Extreme right-winger to join Israeli government

A far-right politician dubbed "the most dangerous politician in the history of Israel" because of his anti-Arab and authoritarian views last night looked set to join the Israeli government.

Prime minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet voted 12 to 11, with one abstention, to approve Avigdor Lieberman's controversial plan to strip powers from parliament and concentrate them in the hands of the prime minister - a decision which was seen as paving the way for his entry into the ruling coalition.

Critics claim the leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party is trying to put in place features of a dictatorship in advance of his eventually becoming prime minister.

Mr Lieberman's proposal, which would do away with no-confidence votes, calls for the direct election of the prime minister, and allows him or her to appoint a cabinet without approval of MPs and to declare a state of emergency before gaining the endorsement of either the cabinet or the legislature.

.......

"Israel is our home. Palestine is theirs," Yisrael Beiteinu's election platform wrote, referring to Israel's Arab minority, which comprises 20 per cent of the population. In an interview with HaZofeh newspaper last month, Mr Lieberman said: "The vision I would like to see here is the entrenching of the Jewish and the Zionist state.

"I very much favour democracy, but when there is a contradiction between democratic and Jewish values, the Jewish and Zionist values are more important."


http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1565582006

but I doubt his vision for Israel is that of American taxpayer’s vision of the Middle East. I am quite certain AIPAC would disagree with his truth telling of long-known Zionism agenda of Israeli politician.

that won`t be ruled by religious zealots. that`s a real step in the right direction for peace is`t it?

permission of those that support Israel's current extreme policies (most of these policies have the full support of "moderates" and secular people like Peres) that in effect disenfranchise Palestinians and make them 3rd class citizens.

What Israel is doing to Palestinians is unconscionable.

Lieberman's appointment will hasten and strengthen the implementation of sanctions and divestment, by governments and citizen initiatives around the world.

I had not thought of it that way. Thanks

The Israelis are having to deal with this extremist, among others, and the Palestinians with their Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Zahar, among others.

He's the genuine article, an actual fascist/racist. The party he leads have an ultra-nationalistic
agenda, with the stated policy of (implicit, or implied) ethnic cleansing.


' The worrying rise of Avigdor Lieberman

>snip

Although definitely rightwing politically, he is more of a brutalist than an ideologue. The issue of greater Israel is important to him (he is one of the few Knesset members who actually lives in a West Bank settlement), but less important than issues of demography.

Yisrael Beiteinu's popularity comes more from Lieberman's ideas about Israel's Arab minority. Over the years, rightwing fringe parties have proposed a policy of "transferring" Israel's Arab citizens to neighbouring Arab countries.

The idea - patently illegal and morally reprehensible - is to protect Israel's Jewish character.

In the current campaign, two parties are proposing ways to "solve" the Arab problem. One proposes to do this by force, the other by encouraging Arab emigration using bribes and incentives.

Lieberman, by contrast, has a novel but no less legally dubious solution. He proposes to redraw Israel's boundaries to transfer control of large Arab border towns such as Umm el-Fahem to the Palestinians. No one has to move physically, and Israel solves its demographic problem. Easy peasy.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2006/03/24/the_worrying_rise_of_avigdor_lieberman.html#more

I guess the same could be said of Mahmoud Zahar.

Everything can be reduced to bizarro platitudes, & 'they do it too!', & a black-&-white viewpoint.
Any possibility that having a blatantly racist authoritarian in the Israeli govt isn't a very good
idea should be disregarded, & the likelihood that there will be another ultra-nationalist in the
Israeli govt, or that this rw govt will engage in war crimes, or implement racist policies in the OPT,
or implement a policy of collective punishment, isn't anything to be concerned about, & 'stuff
happens', & that's how it is, & this rw govt should be supported, unquestionably, regardless of all of
the above, because, well, because.

It is "wrong" for Israel to have racist/fascist in their government, but "OK" for the Palestinians? The rest of your post is speculation. At no point did I, or anyone else, say that a right-wing government would the "best thing" for Israel. However, it seems that when the same elements are discussed from the other angle, well, we can't discuss that because they were chosen, democratically, by the Palestinian people. :crazy: There should be no concern that the current Palestinian government has elected members calling for the destruction of Israel (ethnic cleansing, possibly genocide) because that "rw govt should be supported, unquestionably, regardless of all of the above, because, well, because."

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And bizarro inversions of logic, language & history.

