Tzipi's Choice
My friend Naomi Chazan has put the case brilliantly in the new Forward. If Tzipi Livni thinks she can place the peace process on a back-burner or, to put things more cruelly, that an Israeli majority will choose her to lead the country into a fight-to-the-finish with Palestinians, she is mistaken. As Michael Corleone told Tom Hagen, "You are not a war-time Consigliori."
Much like Mahmud Abbas, Livni's only hope to form a stable government, or to gain popularity in advance of new elections, is to prove that she can renew the promise of an agreement under American-European auspices, that is, advance the interests of Israelis over Judeans. She must show that diplomacy is the problem and she is the solution. Her side is the majority and creates most of the wealth. She must choose to inspire. The fact that Haim Oron, the head of the Meretz peace party, is claiming that Livni has offered him a place in a new government is a sign that Livni gets it. One hopes the next American president will get it, too.
It would seem that rockets and suicide bombers are a more pressing proble.
September 19, 2008 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
To say nothing of "targeted killings" with 500-pound aerial bombs that collapse apartment blocks and kill infants as "acceptable collateral damage".
September 19, 2008 2:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
What is it that the new president should get? That the way to get a fractious Israeli government and a distrustful Israeli people to agree to concessions to Abbas is to threaten and bluster the way Bush 41 and his toady Secretary of State James Baker did in 1991? If that is what you think, I thank G-d Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their chief advisor on Israel, former Amb. Dennis Ross, consider people like you to be idiots.
September 19, 2008 7:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mr. Avishai
Have you ever seen Ms. Livni talk?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bjqYPH7rAo
It seems that Neomi Hazan lives in a weird illusion in thinking that what she is facing is an opportunist politician that just makes popularity cost calculations. One that has a characteristic of this "cleanage -no-corruption" character, polite and fluent, yet tough...She was pedigreed personally by Sharon which was all corruption from the toes to the tips of his hairs.
These are strange images to believed in, because the transparency of their- being slim propaganda is very clear in this case. .
But why the public will still make her prime minister:
The public here is threatened and blindfolded with metal works that is banged with nails into the eyes. Also the historical low point in the aspect of culture and the meanings it conveys – it conveys those meaning when if it exists. For too long a time there is nothing profound. No Artistic or political expressions on any level, with an explanatory value whatsoever. The levels of blinding sheer racism that are perceived as the truth of the world are darkening the souls, and its compassion. The eyesight lowers its eyelids with anguishing fatigue that is heavy despair…. so hard and un-resolvable that it creates mostly blind defensiveness out of this catatonic state.
Tzipi livni is an extremely arrogant, hard headed, soul deadened state of a person, to an extent that she is moved by instincts only. People in such state do not accommodate processes of contemplation or even strategies, not even as cunning. This unintentional position is a steady movement of inertia. It's just what it is and knows its blinded ways by instincts, instincts of movement, not of animals. A deadened soul. It's not even cold heartedness. The allies are obvious; there are no contemplations of Paths and ways. There is one un-thought of a way, which is obvious and never contemplated upon (except about the personal benefits.) they are used to intimidate the public, while ignoring every aspect of the social reality. Tzipi livni have never said almost anything about approaches to different subjects as health or pensions. She just said that education is very important because the PR told her to say it. She never participated in voting on social issues. She didn't need to. She's a self assured former "mossad" agent . -So she is not expected to explain. People hang on to different interpretations of her reluctance to express herself in an elaborate way, aside of the usual threats on the worlds future, in the claim of actually be driven by defending it. War is peace, without any Irony in it.
She said "We live in a neighborhood that in which whether you beats the bully or you join it." (As in the original English) This is her foreign Policy; this is how she conceives of all the surroundings. There are two serious, elaborated peace proposals which are both Pan-Arabic. We never agreed to discuss them. That, aside of offers from specific countries. (Palestine by Hamas, Syria, Lebanon before we wrecked its whole south.)
They [Israeli government] are not making any "efforts" as she said, but prevents or ignores them. They are not talking to Palestinians, but to a leader which is about to lose its last ties to legitimate Authority very soon, ignoring the Hamass as the real current government.
They stress an unprecedented siege over Gaza for more than a year, while ignoring completely the recognitions and paths of cooperation that were proposed by Hamas of any kind.
http://www.btselem.org/english/gaza_strip/siege_tightening.asp
In coherence with the above perception, she also said:
"While we are talking Iran continues, and any hesitation coming from the International Community is being perceived by the Iranians as weakness."
