Three years ago, most observers of the Middle East were sure about one thing: the newly elected coalition government in Israel being put together by Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t last. In particular, the Obama administration, which was only a month old itself, was hopeful Netanyahu would quickly flop and be replaced by the more pliant Tzipi Livni, the leader of the Kadima Party. Thirty-six months later, as the Israeli prime minister prepares to journey to Washington for another crucial summit with President Obama, there is no talk about the post-Netanyahu era. Though the Jewish state remains beset with a host of problems, both foreign and domestic, the volatility that has plagued the country’s political system for decades is largely absent these days.
His is actually the first Israeli cabinet to last this long in 20 years. Given that a breakup in his coalition is unlikely, it is almost a certainty that it will serve out its full four-year-term, which will be the first time that has happened since Menachem Begin was prime minister more than 30 years ago. And with polls projecting that Netanyahu and the Likud will easily win the next election when it occurs sometime in 2013, it is clear what we are seeing in Israel is a new era of political stability. While this is a remarkable personal achievement for Netanyahu, its impact goes deeper than that. When Netanyahu arrives in Washington next month, President Obama will know he is dealing with a leader who is secure in power and has the backing of his nation.
There are a number of reasons for Netanyahu’s success, but the most important of them is that experience helps. Netanyahu’s first term as prime minister from 1996 to 1999 was undermined by an arrogant refusal to listen to his cabinet colleagues and a reckless disregard for the impact of his statements on both his party and his nation’s sole ally, the United States. At that time, Netanyahu was wrongly blamed for derailing the peace process even though he repeatedly made concessions for the sake of peace while also getting the Palestinian Authority to crack down on terror. But his successes were overshadowed by his surly personality, and by the time he faced the electorate again, he had few friends left.
This time around, Netanyahu has been wiser, avoiding needless quarrels and maneuvering carefully in order to keep a diverse coalition moving in the right direction. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu Party could have dismantled the government several times, but Netanyahu smartly kept him inside the tent rather than out of it. Though Lieberman has continually talked about breaking up the coalition, he now finds himself stuck in it because a new election would diminish rather than strengthen his forces.
He has also been fortunate with his foes. Livni has been a hopeless opposition leader. Having refused Netanyahu’s offer of a coalition and a high cabinet post because she thought she would soon replace him, she now finds her party supplanted in the eyes of the public as the main alternative to the Likud by a resurgent Labor.
Even more important, Netanyahu has benefited from being the bête noire of President Obama. In the past, Israeli prime ministers always feared the enmity of American presidents, because to jeopardize the alliance was considered the political kiss of death in the Jewish state. But Obama is the least popular American president in history. Every attack launched on Netanyahu only strengthened his hold on power. By standing up to Obama on the future of Jerusalem and the 1967 lines, Netanyahu gained support rather than losing it as the president expected.
Though Obama has made no secret of his dislike for Netanyahu, the president must now acknowledge that Netanyahu is likely to remain as prime minister for the foreseeable future. Obama must also come to grips with the fact that his plans to revive the peace process has failed, and that Netanyahu’s evaluation of the Palestinians’ unwillingness to negotiate was far closer to the mark than his own opposition. Netanyahu’s political strength also makes it harder for Obama to try to muscle the Israeli on the issue of stopping Iran from going nuclear.
Three years after he plotted to dump Netanyahu, the president is also hoping Netanyahu will do nothing to complicate his own chances of re-election. As he attempts to walk back his quarrels with Jerusalem as part of his Jewish charm offensive, Obama must pay court to Netanyahu. The irony of this turnabout can’t be lost on the Israeli or his antagonist in the White House.
When they are not defending the land G-d provided for them the brave and dedicated members of the IDF are doing something special. This speaks volumes of the IDF. G-d bless them.
These guys are crazy. They just don’t get it. Israel is the Holy Land, land G-d provided for his people the Jews and they cannot have it now, tomorrow or ever. Find a new gig.
Listen guys and gals, the IDF not only protects the Holy Land, the land G-d provided for them but they are always sout there doing what they can for mankind. This speaks volume of these dedicated and courage’s men and women of the IDF.
Now these guys are real crazy, for some reason they believe Israel is Palestinian land and Jerusalem should be Palestine. Somebody should inform them Israel is the Holy Land, the land G-d provided for His people and they can’t have it now, tomorrow or ever, its not theirs to have. Get a life guys.
Nu? The Erev Rav have always been with and among us ever since the Exodus from Egypt.
Life is a test we’re told, I dunno maybe it is or isn’t but there are sure a lot of Lousy Jews in the world and our history is full of them evn such historical characters like the converso Torquemada.
Determining who is an “apikoros,” (Jewish heretic) is left up to each community to decide. Jewish courts do not rule on heresy. I suppose because Jews could never come up with a accepted universal definition.
We weren’t Chosen for our stupidity in choosing political leaders, Jews are no smarter or stupid than any other people. Orthodox Jews voted 3-1 against Obama almost the exact opposite of Jews who voted for Obama. Does that make them smart Jews?
Jews who still cling to the exile (punishmnet) in violation from the overriding main commandment in Judaism: Yishuv Eretz Yisrael. To settle the land of Israel and live a complete Jewish way of life. There is one major difference between our leftist Jews and your leftist Jews. Ours for better or worse are here and not there. We my fight and disagree but we have a commonality of national obligation and sharing risks.
