee – which
carries the political cache of a ministry – citing the fact that Yesh Atid
leader Yair Lapid had received the Finance portfolio that Bayit Yehudi chairman
Naftali Bennett coveted, and that Bayit Yehudi had gone down from four to three
ministries due to Yesh Atid’s demands for a smaller government.
Sources
in Bennett’s party have expressed frustration over having made concessions to
help Yesh Atid achieve many of its objectives in coalition talks, while the
latter has not done the same for them.
...
On Tuesday night, perhaps in
recognition of the growing cracks between Bayit Yehudi and Yesh Atid the
PM meet with joint chief of Shas MK and Interior Minister Eli Yishai.
The Shas lawmaker on Wednesday morning commented on the coalition
negotiation process, which he has been largely excluded from up to this
point saying, "My heart goes out to the prime minister who is expected
in the coming years to be prisoner to the whims of Yesh Atid and Bayit
Yehudi."
Another hitch in coalition talks is the number
of ministries Hatnua would get. Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni and Likud Beytenu want
to leave it at two, as agreed upon in the parties’ coalition deal. However, Yesh
Atid and Bayit Yehudi’s portfolios go according to a ministerial index of one
per every four MKs, and they are demanding that the six-MK Hatnua follow the
same proportion.
Meanwhile, the clash between Likud Beytenu and Yesh Atid
over the Education portfolio – with the former insisting that current Education
Minister Gideon Sa’ar stay in the post and the latter wanting it to go to its
own MK Shai Piron – continued. Another option would be for Sa’ar to become
interior minister, but Yesh Atid has demanded to hold both disputed
portfolios.
Also Tuesday, a halachic responsum that Piron – a former
rabbi at the Petah Tikva Hesder Yeshiva – issued during the second intifada came
to light, saying that Jewish people should not rent homes to Arabs. Sources in
Yesh Atid accused the Likud of searching for “dirt” on Piron to deter the party
from holding on to the Education portfolio.
There are three possibilities here:
1. Netanyahu is hoping to convince Labor's Shelly Yacimovitch to join the Haredim and give him a coalition. That's kind of hard to believe given no reports of Netanyahu meeting with Yacimovitch.
2. Netanyahu has decided that Yesh Atid is more trouble than they're worth, and has actually started to convince Bayit Yehudi of the same thing. This dovetails with a mass letter of support from National Religious rabbis to Haredi rabbis that was reported in the Haredi media on Tuesday. Possible, but not the most likely possibility.
3. Netanyahu is trying to pressure Yair Lapid to get a deal done already by reminding him that there are other options. This seems most likely.
Netanyahu tricked the Haredim into putting themselves outside the coalition?
If this story at Arutz Sheva is correct, the Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) - Yesh Atid pact between Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid came into being because of things Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Haredi Shas party. And if it's correct, Netanyahu is about to sell the Haredim down the river, as he may have planned to do all along.
"During the election campaign, in the course of the last months and
weeks, we received ill winds from the Likud, which said that there is no
intention to include us in the government. We were expressly told this,
from within Netanyahu's bureau," the senior figures said.
"In our distress, we turned to one of the heads of Shas, Aryeh Deri.
This plea was made five weeks before the elections, and after the
elections as well. We begged for full cooperation but Deri refused to
meet with us. There were countless telephone calls, direct and indirect.
Deri told us that he had checked with the Prime Minister's Bureau and
he was told, there, that that there is no intention of adding Bayit
Yehudi to the coalition. 'Bayit Yehudi's place will be in the
Opposition,' Deri was told outright by Netanyahu's bureau."
According to the senior Bayit Yehudi figures, Deri and his men told
Bayit Yehudi – "Since we were told specifically that Netanyahu has no
intention of adding you to the coalition, we have no desire to create a
religious bloc with you. What do I gain by an alliance with Bayit
Yehudi? That is not my war to fight," Deri said.
Two days after the elections, Netanyahu told Deri again that Bayit
Yehudi will not be in the government, the senior figures said. "Deri
told us, 'I cannot solve your distress vis-à-vis the prime minister,'
and since then he did not get back to us. Deri basically threw us under a
bus. So we had to turn to Yair Lapid. Once the hareidim heard that a
'pact' was formed with Lapid, they asked to meet us. Now they are
creating the false picture that we abandoned them. We regret the lies
and half-truths that they have been spreading in the last few days. This
is the true story."
