By Rich Kozlovich
Over the years I've spent a lot of time researching what goes on in Israel regarding their politics, and truth be told, it's a mess, and I often wonder how they managed to keep their national sovereignty. When it comes to demonstrating the flaws of parliamentary government.... Israel is the poster child for that.
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. But it gets worse. There are 149 minor political parties in Israel.
Recently there's been all this talk about members of his coalition government abandoning the coalition which will force new elections at some point and the "Anyone but Bibi Crowd", many of them so far left they're falling off the cliff, and all of them drooling to get into power and effectively sell the nation down the river to get back the hostages. Totally unconcerned with the fact that would merely encourage more hostage taking. They embrace policies that are so idiotic if they get into power Hamas will be back in power, rearmed, and preparing for the next attack to destroy Israel.
Hamas is a death cult that will never stop it's monstrous attacks against Israel, so Netanyahu has made it clear he intends to totally destroy Hamas and take over Gaza, and it's hitting the fan, so, I think it's worth while to re-post all four of my anyone but Bibi commentaries in order from June 2021 to November 2022, to get the full flavor of the insanity Netanyahu has to deal with.
Anyone But Netanyahu! What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Monday, June 7, 2021
On Friday, June 4, 2021 I posted this article, The World as I See It, listing a number of events I felt were profound, provocative and worth following, mostly from Geopolitical Futures, to which I subscribe and recommend everyone doing so, saying:
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:
This is a mess in the making as these three groups are at odds with each other’s goals, visions and views of what Israel is and what it should be. Bennet is allegedly far right. It seems 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.
Naftalie Bennett was a
former Chief of Staff of Benjamin Netanyahu, and considered to be
military hero, and a successful businessman with a conservative
bent and an orthodox Jew. But that’s
more telling than not as he’s what he really practices is Modern Orthodox Judaism,
which is a hybrid Orthodox Judaism blending the secular with the religious. Is that telling?
His political positions seem to be an odd blending also. He insists, "I will do everything in my power to make sure they [Palestinians] never get a state", and yet he wants to create:
“a tripartition of the Palestinian territories, whereby Israel would unilaterally annex Area C, authority over the Gaza Strip would be transferred to Egypt, and Area A and Area B would remain with the Palestinian National Authority, but under the security umbrella of the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet to "ensure quiet, suppress Palestinian terrorism, and prevent Hamas from taking over the territory".
I can’t see how the long term consequences for this are foundationally stable since his plan relies on the agreement and cooperation of Egypt and the Palestinian National Authority. Dubious at best! All of which leads me to conclude the long term consequences would be to create the foundation for an individual Palestinian state.
He also claims:
"Israel must learn to live with the Palestinian problem without a "surgical action" of separation to two states: "I have a friend who's got shrapnel in his rear end, and he's been told that it can be removed surgically, but it would leave him disabled... So he decided to live with it. There are situations where insisting on perfection can lead to more trouble than it's worth." Bennett's "Shrapnel in the butt" quickly became widely known as representing his view of the Palestinian problem."
There’s even more and it’s all complex and confusing, leaving you with this question: So where does he really stand?
“I won’t allow Yair Lapid to be prime minister, including in a rotation (agreement.)” and “I will not establish a government based on the support of Mansour Abbas from the Islamic Movement.”
But he's just signed an agreement that allows all that. So where does he stand solidly? He stands for anyone but Netanyahu, as long as he's the anyone, even if it's just for a little while.
What could possible go wrong?
Yair Lapid is a former journalist and who became a politician [neither of which is a recommendation] and the opposition leader in the Knesset heading up the Yesh Atid and serving as minister of Finance from 2013 to 2014.
First, he really resents the Orthodox Jews in Israel because of the privileges and exceptions given to them by the government, and I think that's more universal in Israel than is openly recognized. But, they're a powerful force in Israel, and taking them on isn't going to make his leadership an easy one, or successful for that matter.
