Saga of Avigdor Lieberman Finally Ends

Former and reinstated Foreign Minister and MK Avigdor Lieberman finally had his long anticipated trial after over a decade and a half of legal wrangling and was found not guilty and was acquitted of all charges. There was more evidence that the entire legal persecution of Minister Lieberman was perpetrated largely for political reasons than simply the opposing political stance of the Prosecutors Office. The bringing of charges almost always were timed to coincide either with elections or during the politically charged and delicate periods immediately after an election while a coalition was being formed and ministerial positions were up for consideration and appointments. By placing MK Lieberman under charges and pending a trial at the completion of further investigations, the prosecutors placed him in a politically damaged position. Then, after a period of months, the charges were most often dropped while further investigations were being pursued and after any potential for damaging MK Lieberman’s political opportunities had passed. The one other item of not was that very often one of the charges was political turpitude which carries with it a period of suspension from holding political office.

Finally, these charges of bribery and influence peddling often pertaining to MK Lieberman’s recommendation of a particular ambassador for a new ambassadorship who it was claimed had had improper dealings with MK Liebermann which should have prevented such a recommendation from ever being considered as doing so would lead to suspicions as evidenced by the over decade and a half investigation into the affair. One would suspect if there existed any solid evidence which would have proven improper acts by either party that Lieberman would have been put on trial and likely convicted in a far shorter period of time. Taking over a decade and a half to investigate one individual’s actions over an appointment to an ambassadorial position would tend to indicate that any attempts after such an overly lengthy investigation to bring Lieberman to trial and then failing to convict would actually be more damning on the prosecutorial side than it would reflect any further suspicions of Liebermann.

Is Liebermann squeaky clean and completely above any suspicions? Very likely not but if evidence cannot be gathered in a more timely manner, the case grows cold and becomes ever more difficult to prove and result in conviction. That alone may be a large part for the not guilty verdict. Still, there would appear to be more to investigate of the prosecutors as they wasted time, funds, resources and the respect of their officers for which one would be led to believe that somebody needs to be held accountable. Should it necessarily be Attorney General Weinstein who is investigated is for a court to decide. The one thing that the people of Israel should be assured of is that any investigation into why this entire circus took place and wasted so much of the government’s time will use time more efficiently than Attorney General Weinstein’s office managed in prosecuting, or should we say persecuting, Foreign Minister Lieberman.

Beyond the Cusp

Knesset to Vote on Next Release of Palestinian Terrorists

There will be a vote today to decide on how to address and handle the second release of terrorist prisoners scheduled for Tuesday as previously agreed upon during the meetings with United States Secretary of State Kerry who enforced Mahmoud Abbas’s demands forcing Prime Minister Netanyahu to comply or else. Imagine if ever the Israelis demanded that the Palestinians agree to acquiesce on a point of contention to bring the Israelis to the negotiations table. The world would come unglued and the wrath of thousands of false denunciations would be loosed against Israel followed by embargos, sanctions and general condemnations from both the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. The European Union would have a stroke followed by a catatonic fit filled with fire and brimstones lobbed at the Israeli leadership. The pure astonishment and disbelief would be quite an amazing sight as the world recoiled in disbelief but whatever the Palestinians demand is to be guaranteed and delivered with a smile and a deep respectful bow as they condescendingly sneer in return. The world will not permit itself to be turned upside-down allowing the Israelis to be treated as equals against the Palestinians. The world has its order and that demands that Israel give concessions and the Palestinian never need show gratitude or civility but should they decide to instead murder Israelis then the world will simply demand that both sides, especially the Israelis, show restraint going forward. What never ceases to infuriate is that the world can make that demand up to three times per week after multiple heinous terrorist attacks in back-to-back succession have been launched upon innocent Israeli civilians including children of any age as well as parents, seniors and even at times Israeli Arabs are murdered simply for being in the restaurant, pizza shop, bus, train station, or any other public place and the world thinks nothing is out of sorts.

