On Political Suicide

More power to Avigdor Liberman and his most recent proposal. Either Netanyahu excuses his ultra-orthodox bloc partners from serving in the political circus and Gantz refusing to sit in a coalition government with Netanyahu, Liberman has threatened to turn his Knesset seats over to the more compromising of the two leaders.

A minority government which would include Joint List Arab members would be, in the words of one Likud leader, “political suicide”. And to exemplify his statement he goes on to declare that Liberman may have the gun but he cannot pull the trigger.

Foolish Likudnik. There are more ways to destroy another. And the gun is not the only way.

The days are passing too quickly and candidate Benny Gantz has so far remained unsuccessful in forming a coalition of a unity government.

It would be a delight, for a change, to hear an Arab member in the government speaking words of condemnation for the many years of Netanyahu’s anti-Arab racist remarks. The tables will turn !

Liberman always has strong words. He is always ready to condemn, always ready to criticize those whose opinions differ from his own. But, truth to tell, he is not always wrong.

The all too frequent anti-Arab remarks mark Netanyahu as a 100% racist. The Arabs, like him, are full citizens of the state of Israel.

They may oppose, as do many Israeli Jews, the settlement programs and talks of annexation of the Jordan Valley, among other areas not presently under Israeli control.

But opposing such plans do not, ipso facto, make them traitors. A Likud speaker loudly proclaimed that our Arab members in the Knesset would be better to sit in the parliament in Ramallah rather than in the parliament in Jerusalem.

He neglected to remember that freedom of speech and freedom of opinion is a solid part of Israeli democracy. And Arabs are solid citizens under our democracy.

Liberman has many supporters. On several occasions it was rumored that he would like to see himself as prime minister of Israel. He himself has denied it. And there is very little evidence to back up the rumors.

His opinions are always strong but not always wrong!

The one way to commit political suicide would be to keep the House of Netanyahu in power. He and they must go!

Benny Gantz, in seeking to form a unity government, has held conversations with the Arab Joint List.

Seeking to talk with Arab members of our Knesset does not make him a traitor. On the contrary. It makes him a potential leader who is ready to listen to the voices of all our political parties… something which Bibi Netanyahu has failed to do.

In meetings with Kachol v’Lavan and Likud, there is little progress. Gantz is prepared to follow President Rivlin’s proposal for unity which includes the leave of absence for Netanyahu if he is indicted for crimes.

Gantz’s demands are not unreasonable. Likud is only one party but it has 55 seats which include all the minor parties in his bloc. Gantz insists that only Likud can be a possible partner, eliminating all the other partners, in particular the ultra-orthodox zealots.

Without the zealots, Netanyahu would never be able to form any kind of government, unity or dis-unity.

In order to appease them and gain their continued support, he must promise to continue the conditions of their demands in spite of an 80% of our population who vehemently disagree with them and oppose them.

In Jewish religious law, a person who commits suicide cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery. Is political suicide included in that law?

Where then does Bibi propose to be buried?

Liberman —- stay strong ! You are not always wrong !!