His solution to the Palestinian problem would be to have a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the goal of creating "two states for two peoples". Then of course he cites the usual caveats about Israeli security and rights in the settlements, and has refused to be a part of any government that stalls any "peace" talks with Palestinians. I'm sure HAMAS thought that was an excellent position for an Israeli government official. He goes on to explain how things would be laid out, which are complicated and unworkable. He's considered the "leader" of disillusioned "centrists" but who are they actually? Make no mistake about it, there are no centrists in Israel. These are leftists who support all the left wing clabber spouted by the media, left wing politicians, and a corrupt judicial system that's been used politically against Netanyahu.
As for his party's positions, this is what's been said:
"We have noticed that the Yesh Atid party spends a lot of time on Facebook, instead of engaging in parliamentary activities. Their posts do not say anything. They are full of beautiful text and very little substance."
In short, he wants to continue the same failed policies as the predecessors of Netanyahu.
What could possibly go wrong?
Mansour Abbas supports his United Arab List party's position of a two state solution.
He's been exposed to the Islamist movement that advocates for Islam in Israel, particularly among Arabs and Circassians, how much influence that's had isn't definitive. He's opposed to the Abraham Accords because there's no peace treaty with Palestinians in that agreement, which seems to me to be telling. He states:
"If there will be a real agreement with the Palestinians, there will be real agreements with 55 Muslim countries. But what truly matters is that we are Israelis, and our actions are not supposed to be influenced by whether there is peace with Bahrain."
All of which is blatant nonsense, he no more believes he's an Israeli that do I, and he no more believes there will ever be an agreement with the Palestinians because they're rejected agreement after agreement, and if there ever was one, it would not be honored by the Palestinians, and he has to know that. It's a historically certified and time honored typical Muslim ploy known as the doctrine of taqiya. The Muslim doctrine of deception.
Here's the real thrust of this newly formed three party "government". A commitment to backing a non-Netanyahu government. And then there's the ten other political factions in Israel, thirteen in all. Factions as far as I can tell there are a bunch of political parties in and out of the Knesset! But it gets worse. There are 149 minor political parties in Israel.
If these two sites are accurate there could be over 200 political parties in Israel. I recommend following the two links as I can't really make heads or tails of this mess, and I wonder if the Israelis can. If my assumptions are correct, in a country with only nine million people that means there's a political party for every 45,000 people.
What could possibly go wrong?
So, this brings me to this article by David Singer in the Canada Free Press, Israel's dysfunctional Government cannot survive, saying:
An amalgam of eight leaders trading insults and denigrating each other—whilst their parties have adopted policies that are totally irreconcilable on critical issues—is not the foundation for any stable Government—especially in Israel—whose enemies will become increasingly emboldened following the announcement of a cobbled-together Israeli Government comprising very different bedfellows.
Let's just take one issue.
There are those in this group who support hauling Israel before an International Criminal Court that has specifically targeted Israel!
A court that has no jurisdiction because Israel isn't a signatory, yet
they've make up their own rules as they go along, much like the Judicial
system in Israel, completely ignoring any legislative restrictions.
- The World as I See It: The International Criminal Court (ICC) is Corrupt to the Core!
- The International Criminal Court: Leftists Out of Control
- The World as I See It: The International Criminal Court
And that's just one issue. There's a lot more as Netanyahu makes some cogent observations saying:
"that the new government would not be able to withstand pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden to accept the Iran nuclear deal, and that it would be weak against Palestinian terror, given its reliance on an Islamist party."
- Iran Rearming Hamas with ‘Thousands of New Rockets’ Hamas: ‘This war will last forever’
According to
Joel B. Pollak in his article, Benjamin Netanyahu Calls New Israeli Government ‘Biggest Election Scam, Maybe, in History’:
The crisis is exacerbated by the fact that incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of the Yamina party betrayed most of his promises to his voters, including a pledge not to govern with Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party, or with Arab parties.
