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Of Qadimah...
Posted on: Saturday, December 03, 2005
Dr. Sharon has left behind haLiqud and formed his own party. Qadimah has been an absolute success. Seventeen MKs have already joined it (greatly exceeding the most optimistic initial prognoses) and every poll--including haLiqud's internal survey--indicates that haMelekh will literally trounce his adversaries at the election scheduled for March next. Is it surprising? I could easily say: of course it isn't. But why? Arik is a man who until a few months ago had been decried in the most vehement terms as a so-called "war criminal", "butcher" and every other odious epithet ever devised. In haAretz he was beleaguered by corruption accusations, and assailed from all quarters for every problem in the country: security, economy, societal ills... In short, he was shunned as a pariah in the world and besieged by diverse scandals at home.
Today Dr. Sharon is revered in both hagalut and haAretz. Even leaders of countries traditionally seen as hostile to us have been competing who can ingratiate themselves more closely with Ari Yisrael. And in our land the only few squeaky voices of dissention are emitted by the lunatic fringe: Meretz on the one hand and the likes of Mafdal on the other--in order words, a bunch of nobodies. So, how has this transformation been occasioned? The simple answer is haHitnatqut. Oh sure, King Arik has been reviled most vocally from the left and from the right but the majority of people, Jews and others, in Israel and elsewhere, have lauded the measure as a step in the right direction. Put simply, Dr. Sharon has realized that adapting to the ever-changing state of affairs on the ground and thinking long-term is much more important than stubbornly cleaving unto ideology in the face of legal difficulties, morals, demographics and a myriad of additional factors. He is far too wise to believe that incessantly regurgitating the obtuse mantra "there is no such thing as 'palestinians'" and "Jews lived in X 3,000 years ago" will be sufficient for resolving the conflict or even maintaining the status quo. Mofaz has launched a vituperation against him for his "alignment with several members of the Left" dismissing this as "dangerous." Why? Is it not longsighted and courageous for a leader to accept at his side all those who have something constructive to contribute to a difficult situation? Would the good Doctor be better advised to surround himself with people to whom doctrine takes precedence over pragmatism or the greater good of the people? No. And that's not just my opinion but the view of the millions of Israelis who are certain to elect Arik as next rosh memshalah. Not only was the electorate squarely behind our Melekh at the time of stablishment of Qadimah, but Arik's support has only been on the increase since he unveiled his faction's manifesto.
LATEST: Bereaved Mother Backs QADIMAH & ARIK!
And on a related notion, the writing is very indelibly on the wall: the majority of Israelis AND SETTLERS realize that further disengagements are in the offing. Normal, decent-minded people are sick to their stomachs of the settlers' murderous antics, such as their attacking a filming crew or the now endemic violence of this cancerous outgrowth of the Israeli society against Palestinian civilians, theft and vandalism of Palestinian property. Worst of all though, these individuals are a law unto themselves aptly illustrated by these two articles: Datim Attack Palestinians, Shoterim and Rabis Issue Warning to Chief-of-Staff. But the most telling vis-a-vis where our society stands at this point in time has to be this initiative: Rabi: Disengage From State. Well, let's hope they finally do and may they be careful lest the door hits their asses on the way out.
* * *
While greatly abated in frequency and intensity, rocket attacks on southern Israel still continue from Aza. The sheer idiocy of the terrorists behind these onslaughts is stupendous. I cannot do better than to quote one commentator from Yediot Akhronot:
"Perhaps Gaza is too boring without Israelis around, and they are begging for Israel to come back? [...] Perhaps Gaza doesn't feel like home without mindless terror attacks and Israeli retaliations? [...] And, of course, pointless, stupid violence is the whole point of Islamic Jihad and the rest, isn't it? The terrorists, who don't have lives themselves, have to keep everyone else on both sides of the line miserable and full of anger so that they can be "heroes" to deluded masses who would otherwise see that these guys are simply losers -- street thugs and sociopathic cretins"
Tomorrow: an amorous dilemma...
