Great news: Bennett positioning himself to go into coalition with 'Center-Left'
And you thought that by voting for Naftali Bennett's Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party, you would stop Prime Minister Netanyahu from going into a coalition with Livni, Lapid and Yachimovitch. Well, you were wrong.
Turning to the Palestinian track, Bennett refused to declare he would
not sit in a government engaging with negotiation with the
Palestinians, indicating that he would be open to joining a possible
coalition with parties on the Center-Left. In an Channel 2 interview broadcast in part on Saturday, Netanyahu expressed a preference for forming this type of "wide coalition."
"My position is that there will not ever be a Palestinian state between the Jordan and the [Mediterranean] Sea," Bennett added.
Negotiating with which 'Palestinians' over what, then?
This will do wonders for the polling numbers of Eldad and Ben Ari (Otzma l'Yisrael) and might even help the Likud.
Idiot: Netanyahu happy to go into coalition with parties on Left, still thinks his battle is with the Right
Remarks made by Prime Minister Netanyahu in an interview with Channel 2 on Saturday are likely to drive even more voters into Naftali Bennett's waiting arms. Netanyahu express a willingness to go into a coalition with Center-Left parties, while warning voters not to abandon the Likud for more Right wing parties. To the voters that says that Netanyahu wants to go into a coalition with Left and so he is appealing to Center-Left voters to 'save him' from a coalition with the Right.
Speaking in excerpts of an interview with Channel 2 released Saturday,
the full version of which was scheduled to be broadcast on Monday,
Netanyahu stated, "Whoever wants to join a coalition based on my
principles is welcome. In the meantime they are the ones that are
rejecting me."
Netanyahu's comments came in response to efforts by Labor leader Shelly Yacimovich and Tzipi Livni to form an “obstructing bloc” to stop the prime minister from being reelected.
Livni
called for Yacimovich and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid to form a
“united front” toward victory over the Likud-Yisrael Beytenu joint list,
speaking to Channel 2 News on Friday, two days after Yacimovich put
herself at the fore of the Center-Left bloc by saying she would rather
be opposition leader than join a Netanyahu coalition.
Netanyahu told Channel 2 that he would accept Livni, Lapid and
Yacimovich in his coalition, even as ministers, but only on the
condition that they "go in my diplomatic and economic direction, which I
believe is responsible and has proven itself."
The prime minister
said that Livni could be a minister in his government, "but I will lead
policy on the issues of the Palestinians and security."
As for
Yacimovich, Netanyahu stated that she could serve as a minister in his
government as well, but he chuckled at the suggestion that he would give
her the finance minister portfolio. "For the good of the Israeli
economy, I should continue with the responsible and successful policy
I've implemented thus far."
The prime minister addressed what has
been described as the radicalization of the Likud, saying that "there
are various opinions in the Likud, but the main direction will be led by
me. Whoever wants to join the coalition is welcome."
Netanyahu
stated that if he is chosen to lead the next government his top
priorities will be "handling the housing issue, changing the electoral
system and equalizing the service burden."
A new poll released on Friday showed that the Likud-Beiteinu ticket continues in freefall, reaching a new low of 32 seats, while Bennett's Jewish Home and Michael Ben Ari's Otzma l'Yisrael (Strength for Israel) continue to rise.
Netanyahu still doesn't get it. The country doesn't want the Left and by continuing to try to place himself in the Center with Leftist partners, he is hurting the Likud. Everything he has done in this election cycle, starting with the joint list with Yisrael Beiteinu has damaged the Likud politically. It's almost like he wants to lose.
Disgraceful: Israeli police prevent burning 'Palestinian' flag
The Israeli police - who never act to prevent the burning of Israeli or American flags by 'Palestinians' - grabbed a 'Palestinian' flag away from two members of the Israeli Knesset on Thursday in order to prevent them from burning it. Then, since they could not arrest the Knesset members, who have legal immunity, they arrested three of the activists who accompanied the Knesset members.
