Israeli elections Tuesday. Good luck, Mr. Mitzna. Good luck, Israelis with idealism. Good luck, Palestinians yearning to breathe free. Good luck, people concerned about human rights. Good luck, people concerned about honest government. Good luck, people who want the violence to stop immediately. Good luck, refuseniks, Yesh Gvul, Peace Now, Gush Shalom and Rabbis For Human Rights. Good luck, people opposed to privatization. Good luck, anyone willing to think more than five minutes into the future. Save Israel. Save Palestine. Save America’s soul. Good luck.
I read a fairly pessimistic article in this week’s Economist (The Economist being pessimistic? Surely not! ) It was talking about how somebody somewhere hopes the ILP will dump him at the last minute in favor of Shimon Peres.
This is a strangely innovative sort of pessimism. ‘Peres has proudly led us to countless defeats. Much better we stick to the old reliable Peres than let some rookie lead us to -gasp- a defeat!’ My reaction, Why not let Mitznah tell it like it is, take the high road, sell peace whether or not anyone is buying? Much better to prevent a true alternative to the current Prime Minister and lose than cozy up to him and lose anyway.
If the current Prime Minister could defeat Barak, given their respective track records, I don’t see how why he’d have trouble with Peres. On Mitznah, The Economist is typically unfriendly to the guy who says what needs to be said*: “He can blame only himself for his declaration … that Labour would never sit” in the PM’s next government. “Blame”? Why should someone blame himself for stating honestly his opposition to serving in the cabinet of a proven failure?
In fairness, they’re also unfriendly to politicians who dissemble and say only what they feel is politically acceptable. They’re just pretty much always unfriendly. That’s why the magazine, undoubtedly an excellent source of information, is bound to mediocrity in opinion-making: in any political dispute they concentrate their editorial venom on whoever they agree with the most, since that person is never up to their lofty (impossible) standards of charisma, execution, and timing.
I’m hoping Amram Mitznah will get in too, but I seriously doubt he will. The reason why many in Labour want Peres to lead is that opinion polls show with Peres at the Helm the Labour party would probably gain more seats in the Knesset.
There is little doubt in my mind that Likkud with Sharon will win the election, though it may have a few problems in the ineviatble coalition building after the election which will severely weaken it’s hold.
With Sharon as leader there is simply no hope for peace as he is only interested in escalation not negoitation.
Good luck to them, too. It’s going to be interesting to see which one gets to form the coalition with Likkud, and how much influence they’ll have. I hope it will be quite a bit.
Labor will NOT form a coalition with Likkud, they have already catergorically stated that they will not and the whole reason for these elections is that they broke off the coalition (with Likkiud) which formed the last government.
Israeli politics is very complicated as there is a very low vote threshold needed to get into the Knesset, meaning there are many parties with many interests. This complicates the ineviatble coalition building, as though several parties are willing to form a coalition with Likkud, they have said only if certain other parties are excluded from this coaltion (i.e. centre vs. far-right, secular vs. ultra-orthodox).
Thanks to all for the comments. You are right, Boris B: it’s better to stick to your principles, otherwise why bother to run for office or be in opposition in the first place??? Mr. Mitzna is expanding the parameters of the debate and making it easier for the next guy to say what needs to be said. Now if only Democrats in the USA would do that!!! Shalom Aleichem / a-Salaam Aleikum.
Israeli elections Tuesday. Good luck Mr. Sharon. Good luck, Israelis with dreams of peace. Good riddance, Palestinians thinking that two years of Intifada would cause the utter demoralization of the Israeli’s. Good luck, Palestinians in the majority who truly would prefer peace with Israel. Good luck, people on both sides concerned with safety today, tomorrow, and next year. Good luck, people concerned that the U.S. demand for PA reform actually occur prior to establishment of a Palestinian state. Save Israel first, then save Palestine.
Human beings who happen to be Israeli are not more worthy of being saved than human beings who happen to be Palestinian. True peace comes from the recognition of that.
Since we’ve started saying “good riddance” in this thread, then for my part I will bid a hopeful “good riddance” to those hard-line Israeli Likudniks and settlers who thought that two years of brutal repression, house demolitions, infrastructure destruction, collateral damage and economic strangulation would ever end the cycle of violence or “win” this conflict militarily. Good riddance, if not this time, then next time.
America may yet suffer divine judgment for the part she has played in all this. There is more diversity of opinion about the Occupation in Israel than in the USA. If it weren’t for American arms, American economic support, (largely) American settlers and the American Israel lobby, there might have been an amicable two-state solution long ago. Baruch Goldstein was American.
) It was talking about how somebody somewhere hopes the ILP will dump him at the last minute in favor of Shimon Peres.