Question - Should there be any sanctions, or any form of censure against the Israeli govt, now that
the coalition includes Kahanists?

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/AR2006102300066.html

Mmm okay. So, when does the bombing start?

Jerusalem — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday brought into his government a hard-liner who wants to rid Israel of Arabs — a move that would shore up his shaky coalition but could hinder efforts to renew peace talks with the Palestinians.

Avigdor Lieberman, who leads the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said he hoped the deal to join Mr. Olmert's governing coalition would be signed by Tuesday.

Yisrael Beiteinu, or “Israel Our Home,” brings 11 lawmakers into the coalition, giving Mr. Olmert control of 78 of 120 seats in the Knesset, or parliament. Such a majority would guarantee support in crucial parliamentary votes, including the 2007 budget. Failure to pass the budget by March would cause the government to collapse.

Mr. Lieberman, 48, has a long record of hawkish positions toward the Palestinians. Speaking to reporters, he questioned the wisdom of past peace deals in which Israel ceded captured land to Arab adversaries. “Maybe we should ask if we should go in a different direction,” Mr. Lieberman said.

Globe and Mail

When the racist Joerg Haider joined the Austrian government, the Israeli government
recalled our ambassador from Vienna.

Now there is an intention to invite Avigdor Liberman, a racist much worse than
Haider, to join the Israeli government itself.

The inclusion of Liberman in the government is not just a change in the coalition.
It raises a black flag over the State of Israel.

The very idea that such a person, which such views, can be a member of the
Government of Israel is shocking. It shames everyone who advocates it.

Liberman is a threat to the fabric of Israeli society, a threat to a whole sector of
citizens, a threat to democracy, a threat to any chance for Israel to achieve peace
with its neighbors.

The proposed law for the change of the regime, which has been introduced by Liberman
in the Knesset, is not just a proposal for another change in the mechanism of
government. It is the first step towards the establishment of a dictatorship, which
will lead to national disaster.

This is a road of no return.

A cynical Prime Minister, out to save his skin, together with a gang of corrupt
and/or stupid politicians, are helping Liberman to put his foot in the door of
Israeli democracy.

Anyone who raises his hand in favor of Liberman and his proposals raises his hand
against the State of Israel as defined by the Declaration of Independence, a state
that was supposed to be democratic, peace-oriented, with equality for all its
citizens.

Each of them will be remembered forever with shame.


signed: GUSH SHALOM

During a Knesset plenum debate, Lieberman said Arab MKs who meet with Hamas leaders "are cooperating with the enemy" and must be tried.

"The Second World War ended with the Nuremberg trials and the execution of the Nazi leadership," said Lieberman, whose party failed to reach a coalition deal with the ruling Kadima party and will remain outside the government.

"Not only them, but also those who collaborated with then. I hope that will also be the fate of the collaborators in this house," referring to the Knesset.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=712521
____________________________________

What a vile, racist man. A perfect fit, sadly, for the Olmert regime.

  He really is a piece of work. After the debacle of Lebanon it became pretty clear that Bibi was going to be the next PM. But I couldn't guess that Olmert would start bringing in elements that make even Bibi look centrist as some sort of damage control. Sad.

  The invitation into the Israeli government does provide one benefit: It makes the Australian Israeli Ambassador's commentary on solidarity of the "white race" in Asia seem almost insignifigant in comparison. It's like what I see with Bush: they cover one cock-up by making a bigger one.

  His opinions on Israeli Arabs represent a more oblique approach to Kahanist ideology and maybe one that a majority of Israelis are ready to buy into at their own great expense.

PB

Israel politics? Or is it a continuation of nearly 60 years of much of the same?

...inception, Israel has been in search of an identity for itself- some way to gather Jews together in a single place from over a hundred different countries and cultures and unify them. It's not only been a difficult task culturally but religiously. Recall that some ultra-orthodox Zionists didn't even recognize Israel, per se, pre-'67 because the Israel created by the League of Nations fell far short of the Eretz Yisrael (the biblical Israel) envisioned. With the settlements came a broader level of cooperation between the ultra-orthodox and the rest of Israel because the settlements (regardless of what the Israeli government said they were for) represented, to the ultra-orthodox Zionists, a way to colonize the remainder of Eretz Yisrael and begin to really fulfill Torah prophesy.

