The left wins the battle of emotions, they always have. The right wins the battle of facts, they always have. To win the war you must win the battle of emotions and the battle of facts.
By Rich Kozlovich
 |
| Amir Levy/Getty Images |
In my first post on this subject, Anyone But Netanyahu! What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, I noted the appearance of this in Geopolitical Futures' Friday, June 4, 2021 daily briefing:
Unseating Bibi. Israeli opposition parties reached a deal on Wednesday to form a government and unseat current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The coalition consists of Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party as well as an Islamist party called the United Arab List led by Mansour Abbas. Under the agreement, Bennett would serve as prime minister for two years and then be replaced by Lapid. Israeli ambassadors to the United Arab Emirates and Greece have already said bilateral relations will not be significantly affected by the change in government.
My
take on this was these three groups are at odds with each other’s
goals, visions and views of what Israel is and what it should be.
Bennet was allegedly far right, which turned out to be fallacious. It seemed to me that Lapid is a
former journalist who is more leftist than centrist. And Abbas is a liar,
and the ruling arrangement is a formula for incoherence. What could
possibly go wrong? I made that statement because I took
the time to look up these characters to
see what they were all about, and it was abundantly clear to me: Israel was in trouble. I was right. Imagine that.
In Part II I quoted from a July 7, 2021 article Israel’s ruling coalition splits at first time of asking saying:
The first real test of the coalition’s adhesion occurred yesterday. At issue was a law that, as I understand it, prevents Arab-Israeli citizens from conferring their citizenship rights — e.g., obtaining a driver’s license or a legal job — on non-citizen spouses who once lived in the West Bank or Gaza............The law was passed in 2013 in response to the wave of bombings and murders that were occurring during the second intifada. It has been renewed annually ever since.
My take on this? It was a tie vote because this
ruling coalition is not in harmony philosophically, politically or
morally. And there's a second reason it didn't pass. Netanyahu's
party didn't vote for it! Shocker? Well, that refusal to vote on this exposed this
coalition's inability to rule, and to rule for Israel's best interests. That
exposure made all those who in government "deep state" positions and
media who railed against Netanyahu look foolish. Netanyahu makes it
clear, "toppling the government" is more important to Israel's long term
interests. And he was right.
In Part III I reported: So, you think America politics is complicated do you? Well, compared to
Israel, American politics is a cake walk. And I find that's true of
all these Parliamentarian style governments. They are, at least from an
American point of view, complicated, compromised and unfocused. They
create governments out of coalitions with opposition parties, who get
ministerial positions in the new government, and they have this crazy
penchant for "Shadow Cabinets". Everybody has a say, and everybody says a lot, not usually in harmony. Watch the British Parliament in action. Insane!
Currently it appears, according to Geopolitical Futures:
"Israel's parliament is evenly split after a resignation stripped Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government of its majority. The move raised concerns that the opposition is close to being able to dissolve the government."
And we're shocked why? Idit Silman bolted to Netanyahu's group, and in spite of Bennett's claim she was being harassed by Netanyahu's party, this apparently is a popular move among a great many Israelis. She says:
"she "could not take it anymore," and
that she could not continue undermining the Jewish identity of the State
of Israel, a reference to a disagreement she had with Health Minister
Nitzan Horowitz over allowing chametz (leavened grain products) into hospitals over Passover.....[and she claimed] she was treated with disrespect".
Well, it was clear to me the "Anyone But Bibi" theme was eventually going to die on the ash heap of history because Israel is constantly faced with existential crises. So, while in the short term rhetorical hyperbole may overcome facts, in the long run facts will eventually become unpleasant realities that must be dealt with, and who in Israel is the best qualified to deal with those unpleasantries? Bibi!
It was clear to me from the very beginning he was coming back, and soon. Remember my first piece appeared in July of 2021, it now November of 2022, and guess what? Bibi is back, and big time. It's not easy to win big in Israel. This is a country with 40 different political parties, and even though only ten of those parties passed the electoral
threshold, that represents a real hurdle to get enough votes to form a government.
Netanyahu Wins Election as Israel’s Prime Minister 16 Months After Defeat: Benjamin Netanyahu has once again become prime minister of Israel in the country's fifth election in less than four years......Netanyahu’s return to the executive office came as his Likud Party formed a political alliance with two other political parties known as Jewish Power and Religious Zionism.
The Return of Bibi Netanyahu: It turns out that, sometimes, the fifth time is a charm. With the final ballots now counted in Israel's fifth national election in four years, the results are officially in Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, already the longest-serving prime minister in the 74-year history of the modern Jewish state set to return as premier. After four elections of decisively mixed results, where both the Right -- which has been added by its disgruntled "Never Netanyahu" camp -- and the Left have consistently failed to secure a durable governing coalition, the Israeli people have finally spoken up loud and clear: Bring Bibi back.
No comments:
Post a Comment