Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Observations about Israel's new unity government

I don't usually blog about internal Israeli politics, mostly because understanding them requires total immersion.

One of my Israeli correspondents, who wants to be called Professor X, is a tenured professor in the social sciences who has a background in political sciences, economics and law. I asked him if I could post his thoughts:

Three observations:

Kadima as a party has not proved itself either centrist or pragmatic. It came into existence to pursue a leftist and utterly failed policy of unilateral withdrawal, and then moved to embrace the Labor-left policy of “peace in our time” through the imagined acceptance by the PLO of a generous Israeli peace offer.

As long as Israel keeps getting richer, the gap between rich and poor will continue to grow. It is a continuing matter of astonishment to me that people can look at statistics showing that all Israelis are getting wealthier and proclaim them proof of a broken economic system or a failure of social justice because the affluent are growing wealth faster. The Jewish principles of social justice do not embrace a return to Israel’s failed socialism, high taxes, wasteful spending, and obstructive regulation. It is unclear to me that the general population is generally “underpaid” — I would suspect quite the opposite. The working public is overpaid on average, thanks to the Histadrut, notwithstanding the fact that the labor agreements generally require underpaying the more skilled to subsidize overpaying the less skilled, while pricing many of the less skilled out of the working market altogether. Israel has several serious economic problems — monopolies established during Israel’s socialist heyday, underemployment of the workforce thanks not only to overly generous welfare benefits but also laws that require unemployment in order to enjoy state benefits like exemption from army service, excessive government ownership of land and other sectors of the economy, excessive regulation of land use and ordinary business decisions, and an overly powerful labor union that controls vast sectors of the economy (again a relic of Israel’s socialist heyday). Much of the agenda of the “social protests” was to exacerbate these problems, and, at best, the reforms adopted so far have been a mixed bag. There is little reason to celebrate if the unity government means an adoption of the destructive agenda of the “social protests.” Certainly, it’s not true that Israel has retained failed socialist policies and dirigisme due to the excessive influence of “wealthy donors” who will now be neutralized. And, incidentally, the protests were hardly “student-led.”

The idea that there is no peace with the Palestinians due to a violent fringe of Israelis is unfairly exculpatory to the Palestinians and defamatory to Israelis. Notwithstanding noisy fringes on the left and right (and the left fringe has done – so far as I can see – far more damage to Israel), they have not been players in the game in recent years. Both with and without Kadima, the government has the stability and motivation to reach a worthwhile agreement with the Palestinians. It is absolutely clear that whether Kadima is in or out of the government, Abbas has no interest in such a deal. It is true that Kadima endorses your suggested policy: that Israel should aim for a unilateral withdrawal after trying to use another round of failed negotiations to prove that that there is no realistic possibility of negotiated peace. But I hope and believe that Netanyahu has no such plans, and certainly the public will not demand such a self-destructive course after the Gaza fiasco. If this is the secret agenda of the new government, it is a cause for mourning, not celebration.

Other notable analyses from The Muqata, who looks at winners and losers, and Gerald Steinberg at the Times of Israel.

A number of people were trying to figure out why Netanyahu was calling for early elections, and a consensus of sorts was that it would give him more flexibility in deciding on a military option for Iran since Likud was well ahead in the polls. If that is true, this unity government is even more effective than any election results could have been in giving Israel internal political strength should it make that decision.

Work accident in the "playground of death"

From the Hamas al-Qassam website:

As Al Aqsa Intifada against the occupation assault on the Gaza Strip continues, Ezzeddeen Al-Qassam Brigades has its best men to be in the playground of death to defend their people from any attack by the enemy ... Today, Al-Qassam Brigades mourn the death of the Mujahed:

Rantisi in happier times, hanging out in his playground

Faris Mahmoud Al Rantisi,19 years old

Jabaliya refugee camp – North of Gaza Strip

The Mujahed martyred from wounds sustained during training last week. He was martyred on Monday evening May 7th, 2012. He was martyred after a long bright path of jihad, hard work, struggle and sacrifice.

Al Qassam Brigades mourn the death of the Mujahed, reaffirms the commitment and determination to continue the resistance against the belligerent occupation forces.

Finally, may Allah (swt) accept him and his blessed efforts for the path of Jihad and may Allah grant his family patience and solace for his lose.

