The Usual Defense Aid Message Couching the Big Lie

 

Once more the time is upon the Israeli political and military leadership to figure the most beneficial path forward and what role they wish for the presumed eternal friendship and joining at the hip of the United States and Israel. At the top of the discussion is that connection at the hip which is a three-billion dollar military aid package which needs reviewing. Rumored in the deal presented by President Obama is the demand that the twenty-six percent of those funds permitted to be used by Israel domestically be phased out and that all aid be approved by the President before being shipped even during times of duress such as in a conflict with Hamas, Hezballah or other entity, not exactly an unusual enough occurrence. The difficulty this could present was driven home when President Obama using the State Department held up the scheduled resupply of Hellfire missiles during the 2014 Hamas conflict forcing a rethinking of plans to operate without that strategically vital and important weapons system. Many are looking at the plan and seeing it as a poison pill which Israel should refuse to swallow while others point to the fact that Israel, until President Obama, had almost never had any difficulties and they claim that the American people or Congress could mediate any difficulties despite the wording of the new arms aid proposal that Congress must have no recourse, council or affect upon any decision made by the President and their administration in such military matters concerning Israel. This places an irreversible veto to all military aid in the hands of a single person, the President of the United States, and contrary to seeming popular memory, this was not the first time that an American administration attempted to change the course of a war when the Nixon administration under the advice of Secretary of State Kissinger delayed resupply to Israel during the Yom Kippur War where it was rumored that the missile silos were opened to persuade the Americans that Israel desperately needed the weapons to avoid an escalation neither side desired. That is rumored to have been a very persuasive argument and the arms were released. That led to some of the arms set aside for Israel to be stored in Israel such that Israel never face that predicament again, but obviously that arms cache cannot hold every type and number which may become required or there would be no need for negotiations on a new deal.

 

F35 JSF

 

There is a second side to the deal which has developed some serious problems and newly found difficulties, the F35 JSF aircraft. The persisting software problems which are delaying delivery to United States frontline air units, the overheating of an aircraft whose electronics are currently cooled by opening all the weapons bays for one minute every ten to fifteen minutes as necessary which compromises every stealth design of the airframe giving enemy radars a fully obvious aircraft for prolonged times otherwise the electronics start to fail, other stealth problems which were unanticipated in the computer modeling (there is something to say for clay and full-scale modeling and test chambers over computer theories), and the necessity to download all information after each flight, the uploading via military network of flight plans before each mission, the ability of the United States to ground all F35 JSF including those given Israel or just the Israeli aircraft, the ability to take charge of the plane mid mission under certain limitations and a plethora of problems some of which will likely not be known until it is too late which makes this aircraft too reliant on American assistance and goodwill to use as the primary fighter in the IAF. Some of these shortcomings have been covered by Caroline Glick and others in their recent articles as well.

 

Apart from our hopes that the delays and other difficulties cause Israel to never take delivery beyond their initial flight of F35 JSF fighters, the truth is this aircraft fails all standards of measure due to the facts that the aircraft is undeployable as configured, lacks independent missioning of the aircraft free of United States approval, impossible strictly dependent repair as the only method for troubleshooting of the system software and other electronics is by using diagnostics kept within computers in the United States via “secure” downloads and upload of repairs and updates (think Obamacare software or early versions of Windows), and a host of other problems of accepting and basing your nation’s air capabilities on an aircraft not ready for prime time or even airshows without numerous upgrades and some probable system rebuilds which would require returning the fleet to the United States in too many situations. Then there are the negotiations for a new defense treaty which holds a number of points which are equally, some even more so, troubling with the cancellation of the funds available for Israel use at home being just an average of the problems being demanded by the Obama White House. Some even work to the detriment of the United States as well, but even that sacrifice is nothing when one is working to cripple Israeli future defense capabilities independent from White House whims of the moment. Dropping the Israelis ability to use around quarter of the funding on Israeli military spending which will slow both nation’s research in vital areas as the Americans, due to the assistance received from Israeli research in areas such as drones and anti-missile research and development, are dependent on Israeli research to direct their developments in these areas. But this is all about forcing Israeli military research and ability to be strangled making them further dependent upon the United States for any and all advanced weapons systems and greater dependence upon American weapons systems thus placing Israeli defense under control from the White House and, unfortunately, also the State Department.

 

So, if this is looking like such a stifling deal for the Israelis, then why is there even the slightest consideration given this deal instead of just walking away until the deal returns to something more beneficial for Israel or otherwise prepares to go their own way. The reason for the United States to like this deal are obvious as they would receive all the aid money remaining in the United States spent to strengthen their military and related industries. Further, any surviving Israel research and development would mostly be reliant on United States direct funding, control and benefit from all advances while Israel would be denied similar developments from integration of such discoveries as they will likely no longer be a part of the development team. With time the Israeli defense industries will suffer atrophied funding with many eventually being absorbed by their American counterparts. This in and of itself should make the entire deal a nonstarter. Still, the Israelis are attempting to find the right lipstick which they can put on this pig and make it presentable to the Knesset, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and the Israeli public.

