35 thoughts on “Bibi the Bamboozler to Settlers: ‘America Won’t Get in Our Way…It’s Easily Moved’ – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
task-attention.png
Comments are published at the sole discretion of the owner.
 

    1. I’m always amused by right wing commenters who presume that their interests & priorities should be mine as well.

      There are thousands of bloggers blogging about that case. There are very few blogging about the lapses of Israeli intelligence & the IDF.

    2. IT SEEMS THAT THE LIGHT OF TRUTH OUGHT TO SHINE ON THOSE WHO HOODWINK AND DECEIVE OTHERS INTO BELIEVING THAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP.

      IT IS HARD TO SEE THIS BLATANT ACTING OUT OF PERFIDIOUS SUBTERFUGE, BUT IT REFLECTS ISRAELI DEMOCRACY AS IT REALLY EXISTS! BIBI GOES HOUSE TO HOUSE LOBBYING HIS CONSTITUENCY.

      AS REPORTED ELSEWHERE BIBI EMPHASIZES ATTACKING PALESTINIANS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVE ORGANIZATIONS.
      THEY ESSENTIALLY DESTROYED THE PA AND KILLED ARAFAT UNDER SIEGE, A TERRIBLE CRIME.

      OSLO, LIKE ALL ISRAELI AGREEMENTS WERE MADE TO BE BROKEN, QUITE CLEARLY.

  1. In 2001, Bibi had not left the Sharon govt. He had not been part of it. He entered the first Sharon govt. in late 2002, as a foreign minister, and took the finance ministry in the second Sharon govt. after the January 2003 elections (the way to which was paved by pure Labor folly, but that’s another issue).
    Other than that, Bibi’s being a crook is a fact long known. The problem is, first, with a country that elects a crook to be its leader, and second, with a putative mediator in negotiations who allows one side to define unilaterally any of the reference terms.

  2. When has an American president, except perhaps George Bush pere, ever stood up to Israel and won?

    Eisenhower at Suez.

    And I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion it won’t ever happen with the current president.

    Where does that leave JStreet?

    1. RE: “And I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion it won’t ever happen with the current president.” – Ira Glunts
      MY COMMENT: I think the only possibility is if he is somehow reelected with enough of a margin to be perceived as a “mandate”.

      1. I have an opinion on this matter, but I’ll keep it to myself for a bit. Meanwhile, Richard, when has there been a time when there was no Israel lobby? The Zionist were lobbying Britain first before there was a state, and then the US from the beginning. Read Alan Hart’s “Zionism: the Real Enemy of the Jews”, inter alia. It was the nascent lobby that influenced HST and the US congress to recognize Israel as a state.

        1. The lobby didn’t really take its current intensely powerful form till 1967. There was always a lobbying element, but it was never as powerful or well organized as it became after the 6 Day War.

          1. The lobby in the U.S.? Perhaps, although the fundraising for Israel was conducted by (among others) a man who was granted military rank for the purpose of doing so, and conveyed around the world on U.S. military aircraft.

            More importantly, the equivalent lobby in the empire of the time had just as much power and just as insidious behavior.
            That’s how the Zionists got the Balfour declaration, and arranged for a pro-Zionist Jew to be the commissioner in the Mandate over Palestine.

            I think that the Zionist lobby focuses its efforts at any time on the most likely avenue for manipulating power.

  3. RE: “the truth has emerged from the horse’s mouth” – Gideon Levy
    MY COMMENT: Mouth? What mouth? That’s his backup anus.

  4. The Spanish word (or phrase) “sin verguenza” is an accurate
    description of Bibi. I’m sure there are some choice words
    or expressions to describe him in Yiddish also but, alas, my
    knowledge of that language is very limited.

  5. Richard,

    thanks for this important post. I am not surprised the American MSM is not picking this up. they probably never will.

    small historical correction: this is mid-2001, Sharon had just become prime minister in a special election that left the Knesset in its 1999 composition. He had a “unity government” with Labor.
    Bibi tried to land into the special-election campaign and oust Sharon, who cleaned up the mess he left in Likud after losing in 1999. But after 10 days Bibi got cold feet, supposedly stayed out of the political scene had no official appointment at the time. He only became finance minister in Sharon’s government after the 2003 elections.

    It is intriguing: who took the video? External media invited to this semi-private event? The settlers themselves? If so, why did they divulge it, as it hurts their cause?

    anyway, I myself have been pondering since Bibi’s re-ascension to the PM post, about the question “who is the real Bibi?”

    He is unique among first-string Israeli politicians, in that he has not shared with the public his true world-view regarding the conflict with the Palestinians. Instead he always focuses on what the Palestinians should do and how they have fallen short of what’s needed.

