Uri Avnery says it’s Avigdor Lieberman:
The appointment of Lieberman as Foreign Minister borders on the insane. The appointment of Yuval Steinitz, a professor of philosophy and a personal friend of Netanyahu’s wife, Sarah, a man devoid of any economic experience whatsoever, as Minister of the Treasury, at the height of the world financial crises, crosses [...]
Yesterday’s post focused on the change in the White House. This article in Ha’aretz by Gershom Gorenberg, discusses change on Capital Hill:
Congress’ attitude toward the Arab-Israeli conflict has begun to shift. The conservative line of AIPAC, the veteran pro-Israel lobby, is no longer the only understanding of how to support Israel. The principle of two [...]
Over the years the Israeli “left” felt the need to prove its militant credentials. It essentially became right-lite. The argument for such a move is that to win elections, one needs to appeal to a broader audience (the same argument Democrats in the US always give for their rightward move). In my view, this is [...]
Avrum Burg is the quintessential Israeli insider or as they are called in Israel, “prince.” His father, Yosef, served in every Knesset starting with the first until his retirement. Almost from the start, Yosef also served as a government minister in every coalition his party was a part of. In his time, he was considered one of [...]
The headline of this piece in Ha’aretz, depicting a TV satire on Lieberman, reads: “Israeli TV show depicts Lieberman as Darth Vader-esque dictator.” In my view, the clip depicts Lieberman as more Hitler-esque than akin to Darth Vader, despite the Star Wars music. The author of another article in Ha’aretz also seems to feel Israel [...]
Avirama Golan analyzes the elections within a social and economic context:
[B]y every accepted international standard Kadima is moderately right-wing, Likud is the immoderate right and Yisrael Beiteinu is extreme right. All these parties believe in neoliberal capitalism and complete privatization. Kadima just espouses more compassion, as is evident by the safety net it unfurled for those [...]
That was Clinton talking about Bibi Netanyahu. More great quotes may be found in this article by Akiva Eldar. Joe Lockhart, who was Clinton’s White House spokesperson, nails Netanyahu with this perfect description: ”[He is] one of the most obnoxious individuals you’re going to come into – just a liar and a cheat. He could open his mouth [...]
Uri Avnery on who to vote for in tomorrow’s elections:
We are faced by a sorry lot of politicians, some of them documented failures and some completely free of any past achievements. There is no meaningful discussion between them about the issues. Not one of the main contenders offers real solutions to our basic problems. The [...]
I don’t like to bandy about labels. But after reading this article in Ha’aretz about the rising popularity of Lieberman among Israeli youth, I don’t hesitate to express my concern about the growth of fascism in Israel [Fascism: a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands [...]
Uri Avnery is always a great inspiration and has appeared many times on this blog. His latest piece is a must read:
The words of the new president are ringing in the air: “Our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.” The key words were “humility and restraint”.