Posted on: Saturday, December 03, 2005
ב''ה
Dr. Sharon has left behind haLiqud and formed his own party. Qadimah has been an absolute success. Seventeen MKs have already joined it (greatly exceeding the most optimistic initial prognoses) and every poll--including haLiqud's internal survey--indicates that haMelekh will literally trounce his adversaries at the election scheduled for March next. Is it surprising? I could easily say: of course it isn't. But why? Arik is a man who until a few months ago had been decried in the most vehement terms as a so-called "war criminal", "butcher" and every other odious epithet ever devised. In haAretz he was beleaguered by corruption accusations, and assailed from all quarters for every problem in the country: security, economy, societal ills... In short, he was shunned as a pariah in the world and besieged by diverse scandals at home.
Today Dr. Sharon is revered in both hagalut and haAretz. Even leaders of countries traditionally seen as hostile to us have been competing who can ingratiate themselves more closely with Ari Yisrael. And in our land the only few squeaky voices of dissention are emitted by the lunatic fringe: Meretz on the one hand and the likes of Mafdal on the other--in order words, a bunch of nobodies. So, how has this transformation been occasioned? The simple answer is haHitnatqut. Oh sure, King Arik has been reviled most vocally from the left and from the right but the majority of people, Jews and others, in Israel and elsewhere, have lauded the measure as a step in the right direction. Put simply, Dr. Sharon has realized that adapting to the ever-changing state of affairs on the ground and thinking long-term is much more important than stubbornly cleaving unto ideology in the face of legal difficulties, morals, demographics and a myriad of additional factors. He is far too wise to believe that incessantly regurgitating the obtuse mantra "there is no such thing as 'palestinians'" and "Jews lived in X 3,000 years ago" will be sufficient for resolving the conflict or even maintaining the status quo. Mofaz has launched a vituperation against him for his "alignment with several members of the Left" dismissing this as "dangerous." Why? Is it not longsighted and courageous for a leader to accept at his side all those who have something constructive to contribute to a difficult situation? Would the good Doctor be better advised to surround himself with people to whom doctrine takes precedence over pragmatism or the greater good of the people? No. And that's not just my opinion but the view of the millions of Israelis who are certain to elect Arik as next rosh memshalah. Not only was the electorate squarely behind our Melekh at the time of stablishment of Qadimah, but Arik's support has only been on the increase since he unveiled his faction's manifesto.
LATEST: Bereaved Mother Backs QADIMAH & ARIK!
And on a related notion, the writing is very indelibly on the wall: the majority of Israelis AND SETTLERS realize that further disengagements are in the offing. Normal, decent-minded people are sick to their stomachs of the settlers' murderous antics, such as their attacking a filming crew or the now endemic violence of this cancerous outgrowth of the Israeli society against Palestinian civilians, theft and vandalism of Palestinian property. Worst of all though, these individuals are a law unto themselves aptly illustrated by these two articles: Datim Attack Palestinians, Shoterim and Rabis Issue Warning to Chief-of-Staff. But the most telling vis-a-vis where our society stands at this point in time has to be this initiative: Rabi: Disengage From State. Well, let's hope they finally do and may they be careful lest the door hits their asses on the way out.
While greatly abated in frequency and intensity, rocket attacks on southern Israel still continue from Aza. The sheer idiocy of the terrorists behind these onslaughts is stupendous. I cannot do better than to quote one commentator from Yediot Akhronot:
"Perhaps Gaza is too boring without Israelis around, and they are begging for Israel to come back? [...] Perhaps Gaza doesn't feel like home without mindless terror attacks and Israeli retaliations? [...] And, of course, pointless, stupid violence is the whole point of Islamic Jihad and the rest, isn't it? The terrorists, who don't have lives themselves, have to keep everyone else on both sides of the line miserable and full of anger so that they can be "heroes" to deluded masses who would otherwise see that these guys are simply losers -- street thugs and sociopathic cretins"
Tomorrow: an amorous dilemma...
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