Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Takes Office, Olmert Era Ends

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Commentary;

Finally, at long last, we have a Prime Minister. Perhaps, not the one we wanted, but at least not a lame-duck who nearly handed the country over in a “fire sale” and who now returns to private life to face a myriad of charges of political corruption and other misbehaviors.

Will Netanyahu be the same prime minister who gave away 80% of Hevron to murderers, signed Wye and got conned out of coming home with Jonathan Pollard and later voted with and helped facilitate Sharon, Olmert and Livni’s expulsion of Jews from their homes? Will his Prime Ministership be reflective of his demotion of Moshe Feiglin and others from their democratically won primary Knesset list positions, his fawning over Ehud Barak for defense minister and his rejection of Yaakov Katz and the National Union in forming his coalition? Will he finally be able took look a US president square in the eye without sweat-beads forming above his upper lip? In short, will Bibi finally display a firm Jewish backbone?

Or will he be the Bibi who made statements, such as this one from back in January, after Operation Cast Lead ended and before the elections which resulted in his forming a government?:

“We’re not going to redivide Jerusalem, or get off the Golan Heights, or go back to the 1967 boundaries….We won’t repeat the mistake…of unilateral retreats to merely vacate territory that is then taken up by Hamas or Iran.”

How the Netanyahu government will turn out is, as yet to be seen, but rest assured that this blog, as well as blogosphere will be watching closely and won’t hesitate to document his equivocations and back-slidings. MB

Here are a few reports which give flavor to the installation of the Netanyahu government (regime?):

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Takes Office

Ministers and Senior Officials of the 32nd Government of Israel

UTJ Signs Coalition Agreement With Likud, by Matthew Wagner, Gil Hoffman (Jerusalem Post)

Compromise Reached on Conversion Reforms, by Hana Levi Julian (Israel National News)

Sa’ar Takes Post as Education Minister

Shalom Backs Down and Enters Government, by Gil Hoffman (Jerusalem Post)

Choice of Steinitz as Finance Minister Raises Eyebrows, by Sharon Wrobel (Jerusalem Post)

Peres Lists Netanyahu’s Tasks: Saudi Plan, Gilad Shalit, etc., by Hillel Fendel (Israel National News)

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