Of Israel Shamir

Source: Comedonchisciotte
The best Prime Minister the country has ever had. This is how Netanyahu is called by his many supporters. It is the longest-lived, since the time of Ben Gurion, founder of the Jewish state; he has been in office longer than Putin. But now it seems that he is about to meet the same fate as his predecessor Olmert, released from prison just six months ago after being convicted of corruption and obstruction of justice. Now it's Netanyahu's turn to taste the slop of prison, instead of the rosé he is so fond of. Or it's not like that?
The Israeli Prime Minister's story should sound familiar to American ears. Ronny Alsheich, head of the Israeli police, he fought Bibi with the same acrimony with which Mueller fought Trump, with the Israeli media siding with the police against Netanyahu, like the New York Times with the FBI. Each accusation was disclosed to the press well before the court hearing. Continuous accusations have been fed to the public. Not just the prime minister, but also his wife, woman with harsh and stingy ways, has been relentlessly attacked.
The modus operandi of the Israeli police was very similar to that of the FBI. They found the weak link, they put him in prison for some invented reason (or see) and they forced him to report the boss. What was done to Manafort and Gates, was done to Shlomo Filber and Ari Harow.
In the end, the police managed to force Netanyahu's magic circle to betray their benefactor. Shlomo Filber, director general of the Ministry of Communications, now suspended, spent “two nights in a cold, smelly cell in the police station”, writes Haaretz, ultimately agreeing to indict Netanyahu.
It's a lot, very difficult to defend the Israeli Prime Minister. He is the man who ruined the peace process, who enslaved the Palestinians, tortured Gaza, bombed Syria and Lebanon and did everything to trigger war with Iran. There is, however, a Jewish tradition that preaches apologia, finding positive sides in the bad.
A rabbi was asked to praise Theodor Herzl, founder of Zionism, a man greatly hated by the observant Jews of his time. He replied: “Herzl never entered a toilet wearing phylacteries; he never studied the Talmud on Christmas Eve; he never shaved on Shabbat. These acts are strictly prohibited by Jewish law, and Herzl did not transgress any of these prohibitions." (it doesn't matter that in general he has never shaved, has never studied the Talmud and has never worn phylacteries).
Another rabbi defended Satan regarding his persistence in tormenting Job. He said: “God loved Job, the wonderful goyim, and he had even preferred him to Abraham, the first Jew. Satan's intervention brought back God's benevolence towards Abraham; it was a good deed, has re-established divine attention towards the chosen people". After hearing this, Satan flew towards the wise rabbi and kissed the fringe of his robe.
In the spirit of these wise rabbis, I will try to raise some points in favor of the Israeli Prime Minister.
Netanyahu did not take any bribes in the strict sense. He is not a corrupt man, eager to make easy money; However, he is not even a scrupulous type, but politicians rarely are.
* He is accused of having fun with and accepting gifts from Arnon Milchan, Israeli billionaire and former spy. Which is understandable, given that the latter has produced pro-Israel films and has done a lot for the state. Every Israeli Prime Minister would do the same, enjoying his splendid cigars and good whiskey. Netanyahu tried to push through laws that would benefit Milchan, but which would also benefit every rich Jew who invested in Israel.
* Netanyahu is accused of helping media owners, and that he asked them for favorable press coverage. It doesn't seem like a crime to me: everyone asks the media lords to be represented in a positive way. Bibi has the same problem as Trump: the media is universally hostile towards him. They are not objectives; they have it in their sights, they spout lies and exaggerate his little transgressions. To govern efficiently, it would have needed positive coverage, ma, journalists being biased against him, he was forced to use this subterfuge.
* There are many unfounded stories about the Netanyahus, all small things: they would have the state pay for their catering, the electrician was overpaid, returned empty bottles to the store and took the deposit back, without reimbursing it to the State. The Attorney General reasonably concluded that there is no evidence that they actually knew about these details of the housework.
* Years ago, a person close to him had asked, on Mrs. Netanyahu's case, the opinion of a candidate for the position of Attorney General. The media passed it off as an attempt to sell the high position in exchange for dropping the case; it was just a reasonable precaution. Too bad Trump didn't hear Sessions on RussiaGate before nominating him.
As, despite a lot of chatter, there is very little real stuff against Netanyahu, despite the media having already tried him and declared him guilty. Bibi has not yet been charged, although the police chief had suggested doing so. The decision rests with the Attorney General; will probably postpone it, unless Ronny Alsheich, the top cop, find a way to put pressure on him.
If and when Bibi is accused, he will fight like a lion in court, and he might even win. His followers will not easily accept his defeat, they created a lot of turmoil, and he's not the type to give up easily.
However, if he were forced to leave his post, who could become the new Head of State? There are no good guys we can hope will inherit the throne. Like its neighbor Lebanon, Israel is divided into communities different in origin and attitude towards religion. Economically the strongest is the Ashkenazi community, who however suffers from the same mental illness that American WASPs are heirs to. They are liberal and uncertain of their abilities and right to govern. They have accepted the pro-minority agenda like white American liberals, I am pro-LGBT and pro-Black African refugees, and they would like the Eastern Jews to rule for them.
