|
Lieberman's Shift
- Editorial
- Avigdor Lieberman's return to the cabinet has been met by a chorus of international disapproval. Editorials and news features have critically highlighted his staunch support of the West Bank settlement enterprise.
- Sometimes his positions have been misrepresented, as in articles that emphasize his advocacy of Israel relinquishing control over some of its Arab citizens but fail to point out that his proposal is also to relinquish control of the territory in which they live.
- His stance on this issue is already complex and controversial; presenting it superficially and inaccurately hardly enables clarity of judgement.
- The Lieberman rejoining the Israeli cabinet of 2006 is speaking very differently from the 2001 model who urged the bombing of Teheran.
- Interviewed by The Jerusalem Post last weekend, Lieberman now urged that the Iranian threat be handled discreetly. "We have to wait and see what the European Union, United States, Russia and China do about Iran," he asserted patiently.
- Asked to explain why, Lieberman said only that "what was right five years ago is not necessarily right today." (Jerusalem Post)
Outwitting Ahmadinejad
by Moshe Arens
- Maybe once Lieberman has established himself in this new job, Israelis, and their many friends around the world, will be able to sleep well at night.
- Maybe dealing with the major threat facing Israel has finally been put into the right hands. Even President Bush may sit up and take notice.
- But when a rational player confronts an irrational one, the irrational player has a decided advantage. While he is counting on the rational response of his opponents to his moves, they don't know what to expect of him.
- Maybe this is the way to outwit the madman in Teheran. Lieberman's past statements about bombing Teheran, destroying the Aswan dam, laying waste to Gaza, and stripping Israel's Arab citizens of their citizenship might very well make Ahmedinejad believe that now he is up against an entirely different type of opponent. (Ha'aretz)
'Nash kontrol' Over Israel's Strategy
by Lily Galili
- An important point escaped the stormy public discussion surrounding Avigdor Lieberman's joining the government: the step's significance for over one million Israelis from the former Soviet Union.
- As someone who is enjoying the personal support of 50 percent of the Russian-speaking public and super-star status among those who do not vote for him, he is leading the 1990s aliyah to where it wants to be: a position of leadership.
- It has been clear for years that the million people who came here are no longer seeking integration into society; they want to lead.
- One of the frequent complaints of immigrants from the FSU is that unlike them, veteran Israelis lack strategic thinking. For the most part, the newcomers attribute this to a difference in the concept of time between the two sides, and despise the Israeli tendency of dealing only with the here and now. (Ha'aretz)
|
A Lethal Combination
by Ze'ev Sternhell
- Because it betrayed all its promises, from the convergence plan to repairing society, and thus finds itself in serious distress, the governmental elite is now calling for help from the most dangerous politician we have ever had in Israel.
- Lieberman also has the ability, through the power of xenophobia and by slinging mud at the Knesset and the Supreme Court, to mobilize the frustrations of the lower middle class.
- Lieberman caught this wave even before the war, but now he is exploiting his success in order to fill the vacuum that has been created by the center's moral collapse.
- And indeed, by turning to Lieberman, Olmert is declaring that he does not have the strength to lead the country on his own, while Defense Minister Amir Peretz, for his part, is admitting that he does not have the political and emotional strength to fight back.
- European history has taught us that cooperation between a defeated conservative politician and a right-wing extremist politician with no restraints and a dictatorial temperament can be lethal. (Ha'aretz)
Lieberman Is a Strategic Threat
- Editorial
- Lieberman is entering the government with a big wink. He knows that the system of government will not be changed, but he also knows that he has managed to do something that, seemed impossible - to secure himself the most sensitive post in the country, minister in charge of strategic threats.
- The choice of the most unrestrained and irresponsible man around for this job constitutes a strategic threat in its own right.
- Lieberman's lack of restraint and his unbridled tongue, comparable only to those of Iran's president, are liable to bring disaster down upon the entire region.
- The appointment of Lieberman - someone who not long ago demanded that Israel bomb the Aswan Dam - as the minister responsible for strategic threats indicates a loss of judgment by the Olmert government. (Ha'aretz)
|