 

Still, the political class and some in higher IDF circles are actually going through makeup kits seeking to find the exact shade of lipstick as to sell this deal claiming waiting until the new President is sworn in and then reach a better deal as there are no guarantees on who the new President will turn out to be or their actual feelings regarding Israel. They claim that despite the obvious problems, this treaty can be worked under and improved with time which should allay any Israeli fears. They try to sell this agreement using fear melded with claims that the deal is not as bad as being reported. The real reason that so many top military personnel and politicians are so willing to take this deal is their fear of not possessing the F35 JSF, the aircraft for the next fifty years for the Israeli Air Force. They claim there should be no worries over any early on difficulties as fixes will be forthcoming. We are less optimistic and believe the F35 will be full of difficulties finally seeing limited use in the United States. The deal’s future demands it be completely accepted as is and cannot be altered by Israel, Congress or even a future President. With these clauses the entire deal becomes a poison pill.

 

The reason any deal has these supporters within the government and the military, especially fairly high up, is these people seek an external source upon which any refusal of action or other distasteful or unacceptable decision could now be passed along and blamed on matters at levels the people are unaware of and pressing interests of an essential ally were involved in the decision. So any deal is a reusable ‘get out of the dog house’ card with which all unpopularity is due to agreements and pressures and such are beyond their control and the people will need to just understand and the media will drop the issue as the fix is in. Yes, obviously there may be such pressures, but that is simply another reason not to accept any deal, contract or treaty in which Israel surrenders her free ability to act to another nations or, as in this case, any foreign individual thus compromising Israel’s ability to act when Israel deems the necessity and not when it is convenient for some foreign head of state whose people are not generally hurt or otherwise compromised by Israeli inaction. Israelis have seen sufficient friends, relatives and even family die after checkpoints were removed to satisfy an unsatisfiable, unfeeling foreign leader whose only problem is Israel and her defense or loss of lives is not their number one problem, the fact Israel exists has become that problem. Such power must not be surrendered unto any foreign decider, especially a position whose track record has been, when it came to Israel and the peace process, to demand from Israel every surrender, sacrifice, concession and other acts of denial or risks taken while ignoring even the broken agreements, treaties and promises from Israel’s enemies simply because, as Israelis too often hear, we are the civil partner of the United States and as such more is demanded from Israel. Perhaps the Israelis would be best served by refusing any deal and manufacturing and designing Israeli first equipment as this would bring building all Israeli defense and military capability home and employ Israeli engineers and manufacturers within our borders and then if the Israeli government were to buy American armaments we can do so as an equal nation and not one dependent on the good will of any foreign power. The Israeli economic benefit from producing our own defense equipment and servicing Israeli designed, built, and software developed domestically would offset any loss of foreign funds. Such systems desired from the United States or any other provider would now be made as an equal and not as the beggar using daddy’s money with limitations which must be accepted as a beggar depends on the alms giver. As an equal, Israel will not be dependent on any foreign power for upgrades and installation of codes or flight permissions even to fly training exercises as now exists. One need wonder why only Israel is kept on such a short leash while other receptors remain independent and do not need sign away sovereignty just for a few pieces of copper. Perhaps Israel needs not the alms which indebts Israel to any foreign influence leaving Israel compromised. Perhaps Israel need rely more on Israel.

 