There is no advocacy which is more terrible and " Satanic" in its destructiveness, than a one that persuades the whole world to begin an attack that might start many different scenarios of Armageddon- to other disastrous Wars . She advocate to this by claiming that it is dangerous and irresponsible in even trying to THINK, to contemplate about other options to confront the problems, and this is the gist of the mental castration of this demagogic Strategy.
She says that Iran does not open any channels to talks, when the truth is that we are the ones who are not willing to contact Iranian representatives. (we have a law that forbids creating any contact with "enemy" states.). We didn't try to initiate or agree to any cooperation about a dialogue with Iran on any level of un-formal channels as well. All our diplomatic perception is institutionalized by the same repeatable slim and destructful patterns, representing mainly interests of weapons industry and overused Zionist slogans that have nothing to do with meddling with Reality responsively today.
Livni, is a former secret agent. Now, she can't tell what she was doing in the secret service because it's secret. By the wisdom that comes out of the secret's services intelligence we can understand that they are not multidisciplinary. They have a very clear version of interpreting reality which is simply the Ideology as stated in the quotes above.
To expect of Livni of responsible conduct is ludicrous.
September 20, 2008 6:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
I, for one, am glad that Tzipi Livni's background gives her credibility with elements of Israel's security infrastructure.
During the early days of the stupid summer war of "06, she was completely cut out of military briefings given to the clueless Olmert and Peretz so went around them to her own sources. They told her the truth about the situation which is why she began calling for an end to the attacks.That gives me some confidence that Livni will not be a helpless creature of Israel's military/security leadership. Bibi certainly would be; soft elitist tool of the Disapora that he is.
Ariel Sharon did not tap the "nonentity" Tzipi Livni because he was interested in advancing feminist goals in Israel. Evidently, despite Livni's lack of an American accent, she has earned respect in the world's capitals but scares the "uncles" in the US who don't control her.
At any rate, it's a bit premature for anyone to demand that Livni do this or that given that she's not yet firmly holding the reins in Israel and the leaderships in DC and Ramallah are losing influence. Why anyone is insisting that the discredited parties, including the Europeans and the "Arabs" aka the Saudis, step up now is puzzling given that they have such a record of failure and are also weakened "partners" in fact.
It's as if no one can lift their eyes from TA and DC and realise that the old gang can no longer get it done. The ground has shifted.
Can we at least get through our own damn elections and see if Livni is able to form a stable coalition before trying to force issues that no one is able to deal with at this point?
September 20, 2008 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I, for one, am glad that Tzipi Livni's background gives her credibility with elements of Israel's security infrastructure. "
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Tzipi Livni's background gives her credibility for nothing. We know nothing of her background; accept that she is coming from a system that has a very short sighted, old fashioned with a deep fascistic approach on its standards of conduct. Also, she was not pedigreed by Sharon for her beauty, but for being a sharp-long-distant attack dog. That is her faithful mission as she keeps on with. Besides, it's just the same attack dog, or bad spirit of a racial, violent short sighted concrete headed person as Sharon, but with a different flesh of human tissue.
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"During the early days of the stupid summer war of "06, she was completely cut out of military briefings given to the clueless Olmert and Peretz so went around them to her own sources. They told her the truth about the situation which is why she began calling for an end to the attacks. That gives me some confidence that Livni will not be a helpless creature of Israel's military/security leadership. Bibi certainly would be; soft elitist tool of the Disapora that he is".
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During the early days of the war Tzipi knew about the terrible situation of the communication of the army, its UN readiness, and its lack of right conceptions on how to take this battle on and how to plan it and over manipulate the Hezbollah into corners. The reason that this was looked so miserable is that the balls of the stupid fascists, who are in the commanding ranks, have swollen so immensely that they replaced their brains. Bibi, for that matter, never had a moment with the presence of brains, and He's a slick smug that Relies more on he's, as he perceives it "charm" than on being tough. Livni recognized that the world doesn’t like to hear about the Holocaust to after, so she cuts it out of the show, but he made millions from the same speeches basically. You are certainly appreciate the though agent image better than the Elite go getter. well…
Tzipi Livni said to stop attacking because as a real long-distend attacker she saw where it's leading. In her sayings and in her perspective, the lives of the Lebanonees meant nothing, As well as the lives of the bombed Israeli's in northern Israel.
