“There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
And it is beyond painful to me how many there are who will not see in Israel today.
This posting will be brief and very much to the point, with more to follow shortly.
Yesterday, in the Knesset, ceremonies took place for the transition to a new government. Prior to the vote on the new coalition that had been presented by Yair Lapid, representatives of various parliamentary factions spoke.
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What I want to call your attention to is what was said by Monsour Abbas, head of the Ra’am party, which is in the new government – made the government possible.
Abbas began by speaking in Arabic. This is immediately very suspect. Why would he not speak in Hebrew so that all present in the Knesset plenum would understand? He was speaking to his fellow Arabs.
Each speaker had been alloted three minutes Abbas spoke for eight.
He declared: “We will reclaim the lands that were expropriated from our people, this is a national cause of the first degree.”
Appropriated lands? This man is an Islamist who does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. He was declaring the intention to work against Israel. And he is in the government. According to YNet, he referred to land in western Israel, which means he was not speaking of Judea & Samaria. I am working to secure a translation of Abbas’