Complete freedom to make all Israeli decisions free and unfettered by foreign influences is easily worth every Agora, even three-billion dollars’ worth because Israel must no longer be dependent on others and be constantly looking over their shoulders every step of the way in almost every matter to see if their minder was pleased or distressed after every decision or speech or anything when it comes to Israeli security or military actions. No nation should continue to permit such compromise in their freedoms and decisions as allowing for such control makes one a vassal state and no longer a free nation. The funds received need be put in perspective. They are approximately equal to one percent, that’s 1% of Israeli GDP and as such not an impossible asset which need be bought at such cost. Israel will gain far more international respect and support even at the United Nations if every leader understood that Israel is not and will not be dependent upon any foreign entanglement or restriction in her actions and will act according to the will of the Israeli public in all things concerning sovereignty including militarily. Such independence and freedom to act will more than repay the aid monies from the United States and if such aid becomes direly necessary, then Israel will rely on the good will of the American people and their representatives in their Congress to answer any plea. Israel must refuse to any longer play the beggar in any international forum or venue, even if it means going forward completely alone as Israel had done in the past. That was when Israel received the respect she deserved and Israel desperately needs to regain her freedom to act in her own interest and no other and then wait for the anticipated respect leading to the support of true friends and allies with which Israel will interact without needing ask any foreigner for permission to act in the best interests of the Israeli people. That road should beacon so loudly as to overshadow the cacophonic noises demanding Israeli restraint when it comes to her defense and actions. Imagine how Abbas would tread knowing that the State Department in Washington D.C. no longer had any veto power over Israel to restrict or otherwise mitigate any Israeli actions concerning the Arabs and their incitement to terror and other acts disrespecting Israel leaning on the staff of the State Department and the Secretary of State who would always have Mahmoud Abbas and company’s back. That too has been a steep price which Israel had paid over the last twenty to thirty years and enough is enough with the selling of Israeli independence upon Israel without being dictated to on what Israel is allowed to do and where Israel must only tread with great trepidations of disappointing anybody who holds the President’s ear. Avoiding such entanglements is also a distinct and necessary component of ‘Never Again’ as it were these very same actors who refused Jews any route to safety and would do so again should the prospect once again present itself. When your numbers are but 0.02% of the world’s population, then you hold exactly zero influence in the world except if you have a homeland and then you can act like an equal on the stage of world affairs. As for the dependency of other’s approval we say, “Never Again!”

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Israel is the Nation in Need of a Constitution

 

Israel is not going to change all that soon as the thirty to fifty people who run the nation are quite happy to fiddle while things slowly burn down. Part of the problem, and it is a large share, is that over half of those who run the government are not elected but all but self-appointed. There are the Justices who sit on the Supreme Court and the Attorney General, The Supreme Court selection for replacing a retiring Justice is one of, if not the, item which should top the list of systems which require change. Currently the Supreme Court Justices are chosen by a committee consisting of nine members. These are the Justice Minister who acts as the Chairman, a Cabinet Member chosen by the Cabinet, a Pair of Knesset Ministers usually one from the coalition and one from the opposition, two members of the Bar Association and finally the Chief Justice and two other Supreme Court Justices who are often chosen due to seniority. This starts to look like a conspiracy to continue the same policies with no real ability to alter the path when one additionally looks at the committee for selection of the Attorney General which consists of five members; a retired Supreme Court Judge, a former Justice Minister or Attorney General, a Knesset Minister tapped by the Constitutional Affairs committee of the Knesset, an attorney chosen by the Israeli Bar Association, and one legal expert chosen in the subjects of civil and criminal law chosen by the heads of the university law schools in Israel. When all it takes to select a Supreme Court Judge is five votes and three are cast by current Justices, one vote from the current Attorney General who is themselves appointed on the advice partly of a retired Supreme Court Judge, a former Justice Minister and an attorney from the Bar Association and you have what can be conveniently called an echo chamber and it becomes sufficiently evident why the Supreme Court votes almost to the Justice exactly the same as the Supreme Court has since its inception. Add to that the interpretation of the law such that the Justices operate under the auspices of the concept that everything and anything may be brought before the Supreme Court for a final decision.

 

One interesting thing is the Israeli Supreme Court consists of fifteen Justices where one could fairly say that the majority, vast majority, are left leaning or so far left the middle ground cannot be seen through the fog and rose colored glasses. The Supreme Court may appoint any number of judges to hear cases often with as few as three to as many as all fifteen for the most serious of cases brought to the court. Further, for the decade from 2000 through 2010 the Israeli Supreme court heard over 11,000 cases each year. The Israeli Supreme Court can be petitioned directly to hear a case without having it first heard in a lower court. This process is abused by NGOs, often NGOs registered in Israel but primarily funded by foreign governments. Quite often if an NGO states as its aim to serve the support and importance of human rights and/or the rights of minority and oppressed peoples, then you can bet that NGO is financed by the European Union, European governments and foreign NGOs so as to conceal their actual financiers. In any other Western Democratic or Republic such NGOs are required by law to be registered as foreign agents and are not granted official standing as an NGO representing that nation. Israel has twice passed such legislation only to have these very same NGOs bring suit in the Supreme Court where the laws were shot down and nullified. One need keep in mind that the Knesset input in selecting Supreme Court Judges is minimal when one remembers that should the opposition Knesset Minister vote with the Chief Justice and two other Supreme Court Justices and any one of the Bar Association lawyers that makes five votes and the judge has been appointed. The Prime Minister gets no real input and the Knesset does not need to ratify the choice, or simply put, the people have little if any influence on the Justices sitting on a court which has ruled that it can strike down any law, rewrite any law and all but, and possibly including, write laws they feel are necessary or would further empower the Judiciary over the remainder of the government and the people. We have also seen instances where the heads of the Police forces have banned people from visiting areas of the country including the currently extended ban forbidding Ministers of the Knesset from ascending to the Temple Mount. There was a recent case where the Security Shin Bet under the guise of investigating a crime rounded up teens and young men as young as twelve and held them without legal counsel at a secretive location refusing to allow their parents information about their child and used what in many nations would be considered at the least coercive measures and at the extreme torture to try a force confessions from youths they knew were innocent but whose suspected political leanings were not to the head of the Shin Bet’s liking.