The latter hate the Ashkenazim, but they hate the Arabs even more. Aversion towards Arabs is the foundation of the Jewish state. The Orientals would like to command, but they too are unsure of their abilities, actually preferring that the Ashkenazim take care of state affairs.
Jewish religious communities also share hatred towards Arabs, but they are divided between ultra-Orthodox and nationalists. The ultra-Orthodox pay more attention to their own self-interest, nationalists are millenarianists and chiliasts.
There are currently six people with any chance of inheriting the position of Prime Minister; others could be added, some may drop out. Let's look at them briefly. From right to centre-right, we have:
(1) the Minister of Defense, the secular Avigdor Lieberman, Russian Jew from Moldova, who called for bombing the Aswan Dam and threatened Lebanon with a war of extinction;
(2) the Minister of Education, Naphtali Bennett, the nationalist cleric with an American background, who stated that the authorities should put Tamimi in jail and throw away the key.
These are the two far-right candidates.
Center-right, we have:
(3) Yair Lapid, former TV personality, probably the favorite in the race, a Macron of Israel; according to the Jerusalem Post, “the most dangerous man in Israeli politics today, a good-looking fool, charismatic and overconfident, an affable ignoramus without any intellectual depth, devoid of moral principles, but with the gift of great speaking ability”. Also known for saying that the Polish astronomer Copernicus was an “ancient Greek” and for calling the modern Swiss sculptor Giacometti – a “great Renaissance artist”.
(4) The Minister of Finance, Moshe Kahlon, Libyan Jew, the only Eastern Jew in the upper echelons of Likud, it is therefore likely to attract the Ashkenazim, who in turn believe it will attract Easterners. He is centrist and quite liberal.
Keep in mind: Eastern Jews have been very disappointing in Israeli politics, they are boastful and weak, even with good intentions, and they rarely appeal to Eastern Jewish voters, who prefer to vote for right-wing Ashkenazi exponents. For them, Hatred of Arabs is more important than love of oneself.
All four are staunch nationalists; they hate Palestinians, and it is therefore extremely unlikely that they will sign a compromise (let alone peace) with them.
Left and centre-left:
(5) Israel has its Hillary Clinton; her name is Zippy Livni, an ex-spy. The liberal Jewish-American media talks about it in glowing terms. Once he practically won the election: she was asked to form the government, but he failed to form a majority. Thus Netanyahu became Prime Minister, with her joining the opposition. It is unlikely that she will get a second chance.
(6) the leader of the Labor Party, Avi Gabay, a drab figure and also a hawk. When he was elected to lead his party, he said he would not invite Arabs into his governing coalition; known for telling the Arab states: “Fire one missile and we will fire 20”; he also said he would not dismantle Jewish settlements even in the event of peace. He is a Moroccan Jew, and courts Likud voters rather than his own constituency. It will probably fail miserably, being unable to attract either Ashkenazi voters (being Moroccan) nor those Sephardim (as it is too soft towards the Arabs).
Anyway, the last two personalities have little chance of forming the next government. The real rivals are the candidates of the religious right and the secular right; in both cases Israel will move further to the right and towards extreme chauvinism.
Compared to these candidates, Bibi is a prudent and cautious type. Even though many of his admirers in Israel and the United States pushed him to war, he refused (always with the exception of Gaza, used as a test bed for Israeli weapons manufacturers. Gaza cannot respond, and it is perfectly normal to kill their children. Gaza is there to justify anti-Semites when the Last Judgment comes). Despite his numerous threats to Iran and Hezbollah, he avoided starting the war. His possible successors will be as cautious as he is? They are more likely to choose war, the best way to gain popularity, recognition and glory. Bibi is already popular, any successor will feel the need to do something to become one.
Don't regret that the Israeli "left" has little chance of governing. Israel probably won't go to war, with the Labor Party (or Zionist Union) outside the governing coalition. If and when the left and right form a government of national unity, the war would go from probable to certain. Historically, the Israeli right, despite his constant drive for conflict, he never fought a war without his older brother's approval, the Ashkenazi Labor Party. On the other side, Labor has no problem going to war. Any strong action against the Palestinians will be taken with the support of the "left", or with the initiative of the "left".
This apologia for the prudent Netanyahu does not mean that I have any hope attached to his government. I don't have any, and not even the ANP has them. It is quite a sad observation that the terrible Netanyahu will probably be replaced by an even worse politician, of the religious Jewish-ISIS type or of the secular Jewish-fascist type. This is the terrible logic of apartheid. There is only one way out: its elimination and the declaration of equality between Jews and non-Jews in the country; This, apparently, However, it is not an option on the table.
In the international context, Netanyahu's fall will have a big impact. It will be the victory of the globalists, because Bibi is an ally of Trump and Putin. The liberals, however, will not enjoy the fruits of their victory, as Israel will continue its drift towards religious fundamentalism.
Source: www.unz.com
Link: https://www.unz.com/ishamir/netanyahu-besieged/
Translation for www.comedonchisciotte.org edited by HMG