This story on the Hebrew side of the website claims that Shas has admitted that it's true. The story quotes a report in the Hebrew daily Maariv that says that in their meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, the Shas leaders complained to Netanyahu "[W]e didn't make a bloc with Jewish Home so as not to anger you, and because of that we will now remain in opposition. Our rabbis told us 'don't make a mistake [by forming a bloc with Jewish Home] because this is the way that the Prime Minister wants it,' and look where we are because of that."
It could be that Netanyahu really did want to keep Jewish Home in opposition because of his wife's personal animosity for Bennett. If so, he has put his wife's feelings ahead of his duty to the country, and he ought to be forced out.
But there's a more insidious interpretation. Netanyahu may have wanted all along to be 'forced' not to have the Haredim in the government because he wanted to pursue the 'secular agenda.'
Jewish Home is now claiming that they will protect the Haredi yeshivoth, thus putting them behind a system in which they don't believe. This is from the first link.
The senior figures deny vehemently that the understandings with Lapid
will hurt the Torah world. "There will be no damage to the Torah world.
We will not let military police drag yeshiva students from their
'stenders' [the stands, usually wooden, that hold the holy books open in
study halls]. We will make sure of that. The Torah world is an eternal
and sacred value for us, too."
Maybe they figured out that if there's absolute equality there's no more shortened army service for hesder?
One other thing: Shas has to be wondering why they brought Aryeh Deri back. Deri was the party leader in the '90's and the early '00's until he was convicted of bribery and banned from the Knesset for ten years. Deri brought them no more seats than having Eli Yishai as party leader. I'm not convinced that Yishai would have misread the situation as much as the more dovish Deri did (doesn't that sound like Deri's wishful thinking - a coalition between the Haredim and the Left?). And now Deri appears to have thrown away their (and United Torah Judaism's) chance to be in the government.
Prime Minister and Likud Party Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu told
Co-Chairmen Ariel Atias, Aryeh Der'i and Eli Yishai of the
Sephardic-hareidi Shas party, Sunday afternoon that he is interested in
having Shas in the government but current political conditions tied his
hands. Shas party sources said the only way things could change would be
if Netanyahu could convince Labor Chairwoman Shelley Yechimovich to
join the government, which would allow the hareidi parties.
The
prime minister was expected to meet Chairman Naftali Bennett of Habayi
Hayehudi (Jewish Home-New National Religious Party) Sunday afternoon,
in a final effort to get Bennett to break with alliance partner Yesh
Atid, whose chairman, Yair Lapid, is opposed to joining a government
with the hareidi parties. Member of Knesset Uri Ariel, Chairman of
Habayit Hayehudi's negotiating team, said the party expects a picture of
where Netanyahu is headed after the conclusion of the meeting, adding
that the prime minister could reach a coalition agreement in a matter of
days.
And Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) thought they were attacked in this election? Just wait until the next one.
Yair Lapid may have spoken very nicely to that group of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews that I showed you right after the election. But deep down, he's still Tommy's son. And to understand Yair Lapid's real positions, you have to know a little bit about his father, Tommy. This is from a post I did several years ago.
Not everyone has been pleased with the new olim (immigrants). In July
2002, nearly 400 American immigrants arrived in Israel at the height of
the 'Palestinian' war against the Jews. What could be more inspiring to a
country under siege, and in the throes of a long-term recession, than
400 Jews choosing voluntarily to plight their troth to Israel’s future?
These immigrants were not fleeing for their lives, but rather choosing
to enter a war zone. Most of them left behind secure jobs to come to a
country with unemployment at over 10% and rising.
Not
surprisingly, their arrival occasioned a great deal of fanfare. But a
few days before their plane touched down, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
published an article on Beit Shemesh, the planned destination of many
of the immigrants. In that article, then-Shinui leader Tommy Lapid
complained that North American aliyah is overwhelmingly religious. He
added for good measure, "Quite frankly Israel could do without
[religious North American Jews]." (Shinui was an anti-religious Israeli
political party).
Lapid subsequently clarified that he did not
mean to single out religious North American immigrants. In his opinion,
Israel could do without charedi (ultra-Orthodox) immigrants wherever
they come from; indeed it could do without the charedim that were
already here.