 

The intent by the leaders of the current Likud-Beytenu Coalition to attempt to mollify those Israelis who are against any further release of terrorist prisoners plan to propose more construction of housing in Judea and Samaria mostly in the major settlement blocks which have been previously viewed as to remain within the boundaries of Israel after the final agreements have been reached. This offer to build additional housing is a regular ruse used to mollify the ardent Zionists but this time they need to refuse to accept another empty promise. Every time that terrorists are released, the Palestinians are gifted with additional areas on which to build and control, or any other painful concession is given simply for the pleasure of having Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership refuse to negotiate in good faith and eventually walk out blaming Israel for not committing suicide as requested couched in the phrase that Israel is refusing to negotiate in good faith. Of course Israel negotiating in good faith the Palestinians mean Israel lying down and dropping dead while the Palestinians take control of everything from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. The main reason that this promise should be refused and the deal to release terrorists rebuked is because the negotiations are a farce and the promise to build new housing is not entirely true as every past promise to build has met with delays, court battles, suspensions or simply been cancelled by one official or another. Last year there was Ehud Barak who as Minister of Defense had a veto over any construction in Judea and Samaria and he stood squarely blocking any plans to build. More recently Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has been blocking any building using the courts and his position to prevent or at least delay indefinitely any new construction. Even if all of those blocking the startup of new construction in Judea and Samaria were to have a change of heart, there would still be Justice Minister and lead negotiator with the Palestinians Tzipi Livni who was against any building beyond the Green Line even before she was gifted the position to lead the negotiating team. Justice Minister Livni would now do almost anything if she thought it would enhance her ability to continue the negotiations with the Palestinians and that might even include agreeing to give half of the Israeli Capital of Jerusalem including all of the Old City, Temple Mount, Kotel, Western Wall and all the precious and ancient Jewish religious places to the Palestinians if it might get an agreement and possibly put her in line for a Nobel Peace Prize. In many ways it now appears that Tzipi Livni has caught the same peace bug that has taken complete control over the thinking processes of Israeli President Peres. Once upon a time Tzipi Livni would have stood with the Zionists but now she is firmly in the corner with those who believe in peace at almost any cost.

 

That is a dangerous place as the Palestinian appetite for taking from the Jews everything from land to lives and their futures in their own lands is insatiable and even feeding it the smallest morsel only serves to make that beast even more ravenous and craving yet another bite. For that reason one does not release their enemy who is sworn to murder even their smallest children so that they may carry out their heinous and hideous threats. No country has ever done such insanity before and Israel is the sole nation that such has ever been forced upon. The reason for this is obvious and need not be spoken, but we know why and that is but another reason to end the insanity now and refuse to talk until the Palestinians have made one concession in Arabic before their own people, the recognition of Israel’s right to be the national homeland for the Jewish people. Until that has been established there should be no reason to talk as without that there can be no honest negotiation and even the Palestinians are aware of that. That is why they refuse to admit that and they negotiate only as a ruse and a lie in order to force concessions using the Europeans and the Americans to force their will upon the Israeli leadership. No recognition, no prisoner release, and not more talks. Call once you have decided to negotiate honestly and we have defined how the Palestinians can prove their desire to negotiate is valid and real.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Israeli Supreme Court Needs Constraint by Constitution

