The Netanyahu Show

With the installation of the Netanyahu government, Israel is now being led by an exclusively center to right coalition. Kadima and Labor, despite a series of missteps, overtures, statements, phone calls, etc, now comprise the opposition. I have to say that I have no complaints about this.

I assume that obtuse contortionists will say I am thrilled at the prospect of a government that is going to be dedicated to the continued suffering of the Palestinian people. They can blow me.

The checkpoints will remain. The security fence will stay up. The free movements of Arabs in the territories will continue to be restricted. As we fight for the continued protection of our unalienable rights, I look to Israel and the territories and see the struggles of Jews and Arabs for theirs.

Free movement is an essential, inherent right. The Palestinians right of free movement in the West Bank is restricted. Because of this, Israelis are largely free from sending their children to school in the morning and having to scrape up and bag their remains in the afternoon. Lifting restrictions on West Bank Arabs has invariably, without exception, resulted in Israeli dead. Is this because the Arabs are inherently an evil people? No, their government perpetrates the violence. Yes, many people there support it. They hate Israel, they hate the Jews. They have been raised to dream of their destruction. But there are many that do not believe this who are victims of the mobsters that run their government, and the restrictions placed on them by Israel in order to prevent the deaths of their citizens (again, any sovereign nation in the same position would do the same).

I am pleased with a center right coalition because this government has the potential to do something that no coalition has done before: make it clear to the United States and the rest of the world that they will not be coerced into negotiating and sanctioning the creation of a state that is run by a hostile government. When Gabi Ashkenazi came to America recently it was made clear to him that the only subject of interest to the criminals in the Obot administration is Palestinian statehood. The new Prime Minister should make it clear to the boy man in the White House that this is fine. When there is no longer a Palestinian Authority that is hostile toward Israel they can talk about it all they like. Until then, he should tell Barry to suck it.

As I said earlier, I think Bibi made this quite clear. His government will talk peace with the Palestinian Authority if and when the PA truly wants peace. Its current incarnation does not want peace. By Muhammed Dahlan’s own admission Fatah does not recognize Israel. It is a game of semantics to say the government does, while the government’s ruling party does not. In fact, that is one of the most ludicrous comments I have ever heard uttered on the world stage with Al Michaels saying, “Baseball is different than football and hockey,” running a close second.

But what I found to most encouraging was Netanyahu’s addressing of issues like the slave trade, sex trafficking, and other issues that were largely, if not entirely ignored by the impotent Kadima government led by Ehud Olmert. We will see if this issue is only getting lip service, or whether moves will be made to eliminate these practices from Israeli society.

"It is unacceptable that the Jewish people, who were dispersed in more than a hundred countries in the Diaspora where they maintained high standards of morality, came back to their country where crime organizations that deal in murder, women and drug trafficking are emerging."

I pray this is not simply lip service.

Much has been made of making Avigdor Lieberman of Israel Beitanu the Foreign Minister. The American and world media is speculating how it is that someone who advocated Arabs making loyalty oaths to Israel (a wholly and totally meaningless gesture as anyone will say just about anything to protect their interests) can be the leading face of Israel’s international diplomatic corps. What, the Arabs loved Israel before and now not so much? Whatever. I see this as sending the message to the Arab world that making false peace with countries like Syria, which works tirelessly with UN collusion to arm Hezbollah, and pledges fealty to Iran, is a pointless gesture, and that Israel is not giving back the Golan. At least this is what I hope this means. The alternative is national suicide. We experienced the fall of Masada once. Israel cannot afford to relive it.

This government could potentially be the government that finally convinces the Arab world to accept the reality that Israel is not going to coerced into making their bloodlust fantasies come true. This government could potentially be the government that finally tells the United States that a two-state solution with Fatah and Hamas is not possible, ever, and that Israel will not be forced into committing suicide to satisfy a world of rabid, circle jerking snuff filmers.

I believe that is in fact right wing governments where we often see the most progress. It was Menachem Begin that negotiated the peace with Sadat. It was Sharon who initiated the withdrawal from Gaza (the fact that this was largely a means of distracting attention from his potentially being indicted on corruption charges convolutes the matter). Rabin was a right winger.

It is typically the left and moderate Israeli governments that cause the most trouble. They are indecisive, and show a lack of strength. Arabs don’t respect that. Barak withdrew from southern Lebanon which effected the Hezbollah takeover of Lebanon south of the Litani River. This was bad for Israel, and worse for Lebanon as it strengthened Syria’s hold over the country just as it was breaking free of Syrian influence, and now Hezbollah is becoming the dominant political force in Lebanon which is bad for everyone who isn’t part of the Iranian mullah fan club.

It was largely on Sharon’s watch that Hezbollah was fully armed, but the UN is responsible for allowing the influx of arms (and is so again). Sharon’s biggest mistake as Prime Minister was not taking advantage of the aftermath of the Cedar Revolution to approach the Lebanese government. Instead he was absorbed with Gaza and saving his own ass, but as is usually the case with Sharon, it was the man, not the government, that was stirring the pot.