  Because of the settlements, rightly or wrongly, Israel is a less-splintered collection of groups than it was before them. Of course these attempts to biblically-interpret what the Israeli government defines as "buffers" from military attack is out of touch with reality. But, historically, being out of touch with reality has stopped very few inspired so inspired by their interpretation of a religion's teachings.

  So I would say, to your second question: Yes, it's a continuation, but not so much in the last 60 years as in the last 40. Meier Kahana is/was a racist but his belief in culturally-purifying Israel is a very popular bottom line. The University of Haifa does a yearly study (a poll) on extremism in Israel both among Israeli Jews and Arabs. You might want to Google that up to get a better idea of the actual numbers. They haven't released/completed the 2006 edition yet but you should be able to find the one from 2005.

  To address the first part of your question, Lieberman does not represent much of a deviation from the current mainstream Israeli politics. In fact, considering him seriously as a person worthy of a government position is just a reflection of where Isreali political thought is currently. I wouldn't say he represents the sentiments of most Jews in Israel but his bottom line, like Kahana has a good deal of support.

  America and Israel and practically everywhere else has always had extremists among their population. That, in itself means little. But when those extremists are elevated to positions of public office...then, then that's when you can start associating their ideas as a reflection of popular elements within the culture.

  Allowing extremists into government positions in this case will not only hurt Palestinians and Arab Israelis but the kicker is that once they purge whomever they like from outside their group the purges will continue within their own group. The ultra-orthodox do not consider any other branch of Judaism legitimate. The ultra-orthodox are also in control of the civil institutions in Israel: things like who can or cannot get married. Google a bit on Cohens and the restrictions placed on their ability to marry whomever they choose. What you're looking at there is a sort of "Stage 2", after some level of religious purification has occurred. Learn about the friction between Ashkenazi and Sephardim or the dark-skinned Ethopian Jews and their problems finding a place to live among their lighter-skinned brothers and sisters.

  Or the genetic testing which has now become popular among certain Jewish groups to prove their "identity" which also translates into a higher level of social status and religious status, much like Cohens. I'm including a link from Ha'Aretz (search for "The Davidians are coming") because many people would be dubious of a statement like that. There are noticable social levels associated with specific lineage. This is not recognized everywhere in Israel but with the orthodox in control of the civil system (something which should have never have happened), there's a level of enforcement available which would not normally be there.

  Over the last 40 years, it's gotten pretty bad. When Labor lost in the 80's ultra-orthodox influence increased and with Lieberman it has certainly jumped forward even more.

  If they don't stop the trend, they're going to wind up with a country with few or no Arabs and several different ethnic or religious classes, based on genetic heritage. It reminds me of the caste system in India and it's frightening to think of how far they're going to take it.

  BTW, I am not so sure it can be stopped. The Israeli Supreme Court has been doing a decent job trying to keep things the way the founders of Israel intended but with Barak's retirement(the ex-Cheif Justice), I see very little to stop this thing from coming to really violent fruition 10 or 20 years from now.

PB

separation. If they were serious about peace, then they know that they would have to give up all the settlements, not a handful of "outposts" They would also know they will have to dismantle the annexation wall that sits in the West Bank, taking even more land from Palestinians. Yet they endorsed the extremism of Olmert, that refuses all these options.

There are polls that show many Israelis would be willing to give up all the settlements, but there is no political leadership for this. It is just not on the table.

I think things are going to be getting much worse. I would not be surprised to see a lieberman/netanyahu government coming very soon.

As i said, this will intensify the isolation of Israel. It will be more and more difficult for US politicians to justify continuing the status quo as acting as Israel unconditional supporter. Even if the US govt. keeps up the support, Israel will increasingly face the wrath of citizen initiatives and governmental action, mostly from outside the US.

..., well, take the Iraq war: If Bush decides tomorrow to withdraw from Iraq completely his base may be upset, but nobody's going to gun him down. If Israel makes a move to withdraw from the territories, they're going to have a couple-hundred thousand extremely pissed off, extremely well-armed people coming after them, Yigal Amir style.

  The settlers view Palestine as their land and anyone trying to get them off of it might as well be the devil and responded-to appropriately.

  Pulling out of the illegally-occupied Palestinian land may be the right thing to do but if Israel ever does it they're going to have alot worse than Quassams to deal with.

PB

<snip>

"An Israeli cabinet minister has called for the expulsion of about 1.3 million Palestinian citizens of Israel who constitute nearly one fifth of the state’s population."

