Fait Accompli? Pas Encore et Pas de Suite

As the anglophiles would call it… “it’s a done deal”. Or as I might refer to it as a “dumb deal” or a “damned deal”. The adjectives do not matter. It is simply a deal that very soon will die. But death will not come from the pandemic coronavirus. It will come from greed and selfishness.

The main issue is a strong disagreement of Benny Gantz to Netanyahu’s insistent proposal to annex the West Bank and probably the vast Jordan Valley as well.
They are awaiting Donald Trump’s opinion based upon his earlier peace-plan guidelines.

Another major complaint comes from the right wing religious Yamina party. Naftali Bennet and his associates decry Netanyahu’s agreement with Gantz to give fifteen ministerial posts to members of Blue and White. Yamina has a point. As a longtime supporter of Netanyahu and the Likud it would be proper to assign to them several ministerial posts and assign fewer posts to the Blue and White new-comers.

I voted for Benny Gantz because I trust him and his honesty. But there is also a need to reward one’s longtime friendship with Bennet. Gantz should recognize the right thing to do and be less greedy in his demand for so many top ministerial posts in a new government yet to be formed.

Not yet. And not immediately. Hopefully the proposed coalition will not crumble and fall as a result of Netanyahu’s choices for ministers.

One present minister, Yakov Litzman, Minister of Health, must be dismissed at once. He and his wife are both infected with the dreaded coronavirus. Litzman violated all of the regulations set down by Netanyahu, in particular the rule of social distancing and limiting synagogue worship to no more than ten men at any given time.

The health minister also overlooked the tremendous breach in the law by his haredim who continued to assemble at weddings with more than 400 guests and to continue synagogues and yeshivot open in spite of strict legislation demanding a limit of no more than ten people.

By his refusal to obey the law he may have infected other members of the government.

A health minister should be a medical doctor, one who is knowledgeable in prevention and treatment of diseases.

Netanyahu prefers to keep Litzman as health minister only for his own personal and selfish reasons. He needs the support of Litzman and his bloc of ultra-Orthodox members in order to keep his position as prime minister. As always, Netanyahu places his own needs before the needs of the Israeli public.

It will be interesting to learn if Netanyahu will make the “sacrifice” to dismiss Litzman and lose support of the religious faction.

In addition to concerns over the corona disease, the prime minister, realizing a surprising shortage of eggs used for the Pesach cooking, has ordered ten cargo planes to fly to other countries and to return with thirty million eggs for our markets.

I don’t recall ever having a shortage of eggs. Perhaps we need more Jewish chickens. Like the ultra-Orthodox who produce many, many children, Jewish chickens may produce many, many more eggs.

There are two other concerns which we are facing. One is the demand of the Hamas terrorist leader in Gaza for Israel to supply Gaza with many more ventilators. If Israel refuses, Hamas threatens to take them by force killing many Israelis as a result.

A second concern of Netanyahu is the question of America’s November elections. Will Trump be re-elected or not? Will a Democrat president be as friendly and generous to us as Trump has been?

Will a Democrat president cancel the Trump peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians?

All these matters are of a serious concern.

In the meantime we await the signing of an agreement with Likud and Blue and White to finally form a government which we have not had for more than one year.
It would be a happier Pesach if, when reciting the four questions, we could ask “ma nishtana ha Laila ha zeh mi kol ha lailot”? Why is this night different from all other nights? And with relief from our discomforts we can reply “last year we had no formal government but this year, thanks to God, we have one.

And at the seder, Bibi Netanyahu can steal the afikomen knowing to his delight that the theft of the afikomen cannot be added to his other indicted crimes.

Fait accompli? Is it a done deal? Pas encore. Not yet. Pas de Suite? Not immediately. Keep hoping. Maybe a prayer could help. Dayenu! It’s enough!!