This may be my last posting before seder next week. And so here I wish everyone who is observing a Pesach kasher v’sameach!
Again, I assure my readers that I read your messages; I simply do not have time to respond to them all.
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It has become increasingly clear to me that those opposing judicial reform have labored mightily to lend the impression that they represent the Israeli people, or a good majority of them at any rate. They come out for demonstrations in impressive numbers and make a good deal of noise.
And then, then the elitist leftists who head various organizations and agencies make policy decisions that make it seem the whole organization or agency is on board, when that is not the case at all.
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The right-wing in Israel has been too quiet during this time. This must change without delay. People everywhere must be made aware of the tide of public opinion within the electorate that stands against the leftist positions.
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And so, dear friends, once again I urge you to read this through and circulate as widely as possible!!
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I want to start with something that both shocks and infuriates. Although, if we consider who is at the center of this story, we should not be shocked at all.
The title of the story: “Ehud Barak Explains his Plan to Take Down Israel’s Elected Government.”
Barak, a long-time leader in the Labor Party, held the position of prime minister from 1999 – 2001; his major policies were abysmal failures.
On Monday, Barak was in London and gave an interview at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), during which he spoke of a counterrevolution that is succeeding in Israel. Only 3.5% of the population is needed he says, if they will persist with boycotts, civil disobedience and protests in order to win. This is bottom up, while the government operates legally from the top down.
They already have 3.5% after only three months, and he says, “We will win. I am positive of it.”
See the video in which he makes these statements here:
And then, my friends, circulate this everywhere. He must be exposed.
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As I am writing, there is a massive rally in Tel Aviv in favor of judicial reform. Reporting is that there are tens of thousands voicing their support for judicial reform in this “Freedom March.”
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I share a stunning and heartening message put out on Tuesday by a large group of Air Force ground crews addressing the refusal of some few hundred reserve pilots to report for duty because of the judicial reform. This, too, paints a very different picture from the one leaders of the left-wing demonstrations would have us believe.
It was sent to Air Force Commander General Tomer Bar, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, but was addressed to the pilots (emphasis added):
“To make your aircraft useable, we work day and night, at every hour…
“When you climb into the aircraft with your flight gloves, our hands are wounded and freeze to death from the aircraft’s cold metal.
“All these years, we carried with pride the maintenance and arming of the aircraft. And we were the best soldiers we could be, even if we didn’t, like you, pass the flight school selections. But we always felt first-class [grade], together, for the people of Israel and the State of Israel.
“Today, after you have clarified that our vote is not equal to your vote, we are feeling second-class [grade]…
“And we’ll tell you a secret, our beloved pilots, each time we readied your aircraft it wasn’t really for you. It was for the people of Israel, the security of the State of Israel. Because we felt together, we thought we were one nation. We knew we were serving and loving the nation, unconditionally.
“And that’s the reason we will not be insubordinate like you, will not rebel or call for a military coup. We will maintain the necessary nobility of spirit and won’t allow political disagreements to enter our holiest sanctuary, the Israel Defense Forces.
“But we are calling on you to reverse your position at once, beg our forgiveness…
“And please, don’t tell us that with your insubordination you are saving democracy and defending the wholeness of the nation and the country because with your action you burned our votes. The army with all its soldiers must be kept at all costs outside any argument and dispute.
“And as to you, our dear commander, we call on you to be in charge…and to hastily create a fitting mechanism of deterrence and punishment, to guarantee that such things will never again happen for political reasons
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“As to those who refuse to end their insubordination and will not beg our forgiveness, we demand categorically that their flight wings be removed – they are not fit to serve with us, the soldiers of the Air Force technical array, to the benefit of the State of Israel.”
Right on! I salute these ground crews.
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“Pinchas Idan, Chairman of the Airports Authority Employees Committee, on Tuesday, admitted the strike he announced on Monday…was illegal. “I had to respect the chairman of the Histadrut…The Histradut is over us. But if I say that the strike was legal, I’d be lying.”
He suggested to passengers who had been affected: “Go to court, file a lawsuit against me and the Histadrut…”
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When last I wrote I spoke about the terrible turmoil in watching Netanyahu back down with regard to pushing the vote on the judicial reform now. I understood the idea that he was averting a civil war, and accepted the delay as long as it was just that: a delay until July and not a cancellation. It must go through by July.
However, as I track what is happening, there is a great deal that increases my unease: Negotiations are supposed to be taking place at the home of President Herzog, a mistake to begin with. But what I am reading is that Likud has one negotiating team, headed by Minister Ron Dermer. One negotiating team that apparently represents the full coalition, which has five parties – although it is called the Likud team. But the parties in the opposition each have their own team. Unless I am missing something, I see this as both very odd and very off-balance. I have yet to get answers.
What I picked up in the news today was that Herzog was meeting with the “judicial reform negotiators” from the Arab Knesset factions of Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al. Said the representative of Hadash-Tal (emphasis added):
“We oppose the transparent attempts to derail the protests. Broadening the democratic space is a worthy goal, but we will not agree to go backwards. This is the hour to establish a full and equal democracy and not suffice with returning to the status-quo.
“The situation where the Arab public suffers from systemic discrimination and where millions of Palestinians live under occupation is not democratic at its core. Democracy needs to anchor equality in its Basic Laws, [and] cancel legislation that discriminates against the Arab public, led by the Nation-State Law.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-735772
While not unexpected, this is very dangerous and very serious. What they are advocating is eliminating Israel as a Jewish State and making it a “state of all its citizens.” This must be followed carefully and fought fiercely.
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What are the odds that this will be the last posting before Pesach?
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© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