<snip>

"Lieberman's racism has been well known for many years. A few years ago he called for the bombing of the Aswan Dam in Egypt, the Presidential palace in Damascus and Iran’s nuclear facilities.

He also called for executing Arab Knesset members Tibi and Muhammad Baraka by a firing squad for supporting Palestinian rights and calling for ending the Israeli occupation.

In 2002, he urged the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to carry out "wholesale killings" of Palestinian civilians in order to force them to flee to Jordan and other neighbouring Arab countries.

"At 8:00 am, we'll bomb the commercial centers; at noon, we'll bomb their gas stations and at two o'clock we'll bomb the banks … Then we keep the border crossing open," Lieberman was quoted as saying during a cabinet session."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FED27702-1D56-4699-8BC1-3415D354D3B6.htm

"His opinions on Israeli Arabs represent a more oblique approach to Kahanist ideology and maybe one that a majority of Israelis are ready to buy into at their own great expense."

We go from one Islamaphobic asshole, who represents a significant minority, to this being an onset of the Israeli majority supporting such views!

That's mainstreaming.

This is a dark day for Israel. This guy is a fascist, a racist, and a warmonger.

However, I don't think this is indicative of the Israeli peoples' opinions. It is a desperate political move by Olmert to retain power, but I think this may backfire on him. Israel has had many a dark day, this is, sadly, just one more in many.

And only missed coming in 4th by the narrowest of margins.

Kadima 22.02%
Labor 15.06%
Shas 9.53%
Likud 8.989%
Yisrael Beytenu 8.985% (Lieberman's party)
National Union 7.14%
(...20+ more political parties, Wiki here)


  In Israeli elections, with 30+ political parties, where getting 22% of the vote means you're the winner, getting almost half that does represent a majority of opinion, especially when Shas is arguably more extremist and Likud takes down the Jabotinsky posters when goyim are over for dinner. Looking at that list Labor is the only arguably center/left party. Kadima is only hard-right Likud without the settlements, Shas, Yisrael Beytenu and the NRP are all hardcore right-wing political parties.

These opinions are definitely NOT in the minority when it comes to Israeli politics. In fact, they are some of the TOP vote-getters.

The Ethnic Cleansing Party Outpaces Likud, The Rise of Israel's Avigdor Lieberman
PB

<snip>

"Opinion polls in Israel yesterday showed growing frustration with the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and pointed to the rise of political rightwingers in the wake of the war in Lebanon."

<snip>

"The polls showed a clear shift to the right. Mr Olmert's biggest potential challenger appears to be the former prime minister and senior Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who scored a 58% approval rating in the survey."

<snip>

"A second poll in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper also showed Mr Netanyahu ahead. Asked who was now most suitable to be prime minister, 27% of those questioned chose Mr Netanyahu, 15% chose Avigdor Lieberman, a right-winger from the Yisrael Beitenu party, and 7% chose Mr Olmert."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1878460,00.html

Meretz USA Alarmed over Avigdor Lieberman's

Impending Incorporation into the Israeli Government
October 24, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On October 24, 2006, Meretz USA President Lilly Rivlin made the following statement:

"Meretz USA expresses deep concern and alarm regarding the decision of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to incorporate MK Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party into the government coalition. Because we support an Israel that pursues both peace and equal rights, Meretz USA regards Lieberman’s impending entry as a potentially catastrophic step backward on both counts.

"This summer’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza demonstrated (yet again) that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict. But it also showed that the majority of the Arab League, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and even Syria, supports peace and normalization with Israel based on the 2002 Saudi plan. In recent weeks, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has begun demonstrating leadership, insisting that any Palestinian government recognize Israel. A small diplomatic opening exists, and Israel should be making every effort to utilize it.

"Avigdor Lieberman has consistently supported an aggressive militarism as an alternative to diplomacy. A ‘loose cannon’, he has publicly contemplated bombing Egypt’s Aswan Dam. Lieberman has implicitly endorsed the idea of ethnic cleansing, and his ‘diplomatic plan’ for Israeli-Palestinian territorial exchanges is a thinly disguised effort to revoke the citizenship of hundreds of thousands of Israel’s Arab citizens.

"Meretz USA applauds the leaders of Israel’s Meretz party for speaking out against Prime Minister Olmert’s decision, and expresses hope that the leaders of the Labor Party will take a similar stand against Yisrael Beiteinu and act vigorously to prevent that party’s incorporation into Israel’s government."


Useful Links
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web: http://www.meretzusa.org
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