I'm not sure if that last word is supposed to be "loss" or "for being such a loser." (Or perhaps he had a pet louse who is inconsolable.)

As usual, the Arabic version is much more flowery in language as they beseech Allah to allow him into Paradise even though he didn't manage to actually, you know, kill any Jews.

French Jews interested in aliyah

From JTA:

Some 5,000 French Jews participated in an aliyah fair in Paris.

The fair, organized and run by the Jewish Agency, took place Sunday as French voters went to the polls and elected Francois Hollande as their new president, beating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, considered the favored choice in the Jewish community.

“I cannot recall having seen such a massive number of people interested in aliyah since the days when lines of people stretched out of the Israeli embassy in Moscow,” said Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, who attended the fair. The annual fair usually attracts about 2,000 visitors, according to the Jewish Agency.

The French Jewish community is the largest in Europe, with some 500,000 members, according to the Jewish Agency.

The fair comes on the heels of an attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse in which a rabbi and his two young sons and the daughter of the head of the school were killed.

Again proving the necessity of a Jewish state.

(h/t O)

More Zionist racism in the Negev

From Al Arabiya:

Dozens of Bedouin women from southern Israel join the work force after an Israeli phone company opens a service center inside a local mosque, where women feel they can work without any inhibition.

The country’s largest telecom group, Bezeq Israel Telecom, in a joint venture with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, launched the center inside the mosque in an attempt to combat unemployment among Arab Bedouin women.

“Bedouin women would like to work, most of them, and they want to be a part of the work market and to contribute to the economy of the house alongside their husbands. But because there are no work places in the villages and they are not able to work outside the villages, this is preventing many of them from being a part of the work force,” Mahmoud Alamour, director of Rayan Center, said.

Because of their traditional, patriarchal lifestyle, persuading husbands and fathers to allow wives and daughters to go to work was not easy and the best way to allay fears was overcome by housing the call center at the mosque.

”The girls felt safe when we told them that they will work under a mosque. They were so happy because a girl feels she is in a safe place, like in her house and her village. Now we have two shifts, morning and evening and the girls work until 23:00, and we could only get this because we operate from the mosque,” said Naifa al-Nabari, vocational coordinator for Rayan Center.

“As a Bedouin woman I am so proud of myself because as a Bedouin girl I started from zero. This is my first career, I never had another job, it took me not too long in order to be a manager in a company like Bezeq,” said Dalal Abu-kaf, team manager at telephone service center.

“I think I have no problem with this project and if I sometimes need to go out of work in a specific time, like when a child is sick, Bezeq helps me –- they allow us to go and tend to our children,” said Manal Abu-keren, a Bezeq employee.

Itamar Harel, vice president of Bezeq’s private marketing division, said the company recruited workers throughout Israeli society and was happy to take on the Bedouin women in the belief also that investing in their training was economically sound.

Speaking confidently in Hebrew and attired in traditional Arab garb, Bedouin women helped customers solve phone line faults from a call center housed in a mosque in a desert town in southern Israel.

Only some 20 percent of Israel’s Muslim women participate in the job market, according to official figures, and among Israel’s Bedouin, that number is even lower, at around 15 percent, Rayan told Reuters.

Now, how can the anti-Israel crowd spin this to prove Israeli Jewish racism?

That's an easy one. I figure within two days we'll see an article on Mondoweiss about how Israeli occupiers are exploiting Arab women for slave labor.

The commenters at Al Arabiya go beyond that. Charles from Saudi Arabia writes:

Why are you writing nice things about an Israeli company and the hiring of Bedouins. This must be a zionist plot to capture and enslave these women, perhaps to trade them for future israeli hostages

And Ram Jam, also from Saudi Arabia, wrote:

Women who work have higher chances of being promiscuous and unfaithful. Pick the good cherries and dump the brusied [sic] ones....

There ya go.