Israel’s new government is facing a crisis of legitimacy as a prime minister whose party won only 6% of the vote is set to take the reins of government, while the party that won the most votes is being pushed out of office and into opposition.
Hence my original take on this:This is a mess in the making as these three groups are at odds with each other’s goals, visions and views of what Israel is and what it should be...... and the ruling arrangement is a formula for incoherence.
What could
possibly go wrong?
Just as American politicians on both sides of the aisle proclaimed, "Anyone but Trump", and got Biden, along with an entire band of insane cretins destroying America. Now the Israeli's are getting an "anyone by Netanyahu" government and the results will be even worse.
Anyone But Netanyahu! What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Part II,
Thursday, July 8, 2021
On Monday, June 7, 2021 I posted my commentary, Anyone But Netanyahu! What Could Possibly Go Wrong? quoting a Geopolitical Futures piece 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.
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?
That exposed this coalition's inability 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.
Some may be aghast at this kind of irresponsible politics, but they've played hard ball with Netanyahu for years, with little concern as to what was good for the nation, as I attempt to show later. Netanyahu sees the long term negative consequences to Israel for having such a "bizarre ruling coalition" in power. This is a coalition that faces a "crisis of legitimacy with a Prime Minister whose party won only 6% of the vote".....and the party that won the most votes [was ] pushed out of office and into opposition."
There is only one moral foundation they share: "Anyone but Netanyahu!" So that makes Bibi the opposition, and opposition it shall be. It's hardball, and in hardball those curve balls are the pits.
You may wish to review this biography, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's unseated long-term leader.
There's a section here showing Netanyahu being charged with corruption,
but I
followed this story and as far as I can tell the prosecutors were much
like the prosecutors in New York City and New York state, with the same
kind of politically corrupt prosecutors and politically corrupt courts.
All totally partisan, all left wing, and all more than willing to use
the power of government to advance their agenda.
The courts in Israel and the prosecutors are out of control making up the rules as they go along, so at this point I've concluded these "corruption" charges are the same political scam used by Democrat prosecutors in the U.S. against politicians, or groups they don't like all over the nation.
Prosecutors out of control, and that makes it a case of political abuse of the system by leftists in powerful positions. This was true in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker case, the Senator Ted Stevens case, the Tom Delay case (both Delay's and Stevens careers were destroyed by these illegal actions), and it seems the same tactic is true here. This is an expanding pattern of the criminalization of politics, as was those States Attorneys General who launched a fraud investigation against the Competitive Enterprise Institute over it's position regarding Anthropogenic Climate Change, along with Exxon Mobile.
(Editor's Note: The Scott Walker John Doe Investigations were among the most egregious starting in 2006 and not ending until 2017. This kind of legal corruption goes on in the private sector also. They're called SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) lawsuits, to force people to be silent.
"Nine years ago, Michael Mann sued National Review, Mark Steyn and the
Competitive Enterprise Institute". He also sued Tim Ball in Canada, where Mann lost., and the courts dismissed the case against National Review, but the case against CEI and Styne continues,
with Mann constantly seeking ways to prevent it from going to court
because "the process is the punishment". "The only way this litigation
can end with any semblance of justice is if the court assesses many
millions of dollars in costs against....Mann". Mann Chronicles,
Mark Steyn,
SLAPP RK)
These prosecutors knew no crimes were committed, but their goal was to smear them long enough to get them out of office or to destroy those who would not support their agenda by causing a severe financial burden fighting these cases. More than happy to flout the laws they've sworn to defend. That's the left, and there are no boundaries on the left in the United States or Israel, in government or in the private sector.
Daniel Greenfield noted in his piece, Netanyahu and the Left's Israeli Deep State:
............[Israel's] deep state is working overtime to force Netanyahu out of office using fake scandals, fake news and fake police.......... .Its police force is Middle Eastern. At its best, it’s useless and at its worst, it’s deeply corrupt and abusive. The same holds true for the entire justice system which remains a fossilized remnant of its socialist past that deserves to be classed with those of Russia or Uzbekistan..............Israeli police and media have spent the better part of a decade trying to invent ridiculous Netanyahu scandals...........
