13 thoughts on “BREAKING: Yaalon Quits as Defense Minister, Attacks Netanyahu’s Leadership – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. ‘An aggrieved palestinian’ or an almost murderer?
    Attila the Hun?
    #Richard I’m sorry but I don’t understand you. How do you define democracy? When election results are exactly what you want? Or when ‘the people’ choose? Netanyahu was the overwhelming victor. He’s what the Israeli people wanted.
    The Israeli right was the overwhelming victor. That’s what the people want.
    You may not like the results – but this is democracy in action.
    So why the expressions of vitrolous hatred and hyperbole?
    Is this how you describe and define the Arabs in Gaza who elected Hamas? Or do you use such expressions only when dealing with Jews?

    1. @ Cheesecake: Hitler “won” an election with a minority of the vote just as Bibi did. His party didn’t win a majority. He cobbled together a coalition of misfit parties into a majority. Nor did the right-wing have a vast majority in Knesset. It was a small majority in which Likud played the largest role. But winning less than 30 seats among 120 is not “democracy in action.”

      Further, a dysfunctional society may “elect” a fascist dictator who takes his region to the brink of nuclear armageddon & engages in war crimes. Does that mean the world sits back & says: “he was democratically elected. We must honor the people’s will?” That would be insane. The world is not insane. But Israel’s leaders are, if not insane, deeply pathological. The world has no obligation to permit the insane to rule the asylum.

      And if we’re going to honor election results, why doesn’t Israel accept the 2006 election results which Hamas won by a plurality (just as Likud did)? So you see we have utter hypocrisy here. You honor the election results you like and stifle those you don’t. That’s not democracy. So you don’t believe in democracy. You believe in a political system that permits Israeli Jews to do whatever they like & permits them to squash any democratic results they don’t like.

  2. Will Lieberman have his finger on the button of those 200+ nukes Israel (*doesn’t* ) have ?
    The western world has created and armed a monster that seems to be out of their control now.

  3. “In an unusual speech in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday evening, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen.Yair Golan likened recent developments in Israeli society to processes that unfolded in Europe before the Holocaust.

    “If there’s something that frightens me about Holocaust remembrance it’s the recognition of the revolting processes that occurred in Europe in general, and particularly in Germany, back then – 70, 80 and 90 years ago – and finding signs of them here among us today in 2016.” ”

    read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.717948?date=1463815981086

    And as if to confirm this Netanyahu makes this appointment. I wonder whether it is merely based on short term egocentric calculations or does he really no longer care very much about the American connection? Because apart from everything else Lieberman’s supposed Russian link might give Washington some food for thought – if that article can still be found there.

  4. Richard you are right
    People I know have maintained that ” Sarah ” is a ” betherite” ( as a grunt would say) for some time
    ” but fail ,but fail , but screw your courage to the sticking place and we will not fail” said lady Macbeth
    In reply to macbeth’s question ” if we should fail”
    So it was the lady Sarah’s idea then to provoke a mass turnout for the last election by the ” settlers”
    By stating if Bibi loses every settler will lose his home in the occupied territories
    Peter Dawson coldwarrabbit

  5. “Amid the controversial current shake-up of the Israeli government, the veteran military correspondent of Israel’s most-watched television channel declared on live TV Friday that he was no longer sure he wants his children to live in Israel.”

    I wonder how widespread that feeling is now.

  6. @Arie: I remind you that many Americans have said they would leave the country because of Bush or Trump. People become very emotional as a reaction to political change, then put things in proportion over time.

    However, this reshuffle is a negative development. Bibi is the ultimate cynical manipulator whose looks ahead no further than 6 months. In this case he’s concerned about his next hurdle of passing a national budget. He couldn’t care less about Lieberman’s opinions. And Lieberman has no consistent ideology, other than making populist remarks. Bibi’s thinking is that since he is personally in control of all major decisions, his defense minister will have very little latitude, and he’ll be able to get through budget legislation without being squeezed by a few rebellious MKs . He’s betting that by reigning in Lieberman he won’t do too much damage to the Defense Ministry.

    The problem with this thinking is that Lieberman is even more dishonest and cynical than Bibi, and will jump ship at the first political opportunity. They also have tremendous mutual distrust. Mark my words, there will be another “crisis” in 6-12 months over this or that legislation. Bibi knows this, but doesn’t care since it buys him quiet for the short term. But this leaves no place for longer term strategic thinking. That, in my view is the biggest sin– sacrificing national strategic interests for the sake of short term gain. If he was really so close to making a deal with Herzog which included a diplomatic initiative, now that he broke talks off, the initiative isn’t important? Or, was he just playing Herzog,in which case he was trying to fool the international community? Either way, he hurts Israel’s interests.

    Pro-Bibi people will say that Netanyahu IS acting rationally in Israel’s interest, since political stability is also an important thing for a country. This fits into Bibi’s personality of conservatism, just keeping things the way they are. There is some truth to this, but if stability comes at the expense of planning and initiative, ultimately everybody pays a price, except for Bibi himself, who gets to stay in office. .

    1. @Yehuda: Remarkable that we agree on everything you wrote above except for your first statement.

      The fact is that emigration is a big problem for Israel. It is not a big problem here. Israelis DO leave because of their despipair over the military-political stalemate with the Arabs. They leave because unlike here, where people have faith that the system will eventually right itself even if a lout is elected president–Israelis who emigrate know the system cannot change or get better.

      If I believed that presidential elections would produce a successive roster of Bush-Reagan-Trump-Nixon, etc. with no hope of a liberal Democrat ever getting elected, I’d probably emigrate as well.

  7. @Richard: “israelis DO leave because of their despair over the military-political stalemate with the Arabs. ”

    I would love to see the statistics on that if you have them. Generally speaking, international migration patterns follow economic lines, where most people seek to better their economic lives. I think this is true for Israel, too. Personally, every Israeli ex-patriot that I know left mainly for financial reasons.

    http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/bye-the-beloved-country-why-almost-40-percent-of-israelis-are-thinking-of-emigrating.premium-1.484945

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerida#Reasons_for_emigration_phenomenon

    I know that you can say that the financial situation is a function of lack of peace. Perhaps. But the fact is that migration occurs everywhere when there is an economic gradient between countries and when there is freedom to migrate. Even if there were peace, Israel would still be lower than England, the UK and other some other western countries. That’s much different than claiming that Israelis are leaving for political reasons.

    In any case there is healthy population growth here, better than most OECD countries.

    https://data.oecd.org/pop/population.htm

    (see the chart with annual growth rates)

    1. @ yehuda: read Ian Lustick’s research. He’s devoted his career to documenting Israeli emigration. There is an entire genetation of highly educated, innovatice, ambitious professionals who have, are, or will leave the country. There are 1 million Israekis in tgw U.S. aline. They leave for a variety of reasons of course. But those who leave with young families often indicate the hopelessness of the military situation & a desire to prevent their children from having to fight endless wars is of paramount importance.

      When the most patriotic of all Israeli reporters. Roni Daniel, tells the audience publicly that he wants his children to emigrate, that tells you sonething.

  8. correction– when I said “Israel would still be lower than England…” I mean lower GDP and other economic measures.

  9. RE: “There is yet another bizarre development as a result of Yaalon’s decision. He is also resigning his Knesset seat. The candidate who will assume it is none other than settler flamethrower, Yehuda Glick. You’ll recall he was almost assassinated a year ago or so by an aggrieved Palestinian. Glick is a Temple Mount activist. Which is a euphemistic way of saying he seeks to instigate a religious holy war between Judaism and Islam by destroying the Haram al Sharif so that the Third Temple may be built on its ruins.” ~ R.S.

    SEE: “MK Plans To Boycott The Swearing-In Ceremony Of Rabbi Yehuda Glick”
    (Friday, May 20th, 2016 12:30 PM)

    [EXCERPT] The realization that Yehuda Glick on Sunday will be sworn in as a Member of Knesset in the Likud party has some concerned and others outraged. The name Rabbi Yehuda Glick for many is associated with Har Habayis activism, and for some MKs, his entry to Knesset is a red line.

    MK (Machane Tzioni) Yael Cohen-Paran is so outraged that she plans to boycott the ceremony. An equally angry response was heard from party colleague MK Erel Margalit, who stated “It is a most appropriate substitution for this hilltop youth government”. Margalit added that a “moral person was lost”, referring to outgoing Defense Minister Ya’alon, being replaced by an “extremist, dangerous and delusional person”, referring to Glick. . .

    SOURCE – http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/419982/mk-plans-to-boycott-the-swearing-in-ceremony-of-rabbi-yehuda-glick.html

    1. P.S. ALSO SEE: “Dangerous Liaison ~ The Dynamics of the Rise of the Temple Movements And Their Implications” | Researched and written by Yizhar Be’er with editing by Tomer Persico | Translated into English by Shoshana London Sappir with English editing by Betty Herschman | Published by Ir Amim and Keshev | March 1, 2013

      [EXCERPT (Preface: The need for a new analysis of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, pages 5-6)]
      The Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif is one of the most complicated and sensitive issues on Israel’s agenda, activating friction points between Israel and the Palestinian population, the Arab nations surrounding Israel, the Muslim world and domestically, within the Israeli Jewish community itself.

      Over the past several hundred years, a status quo has been maintained according to which the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif area (henceforth: the Mount) is an area reserved for Muslim prayer and the Western Wall is a prayer area reserved for Jews. Over the last decade, the status of these areas has gradually shifted, driven by a revival of activity by Jews determined to strengthen the status of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif complex as a Jewish religious center and to marginalize the claims of Muslims to the Mount. In the past year alone, hundreds of national religious Jewish pilgrims have ascended the Mount, including groups of rabbis, women, members of Knesset and recently, soldiers in uniform.

      It is necessary to take a sober look at the activities of the organizations advancing this agenda and to examine the official institutional support Israel allocates to underwrite their activities. As will become clear, the Jerusalem Municipality and other government ministries directly fund and support various activist organizations driven by the mission to rebuild the Temple.

      This report aims to present information about the growing activity of organizations working to change the status quo on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and, in some cases, to actually erect the Third Jewish Temple upon it. The report describes the historic, legal and halachic background of the state of affairs on the Temple Mount/ Haram al-Sharif complex today, introduces the main players within the pro-Temple movements and demonstrates the deepening association between these movements and official Israeli authorities.

      The sensitive political and religious status of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and the impact of activities conducted there on Israel’s future are clear. The movements’ growing momentum and dangerous provocations to change the status quo are not receiving adequate attention, nor is the disturbing connection between these movements and official Israeli institutions. This report seeks to expose these trends—to present and analyze the dynamics of the growth of the Temple movements, their insidious leaching into the public domain and political center in Israel and the nature and depth of ties between Temple groups and the Israeli establishment.

      This report focuses on a site that, by Jewish tradition, is referred to as the Temple Mount and by Islamic tradition, Haram al-Sharif. To avoid complication, the terms “Temple Mount” or “the Mount” will be used, while stating in advance that wherever these terms appear, they refer to the site known as the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.

      ■ ENTIRE 79 PAGE REPORT [PDF] BY IR AMIM AND KESHEV (“Dangerous Liaison ~ The Dynamics of the Rise of the Temple Movements And Their Implications”) – http://www.ir-amim.org.il/sites/default/files/Dangerous%20Liaison-Dynamics%20of%20the%20Temple%20Movements.pdf

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