Three right-wing activists were arrested on Thursday at a protest
outside the UN headquarters in east Jerusalem, after two members of
Knesset attempted to burn the Palestinian flag. MKs Michael Ben Ari and
Arieh Eldad (Strong Israel) wanted to burn the flag as a symbol of their
opposition to the Palestinian bid at the UN for observer status.
“We
will prevent any attempts to create a Palestinian state west of the
Jordan river,” Eldad said outside the UN Headquarters located in between
the neighborhoods of Arnon Hanatziv and Jebl Mukaber.
“The minute that Abu Mazen [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] begins his
speech, the Oslo accord is cancelled,” he said, since no state can take
unilateral actions.
“We will never agree to any foreign statehood other than the state of Israel in our homeland,” he added.
Dep. Cmdr of the Moriah precinct, Yaakov Cohen, asked the MKs not to
burn the flag. “This will disrupt public order and I ask you not to do
this,” he said.
“I ask that you take care of the terrorists before you take care of us,” Ben Ari retorted.
When
the MKs took out the Palestinian flag in order to burn it, police
forcibly tore the flag of their hands, initiating a short scuffle
between the twenty protesters and police.
Chanting “Strong
Israel!” and “No more Palestinians!” protesters screamed at police that
they had no right to stop them. Police arrested three right-wing
activists.
“There never was a Palestinian state and there never
will be a Palestinian state!” shouted an agitated Ben Ari as the protest
began to disband.
“Instead of taking care of our enemies they
are attacking members of Knesset. The UN is giving a tail wind to people
who are trying to destroy the state of Israel! Sixty five years ago
they gave us a little tiny piece of land. But this was ours and it will
always be ours – we don’t need them and we will never need them. This is
our land because it is our land, not because the UN gave it to us!” he
yelled.
Eldad slammed the police’s use of force. “This was not an
act to protect the order and the peace of Israeli society, it was a
violent act of the police against members of Knesset abusing their force
and preventing us as members of Knesset to express our objection to any
creation of a Palestinian state,” he said.
Let's go to the videotape.
Naftali Bennett, the new leader of Jewish Home, said on Thursday that the United Nations 'mess' is the result of Israel's schizophrenic policies.
"You can't support the establishment of a Palestinian state on the
one hand, and on the other – wonder when the world takes action to
establish it," he said. "This is schizophrenic policymaking."
Bennett added that "intensive negotiations" are underway with Ichud
Leumi (National Union) with the aim of unifying the two parties in a
common list ahead of the national elections.
"This is being carried out good-naturedly," he said. "I have
instructed the negotiations team to respect the other guys, and make
sure that unity is accomplished."
Bennett also denied having made a statement attacking Moshe Feiglin,
which has been attributed to him recently. "I respect him, and know he
is a man with values who loves our land and nation," he added.
Pigs fly: Supreme Court orders uber-Leftist AG to disclose why he didn't prosecute Mavi Marmara MK
This is a flying pigs moment.
The Supreme Court has ordered uber-Leftist Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein (the same guy who refused to defend the government's position on Migron last week) to disclose to the court why he decided not to prosecute MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) and Islamic Movement leader Raed Sallah for their participation in the Mavi Marmara attempted terrorist attack in May 2010.
The decision was made following Monday’s hearing on a petition filed by MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union), activist Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Movement for Our Land of Israel.
The petition had demanded a full accounting of the state’s decision to close the case against Zoabi and Salah as a first step toward compelling the state to file the case.
The petitioners hoped that once a fuller version of the state’s reasons for closing the case was put forward that they would be able to point out defects in the decision.
Previously, the state had only released a brief press release regarding the decision to close the case with no significant detailed explanation as to why.
However, there was nothing remarkable in and of itself about the fact that the press release was short on details.