"Attorney general mulls probe into Sara Netanyahu's bottle deposits" isn't a gag, it's an actual headline. The catering budget at the prime minister’s residence has been under investigation for years.........Another Netanyahu investigation involved the nursing care provided to his father-in-law before his death, because the Israeli left has no more concept of decency than it does of national security............ None of these scandals ever actually go away. Much like the left’s perjury traps and obstruction of justice campaigns against Trump, discredited scandals are rolled into accusations of a cover-up.
There's more to Greenfield's article, but one thing is clear, "The deep state is [as] rotten and disloyal" in Israel as it is in America.
Anyone But Netanyahu! What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Part III
Sunday, April 10, 2022
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".
This
government was created as an "anyone but Bibi" government, but there
was no one party that could get enough votes to form a government, so
totally divergent groups came together to form a totally irrational
government, that, irrespective of these various groups positions, as a
government they functionally believe in nothing. It was created to be
one thing and one thing only: An anti-Netanyahu government. That's the
only moral foundation they share.
On Monday, June 7, 2021 I published, Anyone But Netanyahu! What Could Possibly Go Wrong? quoting a piece from Geopolitical Futures:
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. This is a mess in the making as these three groups are at odds with each other’s goals, visions and views of what Israel is and what it should be. Bennett is allegedly far right. It seems 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?
On Thursday, July 8, 2021 I posted this piece, Anyone But Netanyahu! What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Part II commenting about this new government's inability to pass as law as fundamental as a law that "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."
It was a tie vote. Why didn't it pass? Because this ruling coalition is not in harmony philosophically, politically or morally. First, this is a government with a rotating President....three of them. One claims he will do everything he can to make sure there is never a Palestinian state and the other two rotating partners in this government support a two states solution, and one is a former journalist and a Jew who hates the Orthodox Jews. The other is an Arab. Guess what he really believes.
And
there's a second reason it
didn't pass. Netanyahu's party didn't vote for it! Shocker? Bibi is
in this to play hardball, and he's playing the long game to save Israel,
all of which made this government look weak, foolish, incompetent and
exposes them for not being able to generate enough votes to even assure
the safety of Israel's citizens. I went on to say:
That exposed this coalition's inability 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.
Some may be aghast at this kind of irresponsible politics, but they've played hard ball with Netanyahu for years, with little concern as to what was good for the nation, as I attempt to show later. Netanyahu sees the long term negative consequences to Israel for having such a "bizarre ruling coalition" in power. This is a coalition that faces a "crisis of legitimacy with a Prime Minister whose party won only 6% of the vote".....and the party that won the most votes [was ] pushed out of office and into opposition."
There is only one moral foundation they share: "Anyone but Netanyahu!" So that makes Bibi the opposition, and opposition it shall be. It's hardball, and in hardball those curve balls are the pits.
You would think this would trigger new elections, however, according to RANE Worldview, of which Startfor is a part, this is what has to happen to trigger a new election.
- First, if another member of this government bolts, they can dissolve the Knesset and demand a new election.
- Second, under Israeli law they must pass a 2023 budget by December 31, 2022 or a new election must be held.
I've been waiting for this breakdown, and quite frankly, I'm surprised it's lasted this long, and now Israel will once again (they had four national elections in two years) have to go back to the voting booth early. But now there are two factors.
- First, it must now be clear to Israelis no competent government can be formed by these incoherent coalitions.
- Secondly,
does anyone really believe another "anyone but Netanyahu" coalition can
now form again? Creating that coalition was like open heart surgery
without anesthetic. It seems unlikely it will happen again.
So, to answer to the question about this anti-Netanyahu government: What could go possibly go wrong? Answer: Everything!
And you think American politics is complicated.
Anyone But Netanyahu! What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Part IV
Sunday November 6, 2022
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.
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.
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