Yair seems to feel the same way. He tells Haredim that they've won enough that they can relax their guard and not worry about being assimilated, rails at how much the country spends on religious education, and yet... (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).
Lapid declared that his political agenda includes making the Reform and
Conservative movements – both popular in the United States – equal to
orthodox Judaism in terms of state support.
State support? As in money? So that's the agenda - take the money from the Haredi yeshivos and build reform and conservative temples all over the country?
Let's go to the videotape. More after the video.
“I want to do everything in my power to ensure the equality between
all movements of Judaism in the state of Israel, Orthodox, Conservative,
or Reform,” he declared. “In conversions, in budgets, in the eyes of
the law. No one can claim ownership over the Jewish God.”
“Small, old, petty politics cannot determine something that is eternal as is the Jewish identity, this is just wrong,” he added.
There are other things that concern Lapid.
He also spoke of his determination to negotiate with the Palestinian
Authority for the creation of an Arab state in Judea and Samaria, a
point that he has previously stated is a key condition to his
partnership in any coalition.
Failure to separate from the Arab population of Judea and Samaria
(Shomron) would mean that Israel ceases to be a Jewish state, he argued.
You will note also that Lapid credits the leaders of organizations who have presided over an intermarriage rate in excess of 50% for 'saving the Jewish identity.' SAVING WHAT????
All of which made me wonder about... Naftali Bennett.
Bennett leads a party that until recently was known as the National Religious Party. That party, now known as Jewish Home, is said to have a pact with Lapid that one will not go into the government without the other. In fact, a short while ago, a free newspaper was delivered to my house in which Shas leader Eli Yishai complains that the pact between Jewish Home and Lapid's Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party is 'stronger than he thought.' Really?
The National Religious Party - the group that sees the State of Israel in religious terms - is going to be a part of overseeing the dismantling of the Chief Rabbinate? The National Religious Party, which for 65 years symbolized the role of Orthodox Judaism in the State is now going to vote for funding for conservative and reform temples? And you wonder why Rabbi Ovadia Yosef had such nasty words for Jewish Home during the election (and yes, I heard people say that they would have voted for Jewish Home but for Rabbi Yosef's command not to)?
And you, Eli Yishai, you didn't understand until now why the non-Haredi public is fed up with paying 70% of its income in taxes to support yeshiva students some of whose heads aren't really so into studying Torah after all? You didn't think that the students who work under the table on the side and who are 'carried on the rolls' of yeshivas without ever being there weren't going to come back to bite us?
I know that's not a fair description of all of the yeshiva students or even a majority of them. Most of them - at least most of the ones with whom I come into contact - are very serious about their studies, but even one who is taking money from the State to support his studies and not studying is one too many and reflects poorly on those who are studying seriously.
And so - Eli Yishai, Naftali Bennett and the MK's of United Torah Judaism (who really do take their orders from their rabbis), can we get together and save our society before we end up with Tommy's plan?
Maybe I should not have been so quick to dismiss Limor Livnat. Maybe she was right after all.
You will recall that in the Liveblog, I dismissed Livnat's claim that the Likud will get two more seats as wishful thinking. But as of 2:00 am, with about 57% of the actual votes counted, the Likud has risen to 33 seats. Jewish Home has dropped to 11.
That's a net gain of one for the Right. But what's even more shocking is where the other two seats came from that brought it from 61 to 64. As of 2:00 am, United Torah Judaism, the party of the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox Jews, is up to 8 seats.
Labor has dropped to 16 and Meretz has dropped to 5.
If these results hold up, Netanyahu does have an option for a coalition without Lapid, without Livni and without Shelly.
And the radio made a point of letting us know this evening that while Lapid may have been Netanyahu's first call, Netanyahu also spoke to two of Shas' leadership triumvirate (Eli Yishai and Aryeh Deri) and that Netanyahu will be meeting with Yishai on Thursday. And Netanyahu also spoke to UTJ's Yaakov Litzman. And Yishai assured Shas' voters this evening that Shas will be part of any coalition.
Of course, it could still end up being Lapid rather than Bennett with Shas and UTJ if Lapid would agree to that. Lapid can really sit on either side of the aisle, and his concerns are mostly domestic.
