“The government’s decision is an unparalleled disgrace,” Knesset Finance Committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky (Bayit Yehudi) said. “Releasing terrorists just to start negotiations is giving in to the Palestinian Authority’s dictates for preconditions.”
Slomiansky added that he would have expected the US, which is waging a war on terror, not to pressure Israel to release terrorists when it refuses to release jailed Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, “who is not a terrorist and does not threaten America’s security.”Yes, the government's decision is an (almost) unparalleled disgrace. But the shame for this one doesn't belong to the Americans, who have been quite consistent in their views about Pollard even if I don't agree with them. If the Americans had released Pollard, would releasing 104 terrorist murderers suddenly gain a stamp of Kashruth?
The shame for this decision belongs to the ministers who voted in favor of the release, to the parties who stay in the government giving succor to those who voted in favor, and to the Prime Minister who, as I noted yesterday, has all the backbone of a pretzel soaked in warm water overnight.
But Slomiansky was not the only MK to rant and rave and continue to leave his tuches stuck to his seat (Knesset Finance Committee Chairman after all - what's more important than money?). Here's Ayelet Shaked, the number 2 MK in the Jewish Home party and the faction chairwoman.
“The prime minister wasn’t elected to make difficult decisions; he was elected to make the right decisions,” Shaked said at the demonstration.
“The government forgot why we are here and how to stay here. It started with giving in to terror in the Schalit deal and continues with surrendering to the Americans – for what?” Shaked pointed out that the US refuses to release Pollard, even though he did not kill anyone.
“America is a strong country that knows how to stand up for its interests, but when America demands that we release murderers that killed children and soldiers and elderly people and mothers, we’re stupid, give in to terror and to [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas,” she added.And your party's voters didn't elect you to make the 'right decisions'? They didn't elect you to stand up for your principles and their principles? You didn't forget why you're here - only 'the government' of which you are a part forgot why you're here? And again, would trading 104 terrorist murderers for Pollard be acceptable? Ask Pollard that question. I'll bet he says no. And then Shaked too finishes off by blaming the 'Americans' because 'we're stupid.' You weren't elected to be stupid. You were elected to be smart.
The only one with any courage in the Jewish Home Knesset faction is Yoni Chetboun, who is number 11 of 12, and who was the only one to call on his party to leave the government. Too bad he's too far down the list to make a difference.
But the biggest fools are we the Jewish people of Israel, because a recent poll found that Jewish Home is actually gaining in popularity despite their cowardice and lack of principle. The poll, taken last week, found that Jewish Home has overtaken Yesh Atid (you mean people are finally figuring out that Yair Lapid is a showboating clown?) and is just three seats behind the Likud if an election were to be held today. But the poll seems to be a little suspicious:
Likud would win 22 seats, followed by Jewish Home with 19, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party 16, Labor 15, Meretz 12 and the other parties less than five each.
The poll’s results are missing some data because the total number of the seats allocated to the parties is 15 less than the 120 in the Knesset. Even if 10 are added for the Arab parties, another five are missing.
One questionable statistic is the four seats allocated to Shas, three less than in the previous poll. Shas perennially wins approximately 10 mandates in the polls and usually comes up with one or two more in the elections. In the current Knesset, Shas has 11 seats.What could go wrong?
Aaron Klein, on his radio show yesterday, says that Palestinians have built huge squatter apartment buildings on land owned by the JNF, bought through donations gathered throughout the diaspora. Where is Israel's County Clerk registry of land ownership? Or is the JNF actually a new left marcuse/alinsky progressive first, gathering donations and using them to set aside land for the PA, who bomb, rocket, and shoot Jews? Why would the JNF not have produced one of their shiny 4-color brochures on Squatter issues? Like the ones they use to raise the $$$ in the first place. Amazing. If I had know that the Leftist JNF would not assert rights over the land that contributions went toward buying, I'm very unsure that I would have donated at all. I thought I was donating to water projects. I am in favor of Jews *not* being walked over in pursuit of the progressives' marxist utopia, which has starved, etc. millions of humans every time it has been tried in history.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Israel will get something more than peace talks out of this prisoner release, though it won't come from the Palestinians. It will come from the U.S. in the form of support for military action against Iran. As you've probably read, the Obama administration is sending advanced weapons, the sort of weapons the Bush administration had refused to send, indeed some of the most advanced armaments in the U.S. arsenal. What do you think that is for?
ReplyDeleteThe peace talks now are a side show. I believe this President is getting Sunni Arab leaders who fear Iran as much as Israel does on board behind the scenes as well. He needed to show something on the Palestinian issue to do that. Now he has that something, a revived peace process. Abbas has a "victory" to show so he can attend without too much renewed opposition among his people.
I'll be honest enough to say that if I move back to Israel before the next election (G-d willing) HaBayit Yehudi is not a party I would consider voting for in any case.