In the separation of powers scheme between the executive and judicial branches, the court mostly defers to the state prosecutor when it comes to closing cases, reasoning that as the official body which litigates criminal cases for the state, its professional judgment about how good a case it has should not be second-guessed.
Most cases which are closed do not even have a press release, let alone a public explanation in detail of the reasons the case was considered weak by the state.
The fact that the courts do not normally interfere with the state’s decisions to close cases makes the court’s decision all the more surprising.
Further, the court wrote an extremely short two page opinion, citing no legal precedents for its decision, also an unusual step.
That said, putting matters in perspective, even as the petitioners have won an initial victory in that the state must produce a more detailed explanation within 30 days, their battle is far from won.
The article goes on to discount the possibility that Ben Ari and Gvir might actually win (and that might just be media bias), but for now at least, we can celebrate.
Michael Ben Ari exposing Knesset hypocrisy on illegal immigration
National Union MK Michael Ben Ari is planning to expose the hypocrisy of Israel's Left by inviting 100 illegal immigrants from the poor neighborhoods of South Tel Aviv to spend a yom kef (a day of pleasure) at the Knesset.
The National Union MK, who previously made headlines by bringing 40 Sudanese and Eritrean nationals who illegally entered the country to a swimming pool in a wealthy Tel Aviv neighborhood last summer, wrote a letter to Knesset Director-General Dan Landau asking to exercise his right as a parliamentarian to bring visitors to the Knesset.
“I turn to you in the name of residents of [poor] neighborhoods in south Tel Aviv that are bruised and abused,” Ben-Ari wrote. “As a mark of identification with these neighborhoods, I decided to invite 100 illegal infiltrators to the Knesset for an entire day.”
Ben-Ari plans to bring the migrants to the MK cafeteria, which is closed to most Knesset visitors, as well as to committee meetings. He also asked Landau to save them seats in the area of the plenum mezzanine saved for honored guests.
According to the National Union MK, hosting such a day is important for two reasons.
First, MKs will have a chance to meet migrants up close, without mediators, and “feel a little of what residents of neighborhoods invaded by illegal infiltrators feel.”
In addition, Ben-Ari wrote, bringing migrants to the Knesset is a humanitarian gesture, as some MKs say they are impoverished and starving.
“I want to give a practical exam on pluralism and accepting others for MKs like Nitzan Horowitz and Ilan Gilon [of Meretz] who support leaving infiltrators in Israel,” the National Union MK said. “I’m interested to see if those MKs would take groups of infiltrators home, or if they think mercy and human rights only come at the expense of residents of poor neighborhoods.”
Free speech? MK to be held in contempt for 'defamatory posters'?
An adviser to the courts administration has urged Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to find MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) in contempt for distributing posters like the one above. The posters depict Supreme Court justices dressed in Kafiyah's.
In a letter obtained by Ynet, Attorney Barak Lazer claimed that the posters, which were hung across Jerusalem, depicted High Court justices wearing keffiyehs and featured the slogan "If there is no loyalty, there is no justice."
Lazer wrote that the posters appear to incite mutiny, and could warrant a contempt of court charge.
"The leveling of such defamatory statements and incitement against the Supreme Court – the institution and the judges – is outrageous and intolerable," he wrote. "(…) An attempt to delegitimize the courts system and its judges, and to ascribe inappropriate intentions while slandering judges due to a decision that was made at their professional discretion, must be viewed gravely – all the more so when it is done by a public official."
And Ben Ari's response?
"I don’t understand what's wrong with putting a Keffiyeh on a judge," he said. " The thought that a keffiyeh is some kind of an insult indicates that the spirit of racism has reached the courts administration.
Knesset speaker cancels delegation trip to US after MK refused visa
In 2009 and again last month, I reported that the United States refused to grant an entry visa to MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union), who was a follower of Rabbi Meir Kahane HY"D (May God avenge his blood). Now, as a result of the American refusal to grant Ben Ari a visa, Knesset speaker Ruby Rivlin (Likud) has canceled the entire Knesset delegation, of which Ben Ari was supposed to be a part, which was supposed to visit Congress.