And I don't think I need to rehash the acidic policies of go to war, leave the job unfinished, and then declare, "Mission Accomplished." Lebanon 2006 was an unmitigated disaster that saw Olmert consenting to bombing Lebanese infrastructure when the IDF should have concentrated on taking the south to the Litani and put down Hezbollah. This is what happens when you have putz like Amir Peretz, a man I wouldn't trust with opening a bag of Bisli, as Defense Minister.

Now we have a center right based government installed. People unfamiliar with the situation there don’t understand that this could be a good thing for the Palestinians. The Palestinian Arabs number one problem is not Israel. It is the Palestinian Authority. The PA is a terror kleptocracy that runs the West Bank like a crime family. Israel does not govern the territory, contrary to popular belief. At this point Israel mostly controls the movement of people, operating checkpoints, patrolling the borders, (the checkpoints and the fence, as dehumanizing as I know Palestinians feel them to be, it cannot be disputed that these methods have saved Israeli lives, and that every time restrictions are loosened in the name of good will, Israelis die), guarding Jewish settlements. It is the PA that governs. They take billions in world aid that never gets to the people. It ends up in their pockets for bribes, for weapons, for their own pleasure, while the people suffer. Like the czars of Russia the PA must provide a scapegoat to keep the people distracted from seeing who the problem really is. Israel is the perfect foil. They man the checkpoints. They built the fence. They bulldoze houses. They cut down olive trees (an abhorrent practice in my opinion).

The PA runs a terrorist infrastructure that is dedicated to destroying Israel. Fatah has never recognized Israel’s right to exist. The Olmert government never exposed this, and went through the motions, while never committing to anything. This only served to piss off the people on both sides. A right wing government, if Netanyahu does his job, will make it clear to the PA, and the United States, that there is no two state solution until the terror kleptocracy is gone. Period. Negotiating with a party dedicated to your destruction is pointless, and no sovereign nation would ever consent to such a thing. Israel is the only country that is regularly made to do so. A right wing government that says no to this puts the ball in the world’s court. The UN did nothing after seven years of Israeli petitions to have Hamas rockets be stopped. The UN did nothing when Israel petitioned over homicide bombings. The UN did nothing when Hezbollah rocketed Israel, when Syria shelled Israel from the Golan (which is why, apart from the water, Syria will never get that land back, and shouldn’t). The UN did nothing when Jordan occupied the West Bank in 1948 and ran it like a shit hole. It is a double standard pure and simple. But this government, if it chooses to stand up and speak the truth, will make the world chose. If the world choses peace it means the end of Hamas and Fatah. If they chose destroying Israel they will remain and this situation will go on to the pain of all involved.

In his speech to the Knesset this week Netanyahu said, “If the heads of the Palestinian Authority want peace, I tell them now - we can achieve it.” That means dismantling the Al Aqsa martyrs. That means no longer embezzling from the people. That means recognizing Israel in no uncertain terms. That means destroying Hamas permanently. Abbas does not have the will, nor the inclination. A politically legitimate PA will only happen when the world demands it. Netanyahu must stand his ground and make the world decide whether it will be peace, or continued suffering for everyone. It’s time for an end to the double standard that says Hamas rockets are okay, but Israel’s fence is not.

To me, the solution is relatively simple, but it takes time. The first step is an economic federation. Even Muhammed Dahlan admits that the Palestinian economy is dependent on Israel. A symbiotic economy builds prosperity and trust. It creates a more profitable alternative to terrorism. It brings an end to suspicion and distrust. Once the people see this I believe they will reject the corruption of Fatah and Hamas. The people of the West Bank will truly understand how their jackoff leaders in their BMWs, silk suits, and automatic weapons have held them hostage. With economic empowerment comes the ability to say “no more” to terror kleptocracies that fleece the people and force them to live under the gun. And when there is no reason to fear sending an Israeli child to school on a bus, the checkpoints are gone and the fence comes down. A land that is a safe haven for Jews, and where the Arabs enjoy the greatest level of civil liberties of any nation in the middle east (that is actually already true for Israeli Arabs according to a Human Rights Watch report that came out a few years back). A far cry from authoritarian and aristocratic regimes that suppress human freedom. All of this is possible if the world hears a Netanyahu government tell the truth, stand up, and prove that this is what they really want. It will not happen in a year, or two, or more. But it is not impossible. I have to believe that. The alternative is this situation never ends and no one’s human rights are fulfilled.

For now, the Israeli government must stand firm. But it must find a way to handle checkpoints more smoothly so they are more efficient, and less hostile, while maintaining security, stop cutting down olive trees (if they haven’t done so already…I’m still researching that situation). And the Israeli government needs serious reform. A second house of Parliament would be a great start, not to mention developing an actual constitution. And Fatah and Hamas must go. None of this is impossible. But none of this will happen if the double standard applied to Israel doesn’t end.

The other key to success: no place at the table for the advocates of jihad. That, and Netanyahu's Iran stance will have to wait for another post.

Good luck Bibi. You're gonna need it.