Hmmm.
UPDATE 2:42 AM
I should add that this might not hold up.
Kadima is now over the minimum and if that holds (it's expected to) they will get two seats.
One of the Arab parties is below the threshold right now but is expected to make it above the threshold and those seats will come at someone's expense. Whose expense remains to be seen.
Opposition grows within the coalition to Netanyahu plan to expel Jews from Ulpana
Eli Yishai (Shas). Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu). Yisrael Katz (Likud). Reuven Rivlin (Likud). Tzipi Hotovely (Likud). Otniel Schneller (Kadima). Yulia Shamalov-Berkovich (Kadima). All of these MK's - members of the coalition - have come out and announced that they will vote in favor of a bill that would circumvent the Supreme Court ruling that requires the government to destroy the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El by July 1 (and Amona and Givat Assaf by August 1), and to expel the Jews currently living therein from their homes. If coalition discipline is invoked, Yishai, Lieberman and Katz could yet change their votes to preserve their seats in the government. But whether or not that happens it is not yet clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu, who opposes the bill, has the votes in the bag.
Netanyahu had indicated earlier that he might vote in favor of the bill if attorney-general Yehuda Weinstein would not approve a compromise allowing the five buildings of the controversial Ulpana outpost to be moved within the settlement Beit El.
Despite reports that Weinstein told the prime minister there would be legal problems with such a plan, Netanyahu said the attorney-general would defend his plan in court.
"We are a government that abides by the rule of law and strengthens settlement,” Netanyahu told the Likud faction. “There is no contradiction between the two. Even if the Court's decision is tough for some people, we must respect it.”
...
"The bill could be disqualified by the Court and cause problems internationally, which would result in the outpost being evacuated and damage to the entire settlement enterprise,” Netanyahu said. “We are bringing solutions that strengthen settlement. The alternative of passing this legislation would harm settlement.”
The prime minister said his solution is possible “practically, economically and legally.”
...
Netanyahu received support for his stance from his Likud colleagues, Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon and Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who announced today that they would oppose the bill.
But Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said he would back the bill and Transport Minister Israel Katz said he would leave early from Europe to vote in favor. MK Tzipi Hotovely asked Netanyahu to enable ministers to vote their conscience on the issue rather than enforce coalition discipline.
“The law must be just, and an injustice should not be fixed by another injustice,” Rivlin said.
...
Mofaz said he understood the pain of the settlers but the law must be kept. He added that “the bill would harm the Jews in Judea and Samaria, who are overwhelmingly there legally.”
But Kadima MKs Otniel Schneller and Yulia Shamalov-Berkovich said they would vote in favor of the bill. Whether the bill will pass could be determined by the votes of Likud, Yisrael Beyteinu and Shas ministers, which will not be decided until Netanyahu rules on whether coalition discipline will be enforced.
Netanyahu held a late-night meeting with Weinstein about the Ulpana Sunday. Weinstein reportedly told the prime minister that while many of the structures can physically be relocated, it is unclear whether he can endorse moving the structures to an area currently under the IDF's jurisdiction but considered disputed territory under international law.
Yishai said in the Shas faction meeting that "after meeting with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Shas faction has decided to support the law."
Lieberman said earlier Monday at a conference in Eilat that "we think that it is better to find a solution and not create a crisis. But if we can't find any reasonable arrangement, we will vote in favor of the settlement regulation bill. I support the prime minister's position that if a home in the West Bank is evacuated, 10 other homes will be built to strengthen the message that settlement in the West Bank can't be stopped by such tricks."
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin also supports the settlement regulation bill. "This is a matter of conscience of the top priority," Rivlin said at a meeting of the Knesset leadership. The speaker also announced that the bill would be brought before the Knesset plenum for a vote on Wednesday.
...
MK Tzipi Hotovely told her fellow Likud members "this is not a battle over five homes; it is a battle against the delegitimization of the settlement enterprise. Likud was burnt by the uprooting (of Jewish settlements) in Gush Katif."
Israeli government ministers Gilad Erdan Eli Yishai and Yuval Steinitz pushed back on Sunday against remarks made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday. This is from the first link.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz called Clinton's claims "completely exaggerated." He claimed that Israel is a healthy democracy. "I don't know many better democracies in the world."
Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan suggested that "elected officials all over the world should first worry about their problems at home." He added, however, that he shared some of Clinton's concerns about the exclusion of women.
"I, of all people, who grew up in a religious home, think that these steps cause hatred of the Jewish religion and I hope that the government will take steps that demonstrate its obligation to maintain equality between men and women in Israel."
Interior Minister Eli Yishai said that "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and I believe that everything we do here will be done according to the law and I am not worried about it."
Haaretz: Netanyahu trying to persuade cabinet to authorize Iran strike
In an earlier post, I noted hints from Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Interior Minister Eli Yishai that a strike against Iran might be imminent. But Haaretz comes right out and says it: Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to get the cabinet to approve an Israeli strike on Iran (Hat Tip: Mememorandum).
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are trying to muster a majority in the cabinet in favor of military action against Iran, a senior Israeli official has said. According to the official, there is a "small advantage" in the cabinet for the opponents of such an attack.
Netanyahu and Barak recently persuaded Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who previously objected to attacking Iran, to support such a move.
...
Senior ministers and diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency's report, due to be released on November 8, will have a decisive effect on the decisions Israel makes.
The commotion regarding Iran was sparked by journalist Nahum Barnea's column in Yedioth Ahronoth last Friday. Barnea's concerned tone and his editors' decision to run the column under the main headline ("Atomic Pressure" ) repositioned the debate on Iran from closed rooms to the media's front pages.
Reporters could suddenly ask the prime minister and defense minister whether they intend to attack Iran in the near future and the political scene went haywire.
Western intelligence officials agree that Iran is forging ahead with its nuclear program. Intelligence services now say it will take Iran two or three years to get the bomb once it decides to (it hasn't made the decision yet ).
According to Western experts' analyses, an attack on Iran in winter is almost impossible, because the thick clouds would obstruct the Israel Air Force's performance.
Some cabinet members are complaining that public discussion of the possibility of a strike against Iran are reckless.
Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Begin slammed the Israeli media's conduct surrounding talk of a possible IDF strike on Iran, in an interview with Army Radio Wednesday morning. "There has never been a breakdown of responsibility and a campaign of recklessness like there is today," Begin said.
...
The media attention, Begin said, "pales in comparison to the acts of Anat Kamm, for which she was sentenced to four and a half years in prison," echoing sentiments expressed by Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor Wednesday in a Ma'ariv op-ed.
Seemingly referring to former Mossad chief Meir Dagan's push in recent months to discredit the necessity of a military strike on Iran, Begin said that public servants "swore to guard state secrets forever, also after they leave their positions."
Making such discussions public, he added, "can present real damage to the government's abilities to make decisions."
But former National Security Council chief Giora Eiland regards such discussions as 'natural.'
"It's hard to take a topic that the prime minister declares to be the most important to the state of Israel and then prevent public debate about it," Eiland told Army Radio.
"It is only natural that the media took an interest in it," he added.
YNet reports that Begin had much harsher words for Dagan than the previously linked article reported:
Begin hinted to former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan's comments on a possible strike in Iran, saying that they constituted "a dangerous breach of trust, verging on megalomania. It's just despicable."
Civil servants, he added, "Are obligated to protect state secret they were privy to regardless of time. These kind of acts are very severe."
Clearly, something is going on. But if the weather is really an issue, the hit will have be soon or it will have to wait for the spring. And how do you maintain an element of surprise with all this discussion going on?
On Thursday, the Israeli government refused a request from US Ambassador Dan Shapiro that Israel freeze construction in the 'settlements' in order to create 'political goodwill' for the US to oppose a 'Palestinian statehood' bid at the UN. To the credit of the US (okay, for all intents and purposes it's an election year), they said they would veto the 'statehood' bid regardless of what Israel decided on the 'settlements.'
In a meeting with Interior Minister Eli Yishai, US Ambassador Dan Shapiro requested the freeze - a repeated Palestinian precondition for negotiations - in order to bolster political goodwill as the US tries to counter Palestinian efforts to seek full UN membership.
Shapiro promised that the United States would veto such efforts regardless of Israel's decision on settlements.
According to Army Radio, Yishai replied that no Israeli government had given in to the request to freeze settlements in the past, and that there was no reason for the current government to do so now.