MKs Einat Wilf (Independence), Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) and Zehava Gal-On (Meretz) were supposed to attend a female empowerment conference in Washington DC at the end of the month. The conference includes a panel with female members of Congress at the Israeli embassy.
Rivlin decided to cancel the delegation, because the State Department will not allow Ben-Ari to visit the US because the MK is connected to a terrorist organization.
Ben-Ari was a student of Rabbi Meir Kahane, and still refers to himself as a disciple of the controversial rabbi. Kahane’s Kach political party was banned from the Knesset for being racist in 1988 and declared a terrorist organization by the State Department in 1994.
“The US claim that an MK is a terrorist is unacceptable and disrespects the entire Knesset,” Rivlin said.
I wonder whether the State Department would have any problem granting a visa to MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad), who was aboard the Mavi Marmara. I suspect not.
It's funny how the State Department has no problems granting a visa to Abu Mazen, the financier of the Munich Olympics massacre.
The United States has refused to grant a visa to Jewish Israeli MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) due to his past affiliation with Meir Kahane's Kach movement. Kahane emigrated from the US to Israel in the 1970's, and was eventually murdered by a 'Palestinian' terrorist outside the midtown Manhattan Marriott Hotel in 1990. Kach is a designated terror organization in the United States.
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin has sent a letter to the US Ambassador in Israel, Daniel Shapiro, urging that the U.S. reconsider a decision not to let MK Michael Ben Ari enter it.
The text of the letter follows:
Your Excellency,
MK Michael Ben Ari has informed me that the United States Consulate has notified him that they are unable to grant him a visitor's visa on the basis of a section of the US Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the refusal to grant a visa to anyone who has been involved in a terrorist action or who serves as the representative or member of an organization defined as a foreign terrorist organization by the American Secretary of State.
I wish to express to you my protest at this decision and to ask that this decision be reconsidered.
Mr. Ben Ari is a Member of Knesset representing the National Union Faction, a faction that has fully legitimate status in the Israel parliament. As an elected public representative in the State of Israel, a close friend of the United States, he should neither be considered a member of any terrorist organization nor should be prevented from visiting the United States.
We take a very serious view of this decision to disqualify an elected public representative of the State of Israel, that is governed by the rule of law and democratic principles.
I await your prompt response.
Yours sincerely,
Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin
Speaker of Knesset.
Ben Ari summed it up best:
"The US administration that welcomes with open arms Ahmadinejad, who calls for the destruction of Israel; Abu Mazen, who planned the murder of children at Maalot; and Ahmed Tibi, who excitedly encourages shaheeds, has chosen to block my path in meeting Jewish communities in the US and encouraging aliyah to Israel, in the claim that I am a terrorist. Now one can understand that the American blindness that does not perceive who the terrorists are, is what brought upon them the terrible terror attacks of September 11."
Supreme Court orders Knesset to justify Zoabi rights revocation
Only in Israel....
You will recall that some months ago, the Knesset decided to revoke some of the legislative prerogatives of MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) as punishment for Zoabi's participation in the Mavi Marmara incident and more. Now, the 'Supreme Court' has ordered the Knesset to justify its actions.
The Supreme Court has ordered the Knesset to justify its decision to rescind parliamentary rights from MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad). MKs voted to rescind Zoabi's rights after she took part in an attempt to forcibly reach Gaza despite an IDF naval blockade on Hamas. As part of the attempt, passengers on the same ship as Zoabi violently attacked and wounded soldiers.
The Court refused to allow MK Michael Ben-Ari to provide an individual justification for the Knesset's decision, saying that the Knesset as a whole must justify the vote.
Once again, a political question in which the court ought to have no role. Can you imagine members of the US Senate being called in by the US Supreme Court to justify their votes? There is little in government of which I can conceive that sounds more absurd.
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