(h/t Zvi)

Egyptian cleric says MB candidate will liberate Jerusalem

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from an address made by Egyptian cleric Safwat Higazi at a rally in which he launched the presidential elections campaign for Muslim Brotherhood candidate Muhammad Mursi. The rally aired on Al-Nas TV on May 1, 2012.
Safwat Higazi : We can see how the dream of the Islamic Caliphate is being realized, Allah willing, by Dr. Muhammad Mursi and his brothers, his supporters, and his political party. We can see how the great dream, shared by us all - that of the United States of the Arabs... The United States of the Arabs will be restored, Allah willing. The United States of the Arabs will be restored by this man and his supporters.
The capital of the Caliphate - the capital of the United States of the Arabs - will be Jerusalem, Allah willing.
[...]
Ceremony leader : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Crowds : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Ceremony leader : I am an Egyptian and proud of it.
Crowds : I am an Egyptian and proud of it.
Ceremony leader : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Crowds : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Ceremony leader : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Crowds : Mursi will liberate Gaza tomorrow.
Ceremony leader : Say: "Allah Akbar."
Crowds : Allah Akbar.
Ceremony leader : Say: "Allah Akbar."
Crowds : Allah Akbar.
Ceremony leader : Say: "Allah Akbar."
Allah Akbar.
Safwat Higazi : Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca, or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing. Our cry shall be: "Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem." Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Crowds : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Crowds : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Safwat Higazi : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Crowds : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Ceremony leader : Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews.
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas.
From the eyes of all Jews...
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas.
Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews.
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas.
Forget about the whole world, forget about all the conferences.
Brandish your weapons... Say your prayers...
Brandish your weapons... Say your prayers...
And pray to the Lord.
From the eyes of all Jews...
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom...
Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews.
Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas.
Safwat Higazi : Indeed, all the lovers of martyrdom are Hamas. I say from this podium, from Al-Mahalla, from the heart of the Delta, the heart of Egypt, so that the whole world may hear.
We say it loud and clear: Yes, Jerusalem is our goal. We shall pray in Jerusalem, or else we shall die as martyrs on its threshold.
Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.
Crowds : Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.

While Mursi is behind in the polls, you can't count out the official Muslim Brotherhood candidate - and you can't trust Egyptian polls that probably undercount the rural population.

UNRWA employees in Jordan go on strike, again

From Al Arabiya:

The majority of Jordan’s 7,500 staff at the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency began an open-ended strike on Sunday after the management failed to meet their demands for better pay and conditions.

“The employees started their open-ended strike today after talks with the management failed,” a top UNRWA official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency employees, including teachers and medical staff, “have been demanding a $140 salary raise, and they do not want their annual bonus cut,” the official said.

The strike forced UNRWA’s 172 schools in Jordan to close, affecting 123,000 pupils.

Remember, the vast majority of "refugees" in Jordan hold Jordanian citizenship - meaning that they aren't refugees at all!

In other words, there is no sane reason for most of the UNRWA camps in Jordan to exist nowadays even if you accept the absurd idea that descendants of refugees are refugees themselves. Their only purposes are to prolong suffering (to pressure Israel) and to discriminate between Jordanian citizens of Palestinian origin and "normal" Jordanian citizens.

As it stands, there are no plans to reduce the number of people on UNRWA's rolls. In fact, UNRWA has no mechanism to take away "refugee" status from any of the people it is responsible for.

So we can expect more and more of these strikes by people who feel entitled to hold on to their artificial jobs for an agency whose existence should have ended in the early 1950s.

Introducing the Zionist Sausage Queen!

And here she is, decades before Lady Gaga made fashion out of meat:

Click to see entire meaty image

Maybe we should call her Lady Gaza.

Apparently, this young lady was promoting the Kosher Zion Sausage Company of Chicago, a venerable institution that existed since the Civil War as we see in this 1956 advertorial: (It is no longer in business.)

Yes, the Jewish reputation for big sausages has a factual basis.

(h/t Dan, who asked me to be careful with this sensitive information. But how could I resist?)

Dying to start a new intifada

From Ma'an yesterday:

Islamic Jihad leader Mohammad Al-Hindi warned Sunday that the death of any hunger-striking prisoner will start the third intifada, referencing the popular uprisings against Israeli occupation.

YNet reports:

Khader Adnan, who was the first prisoner to launch a hunger strike, said "from our perspective, the hunger strike will be considered a success in any case, regardless of whether the prisoners' demands are met or if they die in prison."

"If they die, the victory will be even greater," he said. "In any case, Israel will be held responsible."

This is the terrorist version of win-win.

By the way, one of the prisoners' demands is their essential human right to watch the Rotana cinema satellite channel and BBC2. Really.

Utter stupidity at 972mag

But I repeat myself....

