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Commentary;
Readers may wonder why this blog has stuck pretty much to three topics in recent days; Bibi, Likud and Feiglin, Jonathan Pollard and the daily Gaza (and Yehuda, Shomron) war news.
The reason is basically because these three issues most closely focus in on the ongoing political/spiritual (or lack thereof) war between the forces of darkness, apathy and stagnation and the forces of light and Jewish self-pride and spirituality for the minds, hearts and souls
of masses of Israelis.
First, Jonathan Pollard;
The mitzvah of Pidyon Shvu’im — liberating a fellow Jew from captivity gets to the great value a Jewish neshama and the Divine Mandate that a Jew is not abandoned to gentile captors. Further, it is the spiritual end of what heretofore had been IDF credo for decades: never abandoning soldiers on the battlefield.
Only in the last 20 or so years has this credo been systemically subverted with Medinat Yisrael’s abandonment of Pollard, their subsequent abandonment of MIAs such Ron Arad, Zachary Baumel and the rest, their South Lebanese allies, and Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser — the latter two handed back dead as a result of their abandonment.
Secondly, Bibi’s undemocratic shenanigans and machinations concerning Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit;
Bibi has attempted to drop Moshe Feiglin out of his democratically won 20th spot on the Likud list in the primaries, first to #36 by virtue of games-playing regarding both the women’s and regional slots and, then out of sight by virtue of attempting mergers with other parties.
Tzomet, the focus of Bibi’s sink Feiglin attempts, and for which Bibi sent travelling ballot boxes to central committee members’ homes a week after the primaries in order to force a victory, has apparently come up dry. There has been dead silence about the results of Bibi’s game and Tzomet got tired of waiting as time dwindled down to the national election committee’s apparent deadline of 24 December (today) for official party election lists. Tzomet has apparently decided that it doesn’t want Likud, as Tzomet chairman Moshe Green noted in speaking with IMRA’s Dr. Aaron Lerner.
However, we now hear that today’s apparent deadline for official party election lists could now be moved to Sunday, 28 December, and Likud is now considering a merger with Effie Eitam’s Achi party whose coffers are apparently richer than Tzomet’s. So apparently, we will again see the travelling ballot boxes hit the road in earnest as Bibi attempts to strong-arm Achi’s entry into Likud, as he tried to do with Tzomet, in order to sink Feiglin and his allies.
Meanwhile, although Feiglin has not himself appealed Likud’s moves in Israel’s court system, former MKs Michael Ratzon and Ehud Yatom have. And if they win their appeals, it will restore Feiglin’s #20 spot as well as Ratzon to his #24th spot and Yatom’s originally higher #29th spot on the Likud list.
Although this blog does not usually cite polls, take note of these, thanks to IMRA’s Dr. Lerner;
10 December; Likud 34-36, Kadima 27-28
11 December — One day after Likud dropped Feiglin to #36;
–#1– #2 #3 #4
34-35 31 36 31 Likud two of 4 polls show sharp drop
20-21 28 27 24 Kadima
19 December Likud and Kadima tie 30:30;
#1 #2
30 28 Kadima
30 31 Likud
Anyone see a trend here? And a good reason why?
And note: from the Updates below; we’ll see, by Sunday’s final day for posting party election lists, whether or not Likud’s merger with Eitam’s Achi party affects Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit.
Bibi Slammed for Pursuing Deal with Ahi, by Gil Hoffman (Jerusalem Post)
Excerpt;
Likud officials said the Ahi representative would not be placed higher on the list than Netanyahu’s nemesis, Moshe Feiglin, who is in the 36th slot. They said that Netanyahu could not get away with challenging Feiglin again.
TA Court Bounces Feiglin Case Back to Likud Court, by Gil Hoffman (Jerusalem Post)
Polls Show that Feiglin Push [to Unrealistic Spot] Hurt Likud
Finally, the daily war news and the Olmert, Livni, Barak troika’s reactions to it and inactivity get more absurd daily. The lack of military action and the lack of a plan for retaking Gaza are apt testimony of this regime’s deaf-ear to the lessons of the Lebanon conflict.
Consider these comments from JPost commentator Caroline Glick who writes of the current regime’s possible repetition in Gaza of their failures in Lebanon;
While the government is congratulating itself on its willingness to defend the country after three years of negligence, the fact is that its strategic aim is not to defeat Hamas. This fact was made clear in the summary of the government’s decisions reported in the media on Sunday afternoon. The government made clear that the aim of both the diplomatic and military offensives is to pave the way for the “international community” to intervene in Gaza to protect Israel from Palestinian terrorism.
IF THAT sounds familiar, it is because it is. It is the same strategy, and the same strategic goal, that the government adopted during the 2006 war with Hizbullah. After reacting helter skelter to Hizbullah’s initial aggression which began the war, Olmert and Livni decided that Israel shouldn’t bother trying to defeat Hizbullah. Instead of ordering the IDF to defeat the enemy, they ordered it to put on a sound and light show replete with aerial bombing and some good photo-ops of ground forces raising the flag in Bint Jbail and other villages. The aim of their military extravaganza was to convince the “international community” to deploy forces to Lebanon’s borders to protect Israel in place of the IDF.
But Glick is soo blindly enthralled with Netanyahu, who has shown himself no better than the Kadima troika. Glick has yet to come to grips with the current realities which necessitate the total negation of the political protexia, elitist status quo and reinstating of unity in Israel — “what happens on your doorstep is like it happened on mine.” These current necessitate restoration of Jewish self-pride and spirituality in the minds, hearts and souls of masses of Jews in Israel and restoration of the sanctity of Jewish lives — the sanctity of those held both by enemies and by “allies.”
These are three points which this blog will keep harping on; again and again and again until there is change. MB