At the Time of NO Alternative.
by Steven Shamrak
Many observers were surprised by the high
voter turnout during the last election in Israel, 65.2 percent. After decades
of hopeless political games played by both major political players, corruption
and absence of choice (in spite of enormous number of parties for a small
country like Israel), Israelis have become disillusioned and developed a strong
political apathy toward the election process in Israel.
Who would ever believe that Jews would
become politically indifferent? Turnout since 1949 had generally been above 75
percent until there was a sharp drop in 1999 to 62.3 percent. It seems the Oslo
agreement destroyed the confidence of Israelis in the viability of Israel’s
political system and self-serving politicians of all political spectrum.
The results of the election are
interesting, disturbing and quite common for Israel. Kadima narrowly won with
28 seats but is not able to form a majority government with its natural
partners of the left-wing parties. Therefore, Tzipi Livni started courting
Likud and a fake extremist, Liberman of the Israel Beiteinu party, to fake
another unity government.
On the other hand, Likud received 27
seats in the Knesset and in good position to form a majority Jewish national
coalition. Although it was predicted before the election that Likud may win up
to 30 seats, but Likud’s position became weaker after Netanyahu’s political
games backfired when he marginalised Moshe Feiglin, leader of the
Manhigut Yehudit faction, by moving him to an unwinnable 36th position on the
Likud election list, and when a few days before the election he suggested the
possibility of a coalition with the Kadima and Labor parties.
People were looking for a new direction
but realised that Likud under the leadership of Netanyahu will change nothing!
Votes for the Israel Beiteinu party, which received 15 seats, were mainly
protest votes, not support for Liberman’s ideas of swapping land in Israel for
Jewish land in Judea to accommodate the creation of another Muslim terrorist
state, or easing the conversion process for those non-Jews who came to Israel
in violation of the Law of Return!
The only winner from this bogus election
is the current ‘lame duck’ Prime Minister of Israel, Olmert, who will be able
to stay in power and avoid corruption charges for a bit longer while this
charade of forming a new Israeli government progresses.
Israel desperately needs to change the
political process, starting with rationalising the number of political parties
and making sure that they are based on clearly defined political and national
platform, not on the origins or religious affiliations of the voters. Then
people will have a clear-cut picture of what each party is about and whom they
want to be represented by. Otherwise there will be endless elections that will
only bring Israel closer to an existential abyss!
So Much for
Intention of Truce! Over 40 rockets and mortar shells have been launched from
Gaza onto Southern Israel since the end of operation Cast Lead. An Israeli soldier
was killed and three others were wounded last Tuesday when Hamas terrorists
attacked an IDF patrol near the Kissufim Junction. (That is what
happens when a job is only half done.)
Food for Thought. by Steven
Shamrak
Although Likud was winning, according to
the polls before the election, it lost many voters to the smaller Zionist
parties and many stayed with Kadima because Likud was not offering a true
alternative and change in direction. Likud would have has an even more
convincing victory and support from voters if it had clearly opposed the
creation of a Palestinian state on Jewish land. Only by reinstating its
original political objective of creating Eretz-Israel will Likud be able to
assume the national leadership!
Vatican Trivialising Holocaust Denial. Mexican
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who is president of the Vatican's Pontifical
Council for Health, dismissed allegations that Vatican decision-making is
failing in the wake of a scandal involving Holocaust denier Bishop Richard
Williamson: "Any one of us can say a stupidity, and are we going to be
excommunicated for that?" (Isn’t it “a
stupidity” to excommunicate someone for Holocaust
Denial and then reinstate Richard Williamson without his
repentance?)
Another ‘Escape’ from PA Prison. A total of 15 PA prisoners escaped the prison in the West Bank city of
Jericho on Friday. The majority of the escaped prisoners were part of the Fatah
military wing, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The Fatah terrorists had been
imprisoned at the West Bank facility as per an amnesty agreement between PA and
Israeli officials.
Nanotechnology Conference in Israel. The first International
Nanotechnology Conference held in Israel will open on March 30, 2009. The
purpose of this two-day conference is to showcase Israeli research and
innovation in nanotechnology and to bring together a group of world-class
experts who are working on the "hottest" technologies in the field. (A few years ago it was biotechnology now Israel is a
world leader in Nanotechnology!)