Here's the latest in bizarre anti-Zionist thinking, by Issa Edward Boursheh, where the bizarre claim is made that allowing more citizens to vote in elections is anti-democratic:

In late March, before elections were announced, Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser revived an earlier effort to grant Israeli citizens abroad the right to vote. The argument in support of such a bill is that it could increase the level of overall voter participation. But there is every reason to believe that this is not the true concern of the current government and its leaders.

According to the report (Hebrew) by the JPPI, between 677,000 and 706,000 Israelis reside abroad; 543,000 to 572,000 will be eligible to vote, according to this paper. After all the limitations proposed, the number is reduced to a sum that could add up to about 2-3 Knesset seats (p. 11).

Proponents argue that other Western democracies allow absentee voting, including Canada, Australia and the US. But those democracies are based on universal principles of citizenship. Unlike those countries, in Israel naturalization is based almost exclusively on Jewish identity. Even with some safeguards about residency and the four-year limitation, it is Jews who are more likely to gain citizenship from Israel, and travel or live abroad.

As it stands, the bill could, de facto, lead to gerrymandering the Israeli electorate in favor of the Jewish people, upsetting even the current Jewish-weighted balance. That may eventually cause more harm than benefit to this democracy.

Get that? Since more Jews are likely to be abroad, then Jews are more likely to vote! But since Jews are more likely to be in Israel itself, doesn't that mean that Jews are more likely to vote anyway? Has Boursheh, who goes to Tel Aviv University, not noticed that Israel is a majority Jewish state? Yet to Boursheh, any plan to add more voters is automatically suspect if the majority of those voters are Jewish.

Sounds vaguely racist, no?

It gets better:

According to the Law of Return, Israel is the national home of all Jews around the world. All Jews are entitled, according to the law, to pursue citizenship practically just by stepping on Israel’s soil and by proving Jewish descent, which will turn them into voters too. ...The bill opens the door to the possibility of Jews around the world pursuing citizenship just for the purpose of voting, with only minor obstacles; and those most likely to take advantage of it are, I believe, potentially right-wing voters.

This is lunacy. It is almost unimaginable that any sane person would make a sham aliyah just to be able to vote, let alone hordes of people. The logic is bizarre, to put it mildly.

In fact, if the thesis given by the Peter Beinarts of the world are true, most American Jews actually are far more dovish than Israelis are, and many of them feel very strongly that Israel is doing the wrong thing. Wouldn't they be also likely candidates to go on sham aliyot just to vote against Likud? (Oh, sorry, they are Jewish - and automatically suspect to Boursheh anyway!)

At present, there are more than 300,000 voters who reside outside the Green Line/Israel who practice their voting right – in other words, settlers. Amongst them are government ministers and members of Knesset, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Coalition Chairman Zeev Elkin, to name two. On the other hand, more than 250,000 Palestinians who reside in East Jerusalem are residents of territory that was annexed by Israel’s Basic Law: Jerusalem yet they are not citizens of Israel and are not allowed to vote in national elections. In addition, more than 20,000 Druze live in the Golan heights with similar status to the East Jerusalemites, and they do not participate in Knesset elections either. For the record, this is partly due to the choice of these residents due to the complexity of their reality and fear of where they might end up as a result of future agreements.

So there are some 270,000 Arabs who can, if they desire, become citizens and voters - and choose not to. And this is somehow Israel's fault! (Later on he says that Israel is "denying their basic right" to vote - when it is entirely their choice.)

Wow.

There are serious problems that arise from this debate and it’s crucial to address them. First, are the Israelis who reside abroad Netanyahu’s core supporters (Netanyahu’s many Facebook fans are not from Israel)? Is that the reason he is seeking to include them?

This guy is seriously saying that Bibi's Facebook admirers in Malaysia are really right wing Jews he is trying to get to vote for him???

In reality, if Boursheh had the ability to think rationally rather than try to find a way to bash Netanyahu the Evil, he would realize that the kinds of Israelis who move abroad are the ones who are least likely to be ideological Zionists - because they left Israel! Of course this doesn't describe all of the yordim, but the chances that an Israeli who is living in Los Angeles is an idealistic, right-wing Zionist is certainly no higher than that of a random Israeli in Israel.

This is the state of anti-Zionist discourse. Assume that everything Israel does it evil, and then find insane reasons ex post facto to justify your assumption. This is pretty much the entire modus operandi at 972mag - not always so obvious, but always just as dishonest.