 

One young man was held for almost ten months, refused to be permitted to attend his first son’s birth, ritual bris (circumcision), and whose major crime was supporting the Hilltop Youth, a group of youths who support nationalist and Zionist policies and desire a return to Davidic Rule, have never committed an act against the government, most serious offense they commit is camping out and building rudimentary outposts on hilltops overlooking trouble spots which are less dangerous when being surveyed by these youths. The young man in question though had committed a grievous crime, Meir Ettinger committed the crime of being the grandson of Rabbi Meir Kahane, a Zionist and Nationalist Rabbi who argued for his causes and predicted the future extremely accurately before being struck down in New York City after giving a talk. His murderer was acquitted as his act of assassination was seen by the Jury as justifiable as the Rabbi had “extremist views” deserving of being shot. These “extremist views” were best expressed as “Am Yisroel Chai” (עם ישראל חי) , the People of Israel Are Alive, and he also continued the cry of “Never Again” which is a chanting that means the Jews will not go silently to their deaths ever again and murdering Jews will have a price. As was known by even the average Israeli who pays attention to anything political, Meir Ettinger and his friends in the Hilltop Youth were innocent of any wrongdoing and they were hauled in, denied council, denied parental access, held in a secretive location, arranged orders to allow stressful interrogation and extreme interrogation techniques and were sleep deprived for up to three days until their bodies shut down from exhaustion, placed in uncomfortable position, stripped of clothing and made to sit in metal chairs and even denied to have showers or change of undergarments. This was beyond anything used on actual terrorists who when denying and refusing to cooperate have been released for lack of evidence while here their evidence was they knew these kids were guilty of something even if it was not what was being investigated.

 

Another problem are the Basic Laws, laws passed by a simple majority just as any other legislation but deemed special and thus take their place as part of an ever growing excuse for a Constitution. Most of the Basic Laws were passed from 1948 through the early 1960s when Israel was an agricultural socialist society with many Israelis residing on communal farms. These Basic Laws have their place but as they can be amended, refuted, and new ones passed should the Knesset decide any law passed belongs incorporated into the Basic Laws such that they tend to lose their importance and meaning as they can be rescinded by a simple majority vote. Then there is the problem that the Supreme Court can also decide which ones can be amended, removed, added, deleted, twisted, beaded, braded, twisted, spindled and mutilated at will by a majority vote of the Knesset or orders from the Supreme Court. This again placed the judges of the Supreme Court as the ultimate rulers of the land and the Supreme Court had granted the Supreme Court absolute authority over all parts of everyday life including silencing us if they so choose to do so as it was Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak (August 13, 1995 to September 14, 2006) stated that all things are in his writings some of the following:

 

Aharon Barak, “Judicial Philosophy,” pp. 477 and 485

In my eyes, the world is filled with law. Every human behavior is subject to a legal norm. Even when a certain type of activity-such as friendship or subjective thoughts-is ruled by the autonomy of the individual will, this autonomy exists, because it is recognized by the law…. Wherever there are living human beings, law is there. There are no areas in life which are outside of law.

 

Barak, “The Constitutional Revolution,” p. 30

The basic values of Judaism are the basic values of the state. I mean the values of love of man, the sanctity of life, social justice, doing what is good and just, protecting human dignity, the rule of law over the legislator and the like, values which Judaism bequeathed to the whole world. Reference to those values is on their universal level of abstraction, which suits Israel’s democratic character, thus one should not identify the values of the state of Israel as a Jewish state with the traditional Jewish civil law. It should not be forgotten that in Israel there is a considerable non-Jewish minority. Indeed, the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish state are those universal values common to members of democratic society, which grew from Jewish tradition and history.

 

Barak, “Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation,” p. 208

When the attempt fails, and the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish state cannot be reconciled with its values as a democratic state, there is no escape from the need to decide. This decision must be made, in my opinion, according to the views of the enlightened community in Israel. This is an objective test, which refers the judge to the full set of values which shape the character of the modern Israeli.

 

Barak, “The Constitutional Revolution,” p. 34

If up until now judges were given “conventional weapons” to deal with legislation by way of interpretation and the creation of Israeli common law, now judges have been given “nonconventional weapons,” which allow nullification of legislation which does not observe the Basic Laws’ criteria.