You can sit 10k miles away and rant like most stupid Jewish and non Jewish conservatives who hate Obama more than they care about Jews but the Israeli left and right have more in common with each other than we do with those like you. In my unit in the IDF we have Jews of every political stripe and our lifetime bonds transcend political disagreements. The IDF makes us truly a “Band of Brothers”. When scuds or Katusha’s fall on our cities and homes nobody asks about Obama, Liberal or conservative Jewish American BS. We look after our own. When Jews were threatened it wasn’t you who took the risks to save them it was us. It’s we Israeli Jews who have for over 60 years been doing the heavy lifting and with all of our warts I wouldn’t trade places with you Americans for anything.
Ted Belman Says:
email received: Read the third e mail received. Foreget for the moment about Obama. Israel has not fared better under Republican Presidents than under Democratic ones. As bad as Obama is I and many others are not convinced that McCain would have been better for Israel Maybe for America but not for us. Just an opinion as we’ll never know. I reject the notion that what is good for America is necessarily good for Israel and the converse. Israel should separate herself from America whether a Republican or Democrat is in power. If Obama wants to throw us under the bus then I welcome it because BB and our other leaders won’t do it on their own.
Alan says:
February 26, 2012 at 3:17 pm
If Bubkes were brain matter you’d be considered a genius.
A Farshtinkener Jew like you I’m sure eats Bupkes straight from the goat’s tochas.
Ya-meet…DUMB AS CONCRETE.
Hooray for Obama – long may he reign! As for BiBi, the sooner we get rid of him the safer Israel will be.
Hooray for Bibi – long may he reign! As for Obama, the sooner we get rid of him the safer the U. S. will be.
Bernard,
Well said…
When God called us “The Chosen People” I wondered what he was referring to. I wonder even more so today, with the likes of the Ovomit “Jews” – Bobby Wexler, Debbi Wasserman Shultz, Alan So-Low, Penny Pritizker, Dennis Ross, Dan Shapiro, Jakey Lew, Rahm Emanuel, Cass Sunstein, and so many more…
THOSE WHO CHOOSE AN ANTI-SEMITE AND THEIR PARTY OVER THEIR PEOPLE, THEIR RELIGION, AND THIS COUNTRY!
The Leftard self-hating pundits like M(ary) J(ane) Rosenberg, Max Blumenthal, Spencer Ackerman, who constantly bash Israel and are the darlings of the Soros set. Or those running the Communazi sites like ANSWER, NOT IN OUR NAME, like Brian Becker – the same Brian Becker who flies to North Korea to enjoy sumptuous Pig dinners with his fellow pigs while innocent women and children are perishing in the Gulags where NK thug guards behave as viciously towards babies as the SS were towards innocent Jewish children. Becker, never imprisoned and still living – while Irv Rubin of the JDL was murdered in Federal custody.
Or the likes of those who or whose families survived the Holocaust and proved to be almost as worse momzers as Hitler – Soros, Madeleine NotsoBright, the Miliband family in Britain, and Sarko in France…
And of course the Livnis, Yacimovitich, Yossi Beilin, and Naomi Chazan types over in Israel.
Yeah, we’re “CHOSEN” all right – either for our own self-induced stupidity when it comes to political choices and/or survival, or for those in our community who have a penchant to make us the punching bag of humanity.
BTW – where are those Rabbis who excommunicated poor Baruch Spinoza for MUCH LESS 400 plus years ago?
This article does not take note that there are behind the scenes ways for Obama to screw Israel out of his dislike for bibi, his anti semitism and the fact that leftist jews and israelis plus media like haaretz keep pushing him to punish Israel. But his anti semitism is no more than that of jewish leftists. Leftist neurotic, masochistic, suicidal Jews are the main problem of the Jews. The Jew is the only people who are in constant contemplation of whether they have a right to live. This presents itself as a false focus on the “plight” of others even by Jewish organizations set up to protect Jews. This is a culturally congenital habit borne of 2000 years of slaughter and the need to deceive in order to survive. This is why the Jew cannot even recognize, never mind present, his rightful claim to Judea Samaria and that in order for the ethnic cleansing of jews from arab lands to remain it must be considered as the first half of a population exchange to be completed by the arab/muslims on the west bank. The jews can stand up for anyone but believe they are not worthy of standing up for themselves. They feel they are undeserving of their due because it might inconvenience the receivers of their stolen property who already control a quarter of the world. Imagine, leftist Jews are defending those who are on the side of those who cleansed the Jews from their lands yet nary a mention of their own refugees from those arab lands. What could be more insane or suicidal than that?
One should take notice of the following article in Ha’aretz by Ari Shavit. The significance of the following info cannot be overstated
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/if-israel-strikes-iran-it-ll-be-because-obama-didn-t-stop-it-1.414245
A few years ago Netanyahu held an in-depth discussion with Middle East expert Bernard Lewis. At the end of the talk he was convinced that if the ayatollahs obtained nuclear weapons, they would use them. Since that day, Netanyahu seems convinced that we are living out a rerun of the 1930s.