Twisted Logic
of Islamic Goons. In a recent speech, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged the Obama
administration to end US support for Israel and to apologize to Iran for past
misdeeds. (Shouldn’t Iran apologize for its siege of the US embassy?
Isn’t the US, by its inaction and tying the hands of the US’s best friend,
helping the enemy of Israel build the Atomic bomb, which is a threat to all?)
Quote of the Week: “By linking his Likud to Labor, Netanyahu will
reach his second term as prime minister from a position of weakness rather than
the strength” - debka.com, before election. – Another
opportunity to change the ugly reality and end terror in Israel is being
squandered!
PA Rejects Possibility of Peace. Neither Binyamin Netanyahu
nor Tzipi Livni will be able to make peace with the Palestinian Authority, PA
negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Tuesday, after exit polls indicated that Kadima
has lead over Likud: "Regardless of the coalition formed by any Israeli
prime minister, the next Israeli government will be unable to deliver the requirements
of peace." (The PA’s “requirements of peace” is
the non-existence of Israel!)
‘Friendly’
Meddling Again. President Barak
Obama is reportedly putting on the pressure on the sidelines for the forming of
a national unity government in Israel. According to the Daily Telegraph in
London, Obama believes that only a Likud-Kadima-based government will be able
to continue peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
Brotherly Love. Informed sources say 32
members of Fatah have been killed by the Hamas in Gaza in the past several
weeks and more than 100 have been shot and wounded, notably in the knees.
Shut up Peanut-Brain,
Self-Promoting Idiot! Former President
Jimmy Carter told the Free Press that Israel was responsible for last month's
fighting in Gaza. He also urged the United States to negotiate with Hamas.
"Hamas' popularity has increased in the last few weeks since Israel
attacked Hamas and its people in Gaza," Carter said. "So you got to
deal with them." (The increase of Hamas
popularity only indicates how deeply terrorism is entrenched in the enemy
population of Israel, so-called Palestinians.)
Hamas Used Aid
as Weapons. Hamas terrorists used medicine bottles provided by Israel as
humanitarian aid to attack Israeli troops. Terrorists stuffed empty pill bottles
with explosives and used them as grenades. Syringes provided in humanitarian
shipments were also used to assemble weapons.
Archaic Marriage Tradition is Endorsed. Saudi Arabia's most senior
cleric Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh has come out and stated that not allowing 10
or 12 year-old girls to marry is "unfair" to the girls. He has also
stated that Islamic law has not done any "injustice to women". (Just for the record: the last wife of the Prophet Mohamed
was 9 years old.)
Turkish Hotels
are Missing Israelis. Hotel managers in Turkey have called on Israelis not
to cancel their vacations in the country based on recent anti-Israel statements
made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Often
anti-Semites hate Jews but love our money. But like in most cases, it is not
people of Turkey but Islamic leadership which is promoting hate toward Israel.)
Israel did not Violate
War Laws.
Israel did not violate the laws of war and made
marked improvements in its fighting capability during the recent military
operation against Hamas in Gaza, yet the gains from the conflict in the long
term remain uncertain, a US study concludes. The analysis of the 22-day
conflict in Gaza by Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and
International Studies finds "impressive improvements in the readiness and
capability" of the Israeli Defense Forces since the war against Hizbullah
in Lebanon in 2006, and unequivocally states that Israel did not violate the
laws of war despite the large number of civilian casualties among the
Palestinians.
"[Israel] did deliberately use decisive force to
enhance regional deterrence and demonstrate that it had restored its military
edge," the report states. "These, however, are legitimate military
objectives in spite of their very real humanitarian costs." The analysis
finds that the IDF did not succeed in deterring Hamas from new rocket strikes
on Israel or make "definitive changes in the political and military
situation in Gaza," noting that the post-conflict situation looks
strikingly like the situation before the fighting began. (Unfortunately this report will not prevent the
International anti-Semites from making ‘smoke without fire’ in the anti-Israel
propaganda war.)
"The end
result is that it is far from certain that Israel's tactical successes achieved
significant strategic and grand strategic benefits," the report concludes.
(Only
when the objectives are clearly defined can the “strategic benefits” be
achieved! The ‘wishy washy’ Kadima/Labor government has never had the Jewish
national interests in mind.)