Of course, the Obama administration would never do this, but what they ought to do is to say that for every day that the 'Palestinians' stay away from the talks, the US will back Israel building another 100 Jewish homes and taking control of another 1% of Area C in Judea and Samaria. That would get the 'Palestinians' back to the table in a hurry.
Obama needs a policy that doesn't involve asking Israel for 'settlement freezes' all the time.
And someone needs to remind Yishai that we did have a 'settlement freeze' from December 2009 to October 2010, and the 'Palestinians' stayed away anyway.
Will Israel apologize to Turkey or is it wishful thinking?
Defenseless defense minister Ehud Barak was in Washington this past week, where he was subjected to a full-court press by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and new Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to apologize to Turkey for allowing the IDF to defend itself during the Mavi Marmara incident last year. Barak, who was inclined to apologize in the first place, told a news conference in Washington that Israel is 'mulling' an apology. Turkey's Daily Hurriyet has gone to the bank with that (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
Particularly since last Sunday the Israeli inner-cabinet, or the so-called “group of eight” met several times on the issue and according to Israeli sources has finally decided five to three to make an “apology” and pay compensation to the relatives of the victims. Israel, however, is still unable to deliver the apology much-demanded by Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, because of its worries in regards to the “legal responsibility” of the soldiers – to be more precise, officers – involved in the deadly high sea piracy on Mavi Marmara. If Israel does not apologize, Turkey’s “plan B” in this year-long standoff includes allowing relatives of victims of the Israeli’s attack on the Turkish ship to seek justice at international court. Yet, there is no guarantee that after a formal apology of any sort by the Israeli state the issue will not be referred by the relatives of the victims to international jurisprudence.
According to Israeli sources, though the apology decision was made several days ago, the international jurisprudence concerns have so far marred Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, walking that unprecedented road. Yes, in whatever form it might come, it would be the first-ever for the state of Israel to apologize to another country, or individuals, for a military operation undertaken by its armed forces, and to pay – even though through a foundation – compensation of any sort. It will of course be painful for Israel, as much as it would be a revolutionary move.
Israeli apology may come as early as today, or tomorrow, if Erdoğan does not deliver yet another explosive remark. Erdoğan, talking to a gathering of Palestinian ambassadors had upped Turkey’s demands for normalization of relations with Israel, introducing “ending the Gaza blockade” condition to the apology and compensation conditions declared earlier. Israel has so far preferred to totally ignore that new third condition spelled out by the Turkish premier, but will Ankara agree to that? We shall see it in days ahead.
JPost is telling the story a little bit differently.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday said that Israel was "willing to consider apologizing" for problems that occurred during last year's raid of the Turkish flotilla ship the Mavi Marmara in which nine Turks were killed by IDF commandos.
...
"Defense Ministry and IDF legal advisers recommend that we come to an understanding with Turkey in order to protect commanders and soldiers from legal action," Barak stated.
"We are not apologizing for the blockade and we are not apologizing for using force," he said. "We are willing to consider apologizing for problems that occurred during the Marmara operation, if indeed their were such problems...I don't like it, but that is the choice that must be made," Barak added.
...
Barak has come out as the key advocate in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s inner forum urging Israel to take steps necessary to bring about a normalization of ties with Turkey.
There has been talk here for months that we would pay compensation. What's new here is the 'apology,' and although the Turks would undoubtedly spin it as a total capitulation, it's quite limited and if the Turks actually read it they will not be satisfied with it.
I also have my doubts about the 5-3 in favor. I think it's 6-2 against. Here are the eight inner cabinet members: Barak and Dan Meridor are undoubtedly in favor of apologizing. Boogie Yaalon, Benny Begin, and Avigdor Lieberman are opposed. Netanyahu and Yishai are opposed but pliable. Yishai could even just stay away from the vote - that's completely in character for him. Yuval Steinitz? Against, but he's getting killed by all the demonstrations dealing with our economy right now, and there have been rumors about Netanyahu cutting him loose. Would he vote in favor to keep his seat? It wouldn't be the first time in this country.
So that would leave 4-3 in favor of a very limited apology with no taking down the blockade and on condition that we would get assurances that the soldiers won't be hauled into court.
I come back to Turkey not being satisfied with any apology Israel would give and not being able to give assurances that our soldiers won't be sued anyway. I think it will fall on those grounds.
