Time for Olmert to go: Citizenry right to want a new PM,but it's a dangerous call
- Информация о материале
- Автор: Richard Z. Chesnoff
Jewish World Review August
28, 2006 / 4 Elul, 5766
The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is holding — more
or less. But full-scale political war has broken out in Israel. Before
it's over, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, an able politician with little military
background but a well-earned reputation for arrogance, his inexperienced
defense minister, Amir Peretz, and his army chief of staff, Dan Halutz,
could find themselves out of their jobs.
A recent poll in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper shows 63% want Olmert
to go. Peretz appears even more vulnerable, with 74% calling for his resignation,
while 54% want Halutz to resign.
While Olmert deserves to be run out of office, it is a dangerous time
for internal jousting in the Knesset. There are also few viable or worthy
candidates to succeed Olmert. His chief rival, former Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, was hardly a major success in the job.
Even graffiti on an air raid shelter in northern Israel shouts the
citizenry's discontent: "ARIK WAKE UP, OLMERT'S IN A COMA!"
"Arik," of course, is Israel's stroke-stricken ex-premier, Ariel Sharon
— the once-decisive military genius. His successor, Olmert, is accused
by many Israelis of having hesitated and mismanaged the recent war in Lebanon.
There's no doubt the Israel Defense Forces dealt a heavy blow to Iran's
Lebanese-based stooge army, Hezbollah.
Israelis are right when they say air and sea bombardments weren't enough
to rout the terrorists, and Olmert's hesitation before sending in massive
Israeli ground forces could have proved disastrous.
Angered and confused, a growing number of Israelis now demand an official
state investigation into the way the war was waged. Some Israelis charge
Israel's legendary army — especially its reserve forces, which provided
a full 50% of the troops who fought in Lebanon and suffered a high percentage
of the casualties — was often badly led and poorly supplied.
"It was a catastrophe," says reserve officer Jack Silverman, part of
a small group of reservists who have set up a protest camp outside the
Knesset, Israel's parliament, demanding the resignation of Olmert &
Co. Other reservists say they were sent into battle missing pieces of equipment
and with so little food and water that "we had to break into grocery stores."
The postwar debate coincides with a flurry of nasty political scandals.
Labor Party luminary Haim Ramon has been forced to resign his post as justice
minister over charges he forced his attentions on a young female soldier.
And Israel's President Moshe Katzav is facing charges he not only sexually
harassed two women on his office staff, but also sold pardons — charges
he vehemently denies.
Even Olmert is under investigation over his purchase of a property
in Jerusalem that some allege was underpriced in return for political favors.
Not a pretty picture.
Israeli political crises have a tradition of fizzling out. But the
ceasefire itself may be in trouble. The idea was to establish a 15,000-strong
United Nations force in southern Lebanon to oversee both the ceasefire
and, theoretically at least, the disarmament of Iranian-supplied Hezbollah
by the Lebanese Army. The whole idea was concocted by the French, eager
as always to reclaim their long-lost diplomatic glory. Paris first volunteered
to lead the force, then began backpedaling faster than an out-of-control
biker on a steep Tour de France hill.
Now the French have agreed to send some 2,000 troops. But before the
French and others arrive, fighting could break out again. There's also
Israel's second front in Gaza. And there is the ever-growing threat of
an Iranian nuclear weapon hanging over the Jewish state.
"We're at the forefront of the battle between the free world and suicidal
Islamic extremism," says the Jerusalem Post's savvy editor David Horovitz.
"The past weeks have shown we weren't battle-ready. ... We have to find
out what went wrong and what has to be done to get it right."
Amen!
© 2005, Richard Z. Chesnoff
Russian version
An introduction to MAOF
Haim Goldman
Haim Goldman
Dear Friends,
Would you believe that the undersigned has anything in common with
-- Professor Victor Davis Hanson (Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University),
-- Dr Charles Krauthammer, (Washington Post, Time, The Weekly Standard),
-- Caroline Glick (Deputy Managing Editor of the Jerusalem Post),
-- Jonathan Tobin (Executive Editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent).
Amazingly, the editors of the MAOF website decided that the missives of the undersigned are worthy of translation and posting along the articles written by these distinguished authors.
The first letter was published without the consent of the undersigned.
However, after thorough examination of the laudable attitude of MAOF and of the excellent contents of the website, the undersigned had most graciously granted his permission for publication of his missives in both English and Russian.
“Analytical Group MAOF” [1] is an organisation founded about ten years ago by Russian-speaking Jewish intellectuals. The attitude of MAOF is definitely pro-Zionist -- unambiguously and unapologetically.
One of MAOF’s primary purposes is providing information and analysis about Middle-Eastern and world affairs as well as about Israel’s history, values and dilemmas. In addition to extensive publication activity in various media, MAOF also organises excursions and seminars. While the vast majority of the contents of the MAOF website is in Russian, texts originally written in English are provided in the original [2] as well as in Russian.
There are arguably about 250 millions of Russian-speakers worldwide and many of them do not read English. The indisputable motivation for the author’s permission was to grant those millions of disadvantaged people the grand benefit of reading the author’s ruminations. If the author is ever maliciously accused that his tacit motivation for authorising the publication was his craving to be listed along with the above-mentioned distinguished writers, his plea will definitely be “nolo contendere”.
The editors of MAOF expressed their gratitude by granting the undersigned a privilege that no other author got – the opportunity to review and correct the Russian translation before publication. The original letters of the undersigned are at [3] and their Russian version is at [4]. At of today, only two letters are posted but several other letters are pending translation.
You are kindly ENCOURAGED TO RECOMMEND the MAOF website to your friends and colleagues worldwide, particularly those who speak Russian. Those who do not enjoy the benefit of proficiency in the exquisite Russian language can find many thought-provoking and inspiring articles about Middle-Eastern and world affairs in the English section [2].
Sincerely,
Haim Goldman
28.10.2006
REFERENCES:
[1] http://maof.rjews.net
[2] section.php3? sid=37&num=25
[3] authorg.php3? id=2107&type=a
[4] authorg.php3? id=2166&type=a