The Puppet On the Chair

Everyone in Israel knows it. Most of the outside world does not. For the past nine years of his premiership, Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu has been a puppet who wants desperately to keep his chair warm.

Although he has improved our relations with some Arab countries and opened the doors to Africa, deeds which should be commended, he has failed to be the Israeli leader for Israeli citizens. He cannot make a political decision or an appointment without seeking the advice of his egoistic power-hungry wife, an ex-El Al stewardess, Sara.

When she tells him to jump, he jumps. It has often been said that she examines each dossier of all prospective candidates for appointment to government ministries, cabinet positions, and judges in our courts. Then she offers her “advice” (an order) to her husband and decides who he should appoint to the positions.

If Sara was not the sole problem with Bibi, things might be different. But now, to make matters worse, it has been revealed that our prime minister often relies upon the advice of his son, Yair, a disgraceful  young man who flaunts his “authority” of being the Prime Minister’s son and adviser, who gets drunk at bars and goes in search of prostitutes, a man who has few ethics and no morals.

Instead of heeding suggestions and advice from our intelligence services, our excellent Mossad and Shin Bet,  prime minister Netanyahu prefers to ask advice from wife Sara and son Yair.

His wife, like him, is also under investigation for bribery and corruption, in particular, related to cases 1000 and 4000, involving her demands  from Arnon Milchan to provide her with cases (not a few bottles, but many, many cases) of fine French champagne, and her telephone messages to Walla and Bezeq  wives requesting favorable media coverage for the Netanyahu family.

What is incomprehensible to me is why no party in the coalition has had the courage to denounce the shenanigans of Israel’s “first family”. Party loyalty is important but when one sees, hears and smells the rot of corrupt leadership, it is time to break away from that loyalty.

To this effect, former aides to the prime minister have come forward as state witnesses to offer testimony acknowledging details of his corruption. They support the indictments rendered by the police who have investigated thoroughly the charges against the prime minister.

He has made famous his overly repeated remark “they will find nothing because there is nothing to be found” and when he is presented with positive evidence against him he denies all wrong-doing.

Besides his family whom he certainly loves without question, Bibi loves his seat of power. He will not cede his chair to anyone. He is the good “puppet” who insists on keeping his chair warm while the nation and foreign leaders look on with disgust.

Israel has no provision for an impeachment.  No Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton could be impeached here.

But the right thing to do, the honorable thing to do, would be for prime minister Netanyahu to publicly announce to the citizens of Israel:

“My fellow Israelis. I am innocent of all false charges brought against me. It is all “fake news”. But for the good of our country, I have decided to take a “temporary leave of absence”…. Temporary, not a resignation…. until the matter is resolved in my favor. During the temporary “leave of absence”,  xxxxxxxxx will act as “temporary prime minister”, if agreed upon by President Reuven Rivlin”.

I am convinced that the Knesset would accept the “temporary” idea as long as the new but “temporary prime minister” is neither a Tibi nor a Zouabi. We cannot endure another catastrophe.

During Bibi’s “absence from the puppet’s chair”, Sara will tell him to water the plants, weed the garden, and smoke his cigars outside of their home. At the same time she will “suggest” that Yair opens another bottle of her delightful French champagne. He gladly will join her in consuming a bottle.

Oh, the woes of leadership !   Oh, the temptations !  Oh, the lies and breach of trust  !

As my father would have said, “s’iz schwer zu zein a Yid”.  It’s tough to be a Jew.