So much for tshuva (penitence): Goldstone won't retract report
For those of you who thought that Richard Goldstone would do a full mea culpa over his scurrilous report about Operation Cast Lead, you were wrong, at least for now. Goldstone will not retract his report.
On Tuesday, AP reported that the interior minister [Eli Yishai] had said that Goldstone, “as a Jew understands well the story of the Jewish people’s suffering ... and it is very important for him to come and see this." Yishai added that Goldstone had made a promise to work towards an official retraction of the report.
Goldstone told the Associated Press that Yishai had invited him, and that he accepted the invitation but would not be able to come until July. He added that he ended his conversation with Yishai expressing his "love for Israel."
As for his report on the 2009 Gaza offensive, Goldstone reiterated that the "intentionality on the part of Israel" required review, and that "domestic investigation could lead to further reconsideration." The judge concluded, however, that no part of the report needed reconsideration at the present time.
Come on - you didn't really think the world was suddenly going to love us, did you?
Call Eli Yishai: What happened to 'immediate construction in Jerusalem'?
Shas leader Eli Yishai has announced that his party's two representatives in the 'security cabinet' will abstain from a vote to take place on Tuesday or Wednesday to extend the 'settlement freeze' imposed by the government last year. According to current head counts, if the two Shas representatives abstain, the extension will pass 7-6. Therefore, in effect, it is Yishai who is causing the 'settlement freeze' to be extended, much as he may try to deny it.
Yishai claims that he will only do so in return for a letter from President Obama (has anyone seen it?) committing to, among other things, "immediate construction in Jerusalem," which has been explained in the media to include 'east' Jerusalem, i.e. Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem beyond the 1949 armistice lines. If Yishai is true to his word, he ought to be investigating this.
Two committees dealing with construction in the Jerusalem area have taken off the agenda a plan for 1,300 new housing units in the Gilo neighborhood, which falls beyond the 1967 Green Line border.
The decision to delay discussions on the plan apparently comes in response to a request from the Prime Minister's Bureau, which is concerned about sparking a fresh crisis with the American administration over building in Jerusalem. The decision also comes as Netanyahu seeks to win cabinet approval for a new settlement construction freeze proposed by Washington.
The American administration has previously criticized Israeli building policies in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as a future capital. President Barack Obama personally expressed displeasure at the plan for Gilo, saying that, "This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations."
If Obama is to issue a letter in the next 48 hours committing to "immediate construction" in all of Jerusalem, including the Jewish suburbs that are across the armistice lines, then why should he object (and why should anyone be afraid of him objecting) to the discussion and voting upon a construction plan for Gilo?
Unless, of course, when Obama writes Jerusalem, he only means those parts of Jerusalem that were Israeli controlled prior to 1967, in which case we have to wonder what Yishai is getting in exchange for his abstentions.
I want to point out a couple of things from this article about the debate among the Likud ministers over the 'settlement freeze.'
"What is at stake," argued Shalom at the start of the cabinet meeting, "is not a three-month building freeze, but in fact the beginning of negotiations over the borders of a Palestinian state."
It's worse than that. It's negotiations over the borders of a 'Palestinian state' in isolation from anything else. It's taking the one area in which all Israel can do is give - and receive nothing in return - and making it the sole focus. (Yes, it says here "and other core issues," but don't believe that - nothing else will be discussed in those three months) And it takes upon itself the impossible task of deciding borders within three months, because if they're not decided within three months, you can bet there will be American pressure for another extension.
Shalom also criticized Netanyahu, noting, "It is a strategic error to condition an American veto [in the United Nations Security Council] and diplomatic support from Washington upon the continuation of a building freeze."
"It is something that should go without saying, based on the special relationship between our countries," he added.
Yes, it should. But what's worse is that many of the texts I have seen of the proposal promise that veto and diplomatic support for only one year. What happens when the year is up? Obama screws us by not vetoing a Security Council resolution for a 'Palestinian state'?
"If we freeze [construction] for three months, the pressure on us to decide our permanent borders will be unbearable," Shalom told Israel Radio after the meeting. "Unfortunately, if that happens, it will be a huge mistake."
Yes, it will be, especially in isolation from all other factors.
Despite the apparent widespread opposition to the deal, Shas chairman Eli Yishai told the cabinet that under certain circumstances, his party would not reject an extension of the settlement moratorium.
"If arrived a letter from the president of the United States stating that there could be immediate construction in Jerusalem, and that after 90 days there could be unlimited construction anywhere, we would think about abstaining," he said.
I've seen two other versions of Shas' demand. One just says unlimited building in Jerusalem. The other says that when the 90 days are up, Israel can build in the 'settlement blocs.' That last sentence is even more outrageous than the freeze extension itself.
And in any event, do we really want to trust a letter from Obama who could then deny its existence or binding effect like he did with the Bush letter?
The 'settlement freeze' extension currently appears likely to pass the cabinet by a narrow margin. Here's the math.
The current head count in the security cabinet seems to promise Netanyahu a narrow victory although, as in previous historic choices, much depends on Shas.
Netanyahu’s most natural allies in the security cabinet on this issue are the two Labor representatives – Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
For Barak especially, the renewed freeze would be a breath of fresh air – a building moratorium and progress in the peace talks is exactly what the Labor chairman needs to shore up his support in a party that is increasingly looking for a new leader, and reiterate why he brought the left-wing party into a right-wing coalition in the first place.
Among the security cabinet’s Likud members, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Intelligence Agencies Minister Dan Meridor are all expected to vote with the prime minister, as will Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, who does not belong to a party.
Almost as many Likud security cabinet members have already declared their intention to vote against the proposed freeze, with Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom leading the most vocal charge, followed by Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Minister-without- Portfolio Bennie Begin.
Israel Beiteinu’s three representatives – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich and National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau – will all cast votes against the freeze.
The total thus far? A critically narrow seven in favor of a 90- day moratorium, and six opposing.
Enter Shas.
Shas indicated Sunday that Netanyahu has little to fear. The haredi party holds two votes in the security cabinet, those of Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Attias. Those two votes could, needless to say, mean the difference between freeze and no freeze, with Shas responsible for a historic defeat for Netanyahu.
Yishai has said, however, that Shas will abstain from the critical vote, adding that the abstention was dependent on “massive building in Jerusalem.”
And then they'll claim to their voters that they didn't cause it to pass - or prevent it from passing - because they abstained. Only in Israel could a political party get away with this kind of act. There is NO accountability here. They won't be punished in the next election. They never are.
Unfortunately, there is bad news this evening. This is a summary from Israel Radio's midnight news broadcast.
President Obama got off his plane in Washington and praised Prime Minister Netanyahu for his efforts to advance an extension of the 'settlement freeze.' Obama says this shows that Netanyahu is serious, even though it's not easy for him to push the freeze through. If the 'settlement freeze' extension happens, says Obama, hopefully talks with the 'Palestinians' will resume immediately.
In Israel the word is that 'nothing' is decided yet. Israel has conditions that haven't been fulfilled, and once they're fulfilled, the 'settlement freeze extension' will be brought for a decision in security cabinet. There are apparently enough votes to pass the extension in the security cabinet and in the full cabinet, although the Shas ministers may abstain rather than vote in favor because their voters will punish them if they vote in favor. Eli Yishai - Shas' leader - is in favor.
Likud members Yuli Edelstein, Zev Elkin, Yariv Levine, Tzipi Hotovely and Danny Danon will meet tomorrow in Edelstein's office to try to find a way to stop Netanyahu. Edelstein is a minister, and Elkin the coalition chair. There is very little they can do. They apparently don't have the votes in the cabinet. I have not done a count but Israel Radio said it would pass narrowly.
There are demonstrations outside the home of Shas leader Eli Yishai this evening, calling on Shas to vote against the freeze. Good luck with that. With Shas, it's always just a question of price.
In more important news, the IDF reports that Hamas reconstituted itself since Operation Cast Lead. It has access within 24 hours to rockets that can hit Tel Aviv. The IDF complains that Egypt is not doing enough to prevent weapons from entering Gaza. So now we are setting ourselves on a road where it will be equally easy for them to enter Judea and Samaria.
Israel saved Yasser Arafat when he was at his weakest by insisting on Oslo. Now we will save Obama when he is at his weakest by giving him a foreign policy accomplishment immediately after a disastrous trip to the Far East where he accomplished nothing.
With this den of fools in charge of the country, what could go wrong?
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