The Israeli Supreme Court is rewriting laws to represent their progressive far leftist opinions by claiming any law they dislike to be unconstitutional despite Israel not even having a Constitution. You read that correctly, Israel does not have an actual, real, defined Constitution and in its place they have what they refer to as the Basic Laws which can be changed by a simple majority and many are often poorly limited in how they can be applied. The latest ruling will have deleterious effects especially for working class Israelis whose neighborhoods will be ravaged and plagued with threats of higher crimes, assaults, increase in attempted and committed rapes and general lawlessness caused by the illegal infiltrators which the Supreme Court ruled cannot be kept in custody awaiting deportation for up to three years as was detailed in the 2012 law passed to address the problem. These illegal infiltrators came from the Horn of Africa, South Sudan, Kenya, and from across northern and sub-Saharan Africa passing through numerous countries all passing finally through the length and breadth of Egypt and then the Sinai Peninsula entering Israel on the Negev border. These illegal entrants are mostly economic refugees with only a very small number actually qualifying for political refugee status or other classification which would allow them to seek permanent residence in Israel by International Law. These are simply victims of severe poverty who have left their homeland and crossed many borders all the way risking being murdered if caught in any of the foreign nations through which they pass with the danger of meeting such an end climaxing in the Sinai Peninsula as the Egyptian border guards and military and police units which keep order in the area simply shoot them with great prejudice. Once they arrive in Israel they live often dozens in an apartment and attempt to collect welfare and other support payments and augment their income by theft, robbery, and often intimidation threatening to impart great harm if not given sufficient cash, and G0d help the unfortunate who does not have what they expect as sufficient payment, roaming in bands preying on Jews living in the same neighborhoods. One of the largest concentrations of such illegal refugees is South Tel Aviv, far from the residences of the wealthy Supreme Court Justices.

This has actually become an aggravating habit where the Supremes, probably a better description that of their attitude than calling them respected Judges on the Supreme Court, decide to negate laws with which they disagree, an overruling of the Knesset which seems to occur with greater regularity when the nationalists or more religious or conservatives make up the ruling coalition. Another trend that is noticeable indicating similar actions by the Supremes is they are wholly supported by the European Union, European governments, and the plethora of NGOs financed by the New Israel Fund, European Union, European governments and foreign NGOs and liberal entities. It sometimes begins to appear that Israel is waging a war with the liberal influences, governments, NGOs and other such interests often from Europe who attempt to influence and rule Israel through decrees handed down by the Supremes very often overruling the elected members of the Knesset and against the will of the majority of Israelis. There is only one way this will be righted and the power to decide the laws of the land back with the elected members of the Knesset and not with self-appointed judicial kings who rule by mere edict and personal whim; that is to form an Israeli Constitution where the judicial branch is no longer a power onto itself where its positions are self-appointed completely independent from the elected representatives of the people. The appointment for Supremes currently in use in Israel is slanted giving the sitting Supremes, the State Attorney (who is also chosen from the judicial hierarchy) and members chosen from a body made up of “respected lawyers” (respected by the judicial branch of course) and just sufficient members of the Knesset so it cannot be said they have no input but not so many as their input truly matters, especially since some of the Knesset Ministers prefer rule by judicial fiat. Since the Knesset will never likely decide to draft a Constitution and the Supremes will very likely do everything in their power to claim that any such Constitution is unconstitutional as it will negate the Basic Laws which empower those self-serving Supremes.

The time has come to end this insult to the rule by the people and make a Constitution which will lead to the judicial appointments being made by perhaps the Prime Minister for the highest of the courts and the Knesset having the right to advise and consent such appointments. The lower courts should be relegated to the local governance such as the city, town, kibbutzim or other appropriate body. The tyranny of the robes must be brought to an end and the people empowered to at least elect those who ratify judicial appointments. While Israel is writing a Constitution, at long last, perhaps there can be a second ruling house which represents the many individual local governments such that they have a direct influence to influence the items under which they are forced to operate and make the Knesset members and Prime Minister be directly elected using direct representation to replace the current system which rewards obedient little politicos who know how to take orders and are not at all representative of the people but merely representatives of the political machines. Obviously the Knesset will also be up in arms against such changes as will the political party elites who have grown comfortable doing as they please as they are not in any way owing to the people for their Ministerial positions, they owe the party leaders which results in a Knesset made to order by the Prime Minister and a few other party elites, not the people. The current ruling between the unrepresentative Knesset Ministers, Prime Minister, and the overriding by edict Supreme Court Justices is so foreign and contrary to the guidance in Torah which demands that those who rule to be humble before the people, the current system does nothing to humble and everything to promote effete leadership who believe they are above the little people and know so much more and better than those little people. Time for us little people to wake them to an idea, the idea that rulers must be brought to be humble before the people just as G0d directed.

Beyond the Cusp