Tzipi livni have never said that as a minister, no matter at which office, she demands that the weak public at northern Israel (almost all of it) will get the needed aid, the daily living aid- for thousands of people that their work has stopped and the paychecks stopped arriving--- people where in the shelters without help and without enough food, without Hysteria treatments. About the Illegal by international Arsenal- American Bombs MLRS that we "seeded" all of south Lebanon – Livni had nothing to say. This area is mainly the Druze (not so small) minority region, which from it comes the long struggle against the Saudi control, against Hezbollah's presence and taking over. This is a country that just 10 years ago made her Democratic revolution and struggled for it badly, which truly evolved out, and in cooperation of the civilians on national solidarity and tough violent struggles. It’s true that even there these are Elites of leaders, but its struggle was genuine. We destroyed its pace and actually helped Hezbollah to strengthen. We destroyed all the infrastructure from our border all up to south Beirut and the Litany river, an infrastructure that was built with the massive firstly built to give the needed technological push, to working places, to a more well founded standards of living, towards more connection between the Capitol and the rest of the country- in this place- the whole south.
We ignored the elected Lebanonies government as if they didn't exist, and didn't create contact with our suppose to be natural alleys – the Druze and all the Anti- Hezbollah opposition leaders.
Livni did not say any of these things, not even on closed circles, because what is so banal for anybody that real security in terms of basic life and death terms- means anything to him- All this just doesn’t have any presence in Livni's Brains or intuitions. So, she's not a "foreign minister"- because to her "foreign" is actually and plainly foreign and has no depth of a reality of same sort. She's just the delegate of the general attack Doctrine. It's us again the "Axis of Evil" (that assumes that’s the "nature of the Arabs" rather as a peoples History.). She sees no layers, and definitely is very positive that we are absolutely superior above the entire" Beasley neighborhood" and its inhabitants. As she said "you must beats the Bully or join it." (If you'll watch the youtube link.)
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She just saw that we're not exactly going to win, not even a result that can be sold out as some kind of victory.
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" she has earned respect in the world's capitals but scares the "uncles" in the US who don't control her "
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What you said here does not mean anything, or either its just chaotic perception of reality that believes that the mysterious and powerful needs to be worshipped and that politicians and generals should not conduct into reality with reason but to spread fear and terror – and therefore their not what their doing, without any obligation of it having sense of any kind.
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"At any rate, it's a bit premature for anyone to demand that Livni do this or that given that she's not yet firmly holding the reins in Israel and the leaderships in DC and Ramallah are losing influence. Why anyone is insisting that the discredited parties, including the Europeans and the "Arabs" aka the Saudis, step up now is puzzling given that they have such a record of failure and are also weakened "partners" in fact."
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What do you mean by "firmly holding the rains"- is it all you can get secret agents-to-dictatorship reality game? She certainly has a past, she was a member in the parliament, she objected or voted for different Laws according to the political interest, she expresses herself just like you described (but took it to be a positive impression) - of actually just barking like a detached crazy killer, which she is. In a fashionable suit, "Cleaned and sharp" impression- but of a vulture. As you don’t see it yourself- for a very long time both DC are irrelevant in different ways: DC is bushes DC, and Kondolliza rice is the impotent- toothed nice meaningless puppet who just waists you a lot of plain-fuel and security costs in her sterile voyaging. Ramallah is losing influence because we have helped immensely to De-thrown them, and after it has succeeded Tzipi and DC and our imbecilic security corporations did not see who it is the leadership and to listen to what it says. Livini said a few months ago that if the Palestinians want to negotiate they must forget about the word "Nakba"- which is a word for the Palestinian Disaster- the loosing and exiling and the beginning of their suffrage as refugees, some as prisoners in their homes but inside the borders of the winning regime of their Catastrophe- the Nakba. It symbolizes the start of their suffrage under military control and abuse of their enslavement as working power for many long years after 48.
Also, it’s not about of "record" or failure. It's not a fast food factory, or the Dining business... It's not slogans taking out of "game theory" (which is also fashionable BS) - about having Weak or strong partners. It's about understanding reality very profoundly, which the Saudis do see but in a somewhat opportunistic touch of it. But it depends which Saudi your referring to.
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"It's as if no one can lift their eyes from TA and DC and realise that the old gang can no longer get it done. The ground has shifted."
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It’s as if you'r living in a Batman cartoon reality. It's not an old gang and a new gang. These old gangs created this situation, mainly, in this case, the "Gang" which is actually mostly in Jerusalem and around it. No ground shifts. It's just another generation of the same old "gang", which is even ruthless- both towards the harsh reality of the Jewish public and of course Arabic public in Israel, and I'm afraid to see how she will unleash the violent that so many "security systems" and Security specialists and heard headed Fascists like herself in the government and stations of influence- all want to see released. Although she's Blond.
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"Can we at least get through our own damn elections and see if Livni is able to form a stable coalition before trying to force issues that no one is able to deal with at this point?"
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The coalition here has no meaning whatsoever. You are welcomed to read in my comment to Dr. Avishai's post about Democracy in Israel.
September 20, 2008 8:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
correction about link to quotations of Tzipi Livni - her Foreign Policy:
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=HI95piSXtgQ
September 27, 2008 6:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dr Avishai,
It is interesting how many of your postings are attempts to find ways of thrwarting the will of the Jewish people, both in Israel and outside it. Your views are representative of maybe 10% of the Jewish population. There is no way you can ever get a majority in the Knesset to agree to carry out the policies you want, which involve creating was is essentially an artificial division bewteen what you call "Israelis" and "Judeans". While it is true that there is a lot contempt in your "elite" camp for the Right and Religious communities, it is not as virulent as you seem to indicate. So you end of trying to to concoct political intrigues to overturn the democratic will of the majority. One is by way of your "Hebrew Republic" in which you claim that deJudaizing the Jewish state will allow an alliance between your secular, moneyed "elite" and the Arabs who really have nothing in common with them (the average has a lifestyle much closer to that of the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox than with the secular Tel Aviv crowd). Rabin talked about this in the 1990's and the Arabs said "no thanks". So now, you have come up with another plan, get the Americans and Europeans to come in order to threaten your "elite" to use force against the "Judeans", something you yourself admit that they really don't want to do. You seem to believe that waving money in front of their noses, or threatening them somehow will turn them against their brothers. You have apparently forgotten all the wars and sacrifice that the entire Jewish population went through in order to build the state, and you think hollow threats and promises will succeed in tearing the society apart in order for your policies to be carried out. You are living in a fantasy world. Even most of the Israeli Left rejects these ideas.
September 20, 2008 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Tzippi Livni is a total non-entity. She has very little real support among the population, since her party is an artificial creation made of misfits who left both the Likud and Labor. It is true that Dr Avishai's elite support her with a big media campaign. She makes a poor impression on people, she barely speaks English and other than mouthing the usual platitudes about "her ardent desire for peace", doesn't have a clue about how to get it (I mean real "peace", not the phony "Oslo process" that destroyed any chance for a relaxation of the tensions between Israel and the Palestinians for at least a generation).
Don't forget that Tzippi comes from the far Right..her parents were legendary ETZEL (Irgun) fighters which means she is genetically tainted as far as the traditional Labor Zionists go. Politicians who jumped from the Right to the Left are kept on a short leash. SHAS's Aryeh Deri was vital in getting his party's support for Oslo, when they didn't need him any more the politicized police implemented their old "get something on him" tricks and sent him to jail (he didn't do anything worse than most other politicians). Next was Ezer Weizman who helped undermine Begin's government from within...he was forced out of the Presidency on bribery charges (he was never put on trial), next was Likud Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai who helped bring down Netanyahu in 1999. Once they finished with him they brought him down with trumped up sexual harrassment charges (the girl he was involved with admitted later he was innocent), then came Sharon who destroyed the political Right, then destroyed Gush Katif and in recognition put his son Omri in jail on trumped up "campaign donation violations", much smaller than those that Barak did in 1999 (and for which the charges against Barak were dropped).
So Tzippi had better deliver, OR ELSE. Only problem for the "progressives" is that she doesn't have the reputation that Sharon had. Sharon was so revered by a large part of the Right that they would follow him like lemmings, as they did with his destruction of Gush Katif. Tzippi will not get loyalty and support from the Right as Sharon did. She can not destroy settlements, she can not destroy Jerusalem by dividing it (as Dr Avishai advocates) and she can not accept the so-called Palestinian "right of return". It makes no difference if MERETZ is in the coalition or not. MERETZ is a discredited far Left party with little support among the population. Give up your illusions.
September 20, 2008 1:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
MERETZ is not a far left party. It's a neo-liberal self righteous- very satiated sector party for the upper middle class that sees themselves (up to this very moment and from its beginning), as enlightened liberals, but where always absolutely spineless ideologically, which is another aspect of being clueless.
September 20, 2008 8:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I, of course, forgot to add Olmert to the list of former "Right-wing" politicians who ended up realizing the big money and power were on the Left, but ended up fouling up or getting too big for their britches (the case apparently with Yitzhak Mordechai) and having the legal lynching done to him (again, this does not mean he is not guilty of any crime, but the investigations are not done "in the search for justice", but rather as a form of political harrassment, which is quite obvious due to the endless illegal leaks of police interrogations to the media).
September 21, 2008 12:16 AM | Reply | Permalink