And here's the kicker:

This idiot works as an employee at the State Department, presumably in the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. (He also had a six week stint writing three articles for the Jerusalem Post.)

(h/t JW)

...And all that jazz

From the NYT:

Over the last 15 years, Israel has produced and exported so many serious young musicians that the jazz landscape is hard to picture without their influence, particularly in New York and especially now.

Last week the Anzic label released a pair of albums that illustrate the point: “Suite of the East,” by the bassist Omer Avital, and “Songs and Portraits,” by the collective known as Third World Love, which consists of Mr. Avital, the trumpeter Avishai Cohen, the pianist Yonatan Avishai and the drummer Daniel Freedman. (The label also released “Bamako by Bus,” by Mr. Freedman, the only member of the collective who wasn’t born in Israel.) And over the next week and a half, a different contingent of musicians will take part in Jazzrael, a festival of jazz and world music presented by the Israeli Consulate in New York.

The festival begins on Sunday night at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, with a trio led by Omri Mor, an articulate young pianist from Jerusalem. Its closing event, at Joe’s Pub on May 16, will feature the multireedist Amir Gwirtzman and the singer Nurit Galron, both traveling from Israel for the occasion.

Elsewhere on the schedule are Israeli musicians now residing in New York, like the pianist Alon Yavnai, who leads a big band at Joe’s Pub on Tuesday. A concert next Saturday at Temple Israel of the City of New York, on East 75th Street, will feature Mr. Mor, the flutist Hadar Noiberg and the accordionist Uri Sharlin, among others.

The recent outpouring of musical talent from Israel represents a different strain of Jewish jazz, one less concerned about connecting with a distant heritage. Even with a population under eight million, Israel has both the polyglot cultural mix and the educational infrastructure that are conducive to training in jazz.

Yes, the BDSers are really calling it "jazzwashing."

This also happens to be the 82nd anniversary of this:

Constantinople, May. 6 (JTA) –
Following a two week's run at a local theatre the American moving picture, "The Jazz Singer," starring Al Jolson, has been banned because it contains "Jewish religious propaganda."

But I thought Jews weren't discriminated against in Muslim countries! I thought they were only angry at "Zionists"! Hmmm...Al Jolson must have been a Zionist. Yeah, that must be it.

Is the analogy between those who boycott Israeli jazz today and those who boycotted a Jewish jazz story eight decades ago too obvious?

(The Turkish ban was lifted two months later. The Nazis were not enamored with the movie either.)

Jordanians rally against peace with Israel

From Jordan Times:

Hundreds of activists hit the streets in some urban centres in the country demanding an end to the Kingdom’s ties with Israel.

In protests organised by Islamists, leftists and youth activists, participants called on decision makers to scrap the 1994 Wadi Araba Peace Treaty, which they described as a “disaster”.

In a downtown Amman rally, some 200 leftists and youth activists called on authorities to expel the Israeli ambassador, burning US and Israeli flags and chanting: “Wadi Araba is not peace, Wadi Araba is surrender.”

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood’s youth wing rallied in downtown Amman’s Al Nakheel Square, criticising the government for maintaining ties with Tel Aviv despite Israel’s refusal to honour the agreement.

Addressing the rally of some 300 Islamists, former Muslim Brotherhood overall leader Salem Falahat criticised Amman for supporting policies of normalisation with Israel during an ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands.

Meanwhile, in a series of demonstrations held by governorate-based popular movements, hundreds of citizens rallied in Karak, Tafileh, Ajloun and Irbid, calling for an end to “normalisation” with Israel and protesting against rising prices of basic commodities.

Activists said Friday’s protests were a direct response to the appointment of Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh, a leading figure in the 1994 peace process, who recently stated that if given a second chance, he would still support the treaty, pointing out that Jordan has used the peace pact as a tool to help Palestinians and other Arabs.

Are they still considered "peace activists" when they rally against peace?

A parade in Gaza

The Nasser Saladin Brigades of the Popular Resistance Committees held a parade in Gaza on Satuday:

Hamas won't allow rallies or demonstrations that they disagree with, for example for unity with Fatah.

But this parade by a supposedly independent military force is fine, complete with weapons.

Just more proof that Hamas is encouraging the terrorists while it pretends to be comparatively "moderate" - a ploy that Yasir Arafat used to be the expert at.