    My tentative conclusion has been that this is because he is far more extreme than is convenient for him to disclose.

    1. ” anyway, I myself have been pondering since Bibi’s re-ascension to the PM post, about the question “who is the real Bibi?” ”

      The real Bibi is the one that stood smiling on the balconey as the Right wing crowd below held pictures of Rabin in SS uniform .
      The real Bibi is the one that used incitement against Rabin and Oslo .
      The real Bibi’s core is Greater Israel , there cannot and there will not be a Palestinian State under his leadership . It goes against everything Likud stands for .

      1. pictures of Rabin in SS uniform

        If anyone has ever seen a good quality image of Rabin pictured thus pls. let me know. I’ve looked for this picture for some time & not found a good quality one.

  6. Well, it is evident that the current PM of Israel is not interested in a two state solution according to international law, by continuing to colonize occupied land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. If it weren’t for the US support, Israel wouldn’t be able to act with impunity. Is that something you dispute? Is it true that the Likudniks wants to usurp more land or not? Do you dispute that Netanyahu is a war criminal? I sense that there is some kind of sensitivity to get down to discuss relevant aspects of the problem here.

    1. I think calling him a “war criminal” is grandstanding & sloganeering. There are a whole lot of issues I’d take up regarding the I-P conflict before comparing Netanyahu to Pol Pot or Stalin or Hitler.

      1. Well, I think it would be correct to call him a war criminal. You don’t have to make the comparisons you mentioned.

        Today, a leader who wants to safeguard his/her future and stay in power, and not completely stain the reputation of his country with utter condemnation for several future generations, can’t get away with the atrocities committed by Stalin, etc. However, the PM shows similar symptoms of psychopathy and callousness as the people you mentioned, by showing a complete disrespect for basic human values. Your article is just one example of many. The only difference is that he hasn’t gone as far as Stalin, etc. in his crimes.

        To constantly manipulate the so called peace process in an utterly disingenuous and manipulative manner, and to have no respect whatsoever for fundamental international laws and the Geneva Conventions, and to support terrorism as long as it is your own terrorism are clearly evidence of war crimes.

        In 2006, this guy even participated in a commemoration and celebration of the King David Hotel terror incident together with other right wing Israelis. He claimed that the tactics undertaken by the Irgun could not be compared to Palestinian terrorism, since it was about freedom fighters and about a just cause. The guy is a complete disgrace to say the least.

        If it weren’t for the double standards of the international community, I don’t think it is disputable that many of the current leaders of Israel would qualify for trial at the ICC.

  7. I remembered that the New Yorker had published a profile of Netanyahu sometime in the 90’s and was able to find it on their digital archive. I’m not able to link to it (probably due to copyright reasons) but here’s the citation if anyone wants to see it. It’s from the May 25, 1998 issue pp.80-95. If you subscribe to the New Yorker you can see it on their digital archive. If you’re not a subscriber, you may be able to find it at your local public library. It’s worth reading. The other article I found in the archives is about a gambling multi-billionaire named Sheldon Adelson. He owns gambling casinos in Las Vegas and Macao and is a supporter of the Republican Party and lots of right-wing Israeli causes. He is fiercely opposed to a two-state solution and just loves Netanyahu. He tried to buy Maariv and was very determined to get rid of Olmert because of Olmert’s professed support for negotiations and a two-state solution. The story really shows the pernicious influence of money in politics. This is in the June 30, 2008 issue of the New Yorker and it’s by Connie Bruck. Again, because of copyright I can’t link it but it’s worth checking out if you subscribe to the New Yorker or can access it through a library.

      1. The title of the Bibi profile is Letter from Jerusalem: the outsider” or maybe it’s just titled The Outsider. It’s by David Remnick. Sorry I forgot to put the author and title. And me a retired reference librarian.

  8. But really who is to blame for this but American presidents who allow Israeli leaders to outwit and outmaneuver them? When has an American president, except perhaps George Bush pere, ever stood up to Israel and won?

    That is one of the major reasons I find the issue of US influence on Israel so depressing. Even Presidents are limited in what type of pressure they can apply, because Congress is so heavily pro-Israel. Congress could pass aid for Israel right over a President’s veto, and since the Nixon Administration there’s nothing he can do to stop it.

  9. Dear Colleagues,
    I think it is wholly better for the Jewish and their Plestinias conterparts to fully aggreed that they are all human beings being created from the living God which decend from Adam and Eve
    They should be justice and excellent peace within them, fighting one another will not be the lasting solution Pleae gentlemen lets stay in peace without unecessary violence without course

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *