Bennett has changed the political conversation from personalities to issues, from promises that will not be kept to saying what he means and meaning what he says.
Dr. Moshe Dann, Arutz Sheva
For more than three years PM Netanyahu has been able to slip back and forth between the Right and Left. He recognized the legitimacy of a Palestinian state (albeit “demilitarized”), agreed to a 10-month building freeze, allowed DM Ehud Barak to withhold building permits and destroy Jewish homes, and refused to accept an official report on the legal status of Judea and Samaria which he commissioned.
He represented Israel magnificently in international fora, especially the US Congress, but did little to change Israel’s basic economic structure, dominated by monopolies, cartels, and the Histadrut. He found money to help Channel 10, but little for teachers, nurses and doctors. Well, no one’s perfect.
Thanks to able ministers, major changes in telecommunications, environment, and education were achieved. But basic costs for food and housing have risen, intra-city mass transportation is still inefficient, traffic bottlenecks that waste time and gas persist, and main roads are still dangerous.
With political rivals gaining on him, primarily over the issue of ‘settlements’, PM Netanyahu will be forced to clarify where he stands. He may get away with E1, Ramat Shlomo and Gilo because these areas of eastern Jerusalem are consensual. The legitimacy of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria is his real test.
His advantage is that the Right does not want to topple him; they want him to implement policies that support the settlement movement. To his disadvantage, he does not want to be seen as leading a Right-wing government. The Left would like to defeat him, but have neither the votes nor a credible candidate.
Naftali Bennett, head of the Bayit Yehudi party, has challenged conventional Israeli politics by offering a clear agenda that has wide appeal and confronts the issues which PM Netanyahu has until now successfully avoided. Bennett’s challenge is not only to PM Netanyahu, but to every other candidate as well, because of his shifting the campaign from personalities to issues.
Bennett’s threat to the political system is that he says what he believes, he has a plan and he can be trusted. For Israeli voters disappointed by candidates they elected, frustrated by broken promises and cynical politicians, Bennett has changed the rules of the game.
For Bennett, it’s not about power, it’s about integrity. This has stirred a revolution in Israeli politics that voters understand and politicians would do well to heed.
@ Dr Honey Bee Ph.D:
It is all about disinformation.
Arabs get from the world billions of dollars (from oil & gas) they use to lie about the Jews while infiltrating every possible country where they try to overturn their institutions.
Jew cannot challenge this power of disinformation. Then U have all the Jew-haters.
Lots of people in the West can be brainwashed. Needless to remind U that Europe is antisemitic. Most countries in South America are against Israel. What ‘s left? China, India and what else?
Will there be a tipping point in the US against IL?
@ yamit82
So what Abbas can called it “The State of Palestine” just like I call myself a Ph.D, it don’t mean nada.
BB procrastination and “tergiversations” will be detrimental to Jews & Israel.
The Pal goal remains the same: the elimination of IL with the “support” of the West.
Enlightening, thank-you all
yamit82 Said:
What is it about intelligence officials (CIA, Mossad, Shin Bet, MI-5, you name it), that turns them into such traitors to their country when they know the threats better than anyone else?
yAMIT, THANKS FOR ALL THESE COMMENTS.
Jaw dropping report –
–
SIGH! ……… I’m speechless….
Abbas changes name of Palestinian Authority to ‘State of Palestine’
Under new decree, all stamps, signs, and official letterheads will be changed to bear the title
Our elections can get very personal and dirty. Anything said should be taken with some grain of salt. That said BB has few supporters personally either from the right and for sure not from the left.
‘Diskin continues legacy of moronic Shin Bet leaders’
Defense establishment officials slam former Shin Bet chief for leveling personal criticism at Netanyahu, Barak
Diskin: Netanyahu, Barak too weak
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4328453,00.html
In first interview since leaving office, former Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin paints disconcerting picture of how Israel’s most sensitive decisions are made
Yuval Diskin was once privy to top secret government discussions. As former Shin Bet chief, he sat in on meetings dealing with the Iranian threat, the Palestinian issue and Israel’s most grave security concerns.
By the nature of his office, Diskin witnessed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s conduct up close and personal. And by his own admission – he was horrified.
Diskin, a self-professed patriot and war hawk who insists he has no political agenda, served the defense establishment for 38 years, the majority of which were spent on counterterrorism efforts.
In his first interview since leaving office, he told Yedioth Ahronoth that he simply cannot keep quiet anymore. He has to say something, he said, before it is too late – before the third intifada becomes a fact, before Israel finds itself embroiled in a military campaign vis-à-vis Iran.
“My colleagues and I were very unsure of whether Netanyahu and Barak can lead an Iranian campaign. We didn’t trust their motives. We were worried that they might pursue various moves that would compromise Israel based on irrelevant considerations or via underhanded ways. We had a feeling that they were trying to sneak something under the radar,” he said in the interview, published on Friday.
As for Israel’s policy vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority, Diskin said that “Israel upgraded Hamas and humiliated Abbas. We could have pursued various military moves that would have changes the picture, but Bibi and Barak are too weak.”
The prime minister’s personal and political interests, he said, always outweigh those of the State.
A game of egos
Diskin’s tone is unmistakable – a mixture of cynicism, disgust and profound concern – from one of the most prominent defense establishment chiefs of the past few decades. Interviewing for the documentary “The Gatekeepers” he sounded more angry and worried than ever.
“I’ve had the chance to work with the top political echelons since 1994,” he said. “I’ve seen all kinds of leaders – Rabin, Peres, Bibi, Barak, Sharon, Olmert and Bibi again. When I consider this spectrum I can say that Rabin, Peres, Sharon and Olmert – in the moment of truth – would always prefer State interests over their own.
“They didn’t always make the right decision, but you knew where they were coming from – Israel’s interests trumped anything else,” he said.
“Unfortunately, my feeling, and many others in the defense establishment share it, is that in the case of Netanyahu and Barak, the personal, opportunistic interests came first.”
The heads of the defense establishment, he added, often felt that Barak was even more ego-driven than Netanyahu: “With Barak, even when it came to the most sensitive discussions, the question of who gets credit for them was very important and at times it led to some very odd decisions.
“Obviously I can’t go into details, but suffice to say it left the members of those closed forums flabbergasted on more than one occasion.”
The Prime Minister’s Office issued the following statement following the interview: “Diskin’s ridiculous statements, made by a man who until six months ago wanted to be head of the Mossad, are recycled at this time for political reasons and stem from his own frustration about not being named to head the Mossad.”
I would just like to see Obama completely freak out at the thought of having to meet with Prime Minister Bennett.
Anybody surprised?
BESIDES BEING AN INCOMPETENT LIAR, COWARDLY SNAKE AND WEASEL HE IS A DANGER TO ALL OF US. IN SHORT, HE IS PATHETIC
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163871#.UOcJdGeuqI4
Netanyahu Quietly Delays E1 Project
Netanyahu deliberately delays building in E1. US paper: promising building ‘a familiar tactic.’
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has stopped progress on plans to build in the E1 area of Maaleh Adumim, the Hebrew-language daily Yediot Aharonot reports.
Netanyahu faced international criticism after the government approved new construction in the area. However, the government stuck to its plans, inviting tenders for new homes.
The project won approval from Defense Minister Ehud Barak, but Netanyahu is reportedly delaying sending it onward to a planning committee.
The move proves he was never serious about the plan, MK Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi – Tekuma) accused. “Stopping the publication of the building plans for E-1 proves that his talk about settlement is an illusion,” he charged.
“The day after the elections, we will again discover the real Netanyahu, the one who freezes building and gives in to pressure,” he added.
In an editorial Wednesday, the Washington Post noted that Netanyahu’s declaration of new construction is “a familiar tactic.” Netanyahu has announced new building in the face of competition from Israel’s “far right,” the paper suggested.
The editorial suggested that international condemnation has been “counterproductive,” as it wrongly perpetuates the mistaken notion that Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria are an obstacle to peace. The new construction is in communities that were ceded by the Palestinian Authority in previous negotiations, it noted.
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office denied that the delay indicates a change of heart on Netanyahu’s part. “There is no change in the decision to move forward with the E1 plan,” they said.
An Israel Radio poll shows the Bayit Yehudi and Oztma Leyisrael party getting a combined total of 24 seats in the next Knesset.
In polls released Thursday, the weekly poll taken on behalf of Israel Radio by the Geocartographia polling organization shows the solid right trouncing the left, and even the center, in the Knesset elections set for two and a half weeks from now.
The poll shows Naftali Bennett’s Bayit Yehudi party hitting 18 seats, tied for second largest party with Labor – and shows the Otzma Leyisrael
Party, led by MKs Aryeh Eldad and Michael Ben-Ari, as getting six seats in the Knesset.
If accurate, the poll indicates that together, Bayit Yehudi and Otzma Leyisrael parties would act as “kingmakers,” making establishment of any government without them virtually impossible.
In the Geocartographia poll, the joint Likud/Yisrael Beyteinu list stabilizes its support level at 35, down one from last week. The increased strength for the Bayit Yehudi and Otzma LeYisrael parties seems to be coming from Shas, which, expected to receive 8 seats, weakens noticeably in the poll; last week Shas polled at 12 seats.
There was also weakening among center-left parties Hatnua and Yesh Atid, which are polling at 6 and 5 seats respectively. Last week, the Geocartographia poll showed Yesh Atid with 10 seats
Also strengthening is United Torah Jewry, which, according to the poll, would receive 7 seats, as would Meretz. The two Arab parties would receive 3 and 4 seats respectively, and far left Hadash would receive 4, according to the poll. Not making it past the minimum number of votes for Knesset representation are Am Shalem, Kadima, and Koach Lehashpia, the new party of Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak.
The poll was taken of a sample of 500 respondents and has a 4.2% margin of error, the polling organization said. Experts said that as the elections get closer, more voters make up their minds, and the polls tend to reflect more realistic results.