 

This was a definitive part of Aharon Barak’s judicial philosophy which devolved, not developed, as his tenure on the courts and in practice where he gained contempt for the Zionistic, nationalist conservative swing the people of Israel took over his lifetime. The gaining of a distinct and traditional Jewish, and in many cases Israelite, determination and movement from secularist to a religious Zionistic populace where he saw the only way to salvage the utopian leftist dream was for ultimate power to be vested in the Judges which by their manner of selection remained stuck in 1958 Israel with its collectivist society and socialist governance could be maintained even if that required the judges to decide on each law if it should stand or be struck down or even rewrote to the judicial review standards which precluded change. His view of such is further described as we continue.

 

United Mizrahi Bank, p. 352

With legislation of [the new Basic Laws] a substantial change occurred in the status of human rights in Israel. They have turned into constitutional rights. They have been given supra-legal constitutional status. A “regular” law of the Knesset cannot change them. Regular legislation cannot infringe a protected human right unless the demands set out in the Basic Laws are met. Nonobservance of the constitutional demands turns the regular statute into an unconstitutional statute. This is a statute which bears a constitutional flaw. The court can declare its invalidity.

 

There is this infamous quote often attributed to Barak is that “everything is adjudicable,” which was often presumably the motivation and empowering ideal through which the meaning was taken that the High Court should be able to rule on any matter, including cases involving Israeli military activity in Judea and Samaria and breaches of civil liberties, and not just on issues relating to national laws. Even if Aharon Barak had not stated such, the courts in Israel today, and especially the Supreme Court, are acting as such and seldom refuse a case where they are the sole practitioner of whether legislation passed duly by the representatives of the people who instructed the members of the Knesset with their support to produce legislation as an unwritten contract bound in the ballot box now sits beneath the raised gavel which determines whether or not the people and their elected officials are capable of self-governing or are they merely children who have no right to address the issues of the day as they see fit. This is why it is long past time for the Knesset to appoint a select committee, they may wish to make sure the Supreme Court does not get wind of this as they would strike down the committee as a threat to the state and its omnipotent judiciary, and direct them to draft a Constitution based on the theories of limiting the power for a King such that he collects no amassed wealth and must serve the people faithfully and beyond their best abilities. A solid Constitution which places all before the people’s elected officials to decide and limits judges except in the most drastic and obvious of errant departures into forbidden grounds protected by the constitution and not the will of the adjudicator, are left to apply the law faithfully and with the intents of the people. A Constitution which places the police, military and secret services under civilian control and where any officers or enlistee speaks out defaming the state or its elected and appointed individuals which are empowered by the people is punished under codes of proper conduct for military personnel in uniform or representing the State. The Knesset should remain as the house which appoints the Prime Minister but the second half of the legislature should be directly elected by the people. The nation of Israel could be divided into proper districts. These Israeli Voting Precincts for Upper House might be considered as the Negev, Jerusalem & Area, Coastal Plain & Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, Sharon Valley, Western Galilee & Mt. Carmel, Sea of Galilee & Valleys, and Upper Galilee & Golan with each receiving with Five Seats Each for forty seats plus, Three Super Districts; The North (Western Galilee & Mt. Carmel, Sea of Galilee & Valleys, and Upper Galilee & Golan), Central (Jerusalem, Sharon Valley and Tel Aviv), and the South (, Coastal Plain & Dead Sea with the Negev) with Five Seats Each for a Total of Fifty Five.

 

Israeli Voting Precincts for Upper House Totaling Fifty-Five

 

The Upper House described above, let’s call it the New Sanhedrin, will ratify appointments to the cabinet and senior appellate judges including the Supreme Court. The Knesset (lower House) as stated will appoint the Prime Minister. This method allows the Parties to make their coalition and the Knesset would run exactly as it does now with elections when their term ends after four years while the New Sanhedrin terms will not be dissolved should the Knesset coalition crash and burn, they will serve three year terms with the vote being taken every three years on a set date on the Hebrew Calendar. With the Prime Minister who was appointed as the leader of the coalition and was initially tapped by the President, who will remain being chosen as they are now, after all, we would not want to end the good old party people never change ever and the same problem people show up just in a different Cabinet Ministerial location so that the incompetence gets spread through all of the government. That is why the small adjustment where the Cabinet Ministerial position first have to be validated by both houses thus there will be less if any invent a cabinet post to make this one feel important and receive additional pay while preening around. Then the people placed in these positions must be approved by the New Sanhedrin upper legislature. Hopefully this will lead to placing people from outside the Knesset body into Cabinet posts such that the person responsible for an area of the government actually knows something about the work the department actually performs.

 

The shuffling of the deck chairs on the HMS Knestitanic sailing the icy-waters of incompetent Ministerial appointments will come to an abrupt end. One example is the leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, Avigdor Lieberman, who during his career thus far he has held Minister of National Infrastructure, Minister of Transport, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Strategic Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs and currently is Minister of Defense. Either Avigdor Lieberman is one of the most intelligent and diversely capable or he had to be ill-prepared in at least one of his positions. Ehud Barak is another regular Minister having been elected not only to hold many varied positions but also served in cooperation or as a member of a number of parties. Israeli politics can confuse even those familiar with parliamentary systems as politicians make new parties, merge parties and change parties sometimes like they change socks. Tzipi Livni has headed two parties while serving in four, where one was a merged pair of parties. Her Career began and appeared steady and content with Likud but then Ms. Livni got the idea that she was destined for greater things and saw her opportunity with Ariel Sharon and his breakaway party from Likud forming Kadima which has a mixture of numerous Ministers from other parties across the political spectrum from Likud to Labor. Kadima started to fail after Ariel Sharon fell into a coma eventually passing. Rather than bite the bullet and join a party Tzipi Livni founded her very own party with some of the remnants from Kadima and a few others who believed there was opportunity as the signs were right, well, almost. Her party was called Hatnuah, meaning “The Movement.” Then she saw this party sinking fast and she made herself an opportunity to share the Prime Minister position with Labor Leader Isaac Herzog. Then problems began as it was noted she was not bringing the numbers of voters hoped and the Labor rank and file felt they were sacrificing too much to gain too little and the Zionist Union, the merger of Labor and Hatnua which the media wanted to defeat Likud that there found Zionist Union defeating Likud going into election day by a margin of 24 to 21 on average. The election result was slightly different with Likud garnering 30 seats while Zionist Union did receive their 24 but obviously insufficient to lead a coalition. This bode poorly for Livni who if she desires a future may have to simply swallow hard and join Labor and hope to rank sufficiently well enough to gain a seat in the Knesset. Tzipi Livni has been Leader of the Opposition for which she is eminently qualified as she has spent much time opposing everything while sitting in the opposition or in the government. Her other positions is a list of many positions including Minister of Regional Cooperation, Minister Without Portfolio (for which she is eminently qualified), Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Minister of Housing and Construction, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice. She must be a very capable person. The advantage of having a bicameral legislature which divides responsibilities and a Constitution which defines every branch of government with specific capabilities, responsibilities and limitations, and it is the limitations which often are the most important. The described government arrangement for Israel with a bicameral legislature with the Knesset remaining as currently configured but with the courts made at least indirectly controlled by the people rather than controlling the people and everything else it desires while all but replacing its Judges all but by themselves without any limiting factor within the control of the people. The arrangement was just an idea for the sake of offering and starting the discussion and not a serious suggestion unless the Israelis, my fellow Israelis, read and decide that the framework described has potential as an idea with which to start a national conversation. The described system also would encourage the Prime Minister to find some ministers from outside the government or assure that those chosen from within the government actually are competent and not just blindly pretending to manage something they actually do not understand. The real reason for this discussion is to limit the judges, especially the Supreme Court which even cancelled the financial agreement made on order to start production of the offshore gas fields demanding that the profits be invested in welfare and other socialist, virtually communist, programs because the people who invested in the drilling and took all the chances and took the risks should not reap benefit from their venture, not when foreign funded HGOs can petition the Supreme Court to spread the wealth making sure they get a share with which to further attempt to destroy Israel. That should have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Netanyahu Lieberman Right Wing Government Misgivings

 

Anybody following the adjustment made strengthening the coalition by adding the Russian Israel Beiteinu Party and replacing Moshe Ya’alon with Avigdor Lieberman as Defense Minister after some ugly disagreements between Ya’alon and Prime Minister Netanyahu over some ill-conceived comments made by a series of command level military officers, might be alarmed or hopeful pending their political proclivities. The announcement of the changes and the addition to the coalition were met by denunciations and acrimony from Ya’alon, many opposition Knesset members, leftist media within Israel both print and electronic as well as roundly being accused of bending towards fascism, anti-democratic (despite these all being elected Ministers in the last elections), racist and overly nationalist (if only). These comments were simply boilerplate condemnations so absolutely predictable as the exact same words were uttered, printed, communicated and authored after the election when Netanyahu and the Likud Party roundly defeated the Labor Party despite the wishful polling showing Labor leading Likud the morning of the election as they had for the weeks prior. These accusations have been sprayed around the world ever since the first Likud victory over Labor with Prime Minister Menachem Begin as media and leftists worldwide entered a catatonic state followed by seizures and nervous panics. What probably really escaped their abilities was understanding how this considered impossible and extremist coalition made peace with Egypt, something previous Labor Party coalitions could not even come within possible reach of attaining. Which is the first of a string of unexplainable moves so coveted by the leftist are only realized by these extreme right-wing governments such as the Gaza withdrawal performed by Ariel Sharon who, like Begin, was considered a monster with cartoons showing Sharon as a demonic vampire, eating babies and occasionally one closer to the truth (see below). So, one might believe that the current coalition is beyond any chance of making concessions or potentially establishing a Palestinian State in Judea and Samaria with East Jerusalem as its capital city giving up access to the Temple Mount and Western Wall. Not so fast as we need to look back at past performance and statements. Avigdor Lieberman presented a plan where not only would a Palestinian State be formed in Judea and Samaria but a large area of mostly Arab towns in the Galilee would be thrown in for extra measure as well as Jerusalem. We need to remember that Bibi Netanyahu had to be shamed into finally leaving the Sharon government while he was making the arrangements for gifting Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (PA) which was soon replaced by Hamas in a coup leading to rockets raining on Israeli towns and kibbutzim. Netanyahu had shown a great willingness to remain comfortably in the Sharon government despite obvious intent to surrender to foreign pressures predominantly from the United States government where for a piece of paper from President George W. Bush and sweet talking promises from Condoleezza Rice that the Gaza would remain disarmed and be the first step to a peaceful future under the two states for two peoples pipe dream which has no foundations in reality, period.

 

Ariel Sharon and a Little Truth
About Gaza Withdrawal

 

Ariel Sharon as Demonic Vampire

 

The historical realities make what we can actually expect to be diametrically opposites to what the hyperventilating media is decrying so vociferously. The leftist media is claiming that this revitalized and more secure right-wing extremist government will be killing any hopes for peace and likely killing far more than just peace and will be the end of democracy in Israel. The interesting thing is when there is just as far leftist governance as this coalition is right-wing there are no caterwauling about the death of democracy in Israel, quite the contrary, as then the claim is how well democracy is working in Israel. With such an obvious slant in reporting and commentary one cannot take such news sources seriously as they are more political opportunists completely sold-out to one side of the political spectrum. The reality is that this government is probably more leftist than the majority of the Israeli people and the sole reason the left-wing parties managed in the last election was partly packaging themselves as the “Zionist Union” when their version of Zionism is more defeatist calling for surrendering everything that the Europeans demand of Israel in a near complete surrender. Further, the most Zionist Party committed political suicide when the party leader, Naftali Bennett, announced that he did not feel he was prepared or had sufficient experience to be Prime Minister. The sad reality is that almost anybody when first, and potentially reelected, is actually sufficiently experienced to be Prime Minister as the only experience which could possibly prepare one to be Prime Minister is being Prime Minister. One cannot have such experience when first elected to the position. This sad admonition very likely sent large numbers of Israeli voters to vote for Likud and Netanyahu rather than take a chance on a candidate who confessed lack of faith in their own ability to hold the office of Prime Minister. This also likely was partly responsible for the definitive victory won by Likud. There were some who theorized that Bennett’s announcement was done as a measure to assure Likud of a definitive win chasing his own party’s support to vote instead for Likud as the best alternative to Bennett.

 

Now with Netanyahu presumably leading a far right government, we can expect the worst and most rejectionist government towards the two state peace or any other concessions for peace. How short the memory of the media or perhaps selective memory. Netanyahu had released over a thousand terror prisoners in exchange for one Israeli soldier held by Hamas, Gilad Shalit, the largest single release of terror prisoners in Israeli history for a single soldier or citizen. As Prime Minister in the last government Netanyahu agreed to release one-hundred-four Palestinian prisoners, fourteen of whom are Arab-Israelis and all of whom had been in Israeli jails since before the 1993 Oslo I Accord. The prisoners were responsible for killing, in all, fifty-five Israeli civilians, fifteen Israeli security forces personnel, one French tourist and dozens of suspected Palestinian collaborators. The record over the years compiled by Bibi Netanyahu has been remarkably moderate and some might even claim leftist and far too willing to take dangerous risks and make severe concessions just for the slightest of approvals from the United States, United Nations and/or Europeans. Most agree that when it comes to making speeches and expressing nationalist, Zionist and truthful representations of the situation, especially when it came to the Iran nuclear deal, a position and representation which has since been proven completely valid as per the confessions of Ben Rhodes on the deceits and outright lying by the Obama administration using the media as their tools to amplify their fictions. But when it comes to governing and actual actions, unfortunately Bibi Netanyahu proves to be a far stronger speech maker than Prime Minister. Granted, there are many complications, situations, realities and real life limitations to what can be done realistically and no such limitations on position speeches. One can make all the demands and claims for the Palestinian leadership to make concessions for peace and take steps to end the incitement to terrorism which is almost unceasing in every possible form from school lessons to the media to entertainment and throughout the entirety of Palestinian society including calls for violence by Abbas himself (see below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reality is that all too many of the political leadership in Israel are afraid of their own shadows and fear the opinions against them from all corners of the world and especially by political opinions and media spokespeople in the United States, United Nations, European Union and individual European governments. The truth is well known in all the quarters that the Palestinian leadership can and will only accept the peace of founding their state on the grave of the state of Israel and the graves of millions of Israeli Jews. The governments and media all know that the claims that Israeli Arabs are denied equal rights is a lie and that the Arab citizens of Israel have had full rights from the first election right through to today and can work, live, study, shop, worship and anything else just the same as the Jews and that any security the Israeli Arabs must pass are the same security checks every Israeli, Jew, Arab, European tourist, anybody entering security checks at malls, restaurants, trains and other places and that there is no singling out of any one group for additional special treatment. They also know that Israel had made concession after concession until they have concessioned themselves out of any room for additional concessions and that those calling for additional concessions simply want Israel to cease to exist and would gladly welcome such an eventuality. The governments have taken steps to limit the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement (BDS) as they are aware that this is simply the extension of the Arab boycott and refusal to deal with Israel being spread with funding from the PA and Arab governments as another front to pressure Israel out of existence. What they also realize is that even the Arabs, including Palestinians even Hamas leaders’ relatives use Israeli hospitals for treatment and Israel treats them free with the Israeli public picking up the costs ( see here, here, here, here, here, here , here, and here. These are the truths well known and ignored as it is better to hate the Jew nation just as throughout history there are legions of places and times where it was best to blame the Jew. The difference is that now anti-Semitism is against the six plus million Jews in a small nation around the size of New Jersey. Below are some maps showing the relative size of the nation foremost on almost every list of who to blame first.

 

Exactly How Small is Israel
A Comparison Against Four
Well Known Countries

 

Display of the Muslim Nations of the World in the Middle East, Asia and Northern Africa in Green with Israel depicted in Red

 

What would be a blessing for the world and for Israel would be for a truly independent Zionist leader to be elected Prime Minister with a solid government where even should the second largest party in the coalition resign there would still be a sufficient majority that the coalition would not feel expressly threatened. A Zionist leader who would forge the borders presumably promised as secure by the British crown, the League of Nations and, by its Charter, the United Nations. One who would take the world of the British and United States who forged a treaty that the two nations would enforce the security of the Jewish state in the remaining twenty-two percent of the British Mandate which remained after the formation of Transjordan (now Jordan). A proud and fierce Zionist who would have the wisdom to offer the Arabs currently residing beyond the Green Line the choice of a generous purchase and resettlement allowance payment if they choose to leave and reside elsewhere including air travel and delivery of their personal effects to wherever they decide to resettle or to allow them to remain as legal resident aliens or they may take a path to become citizens of Israel but the idea of their being granted a failed state in Judea and Samaria or their dreams of destroying Israel will not be realized ever. Israel would be taking control and incorporating, annexing, returning to Israeli control the areas promised from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Any who desire to resettle in Gaza would receive the same offers as those resettling elsewhere in the world except they would be driven and not flown. As far as the refugees, the time has come for the world to face the facts, they need to be absorbed by the nations in which they currently reside, and that would allow those in Judea and Samaria to have the same choices as the other Arabs residing there as Israel would not recognize their presumed refugee status and treat them as former PA citizens which is more than the PA was ever willing to do for them. This would signal an end to the long overdue and overly drawn out fiasco of attempting to form another launching point for a future attempt to destroy Israel from the east in addition to the hostile entity in Gaza, the terror Hamas failed state. Further, Israel would no longer allow for dual use materials to pass into Gaza and should Gaza and Hamas again launch a terror and rocket war on Israel, the blockade would be made complete and permanent only allowing aid from governments or the United Nations after their being checked for banned items. A true and determined Zionist could start the end of the determined world effort to destroy Israel by removing their false flag attempt to establish a beachhead from which Israel could eventually be mortally wounded. After this had been established there would be no apologies and with time the Arabs who remained with Israel would have the better lives the world claims they desire for them, something that would never have come to pass with any PA future. This would be a present to the world even if it would be denounced and condemned from all quarters, the world would get over it or they could continue and not share in the medical, agricultural, scientific, information technology and other discoveries made in Israel. At least the former PA Arabs would benefit from these discoveries even if the world preferred to throw a permanent hissy fit. If only such would come to pass in our lifetime.

 

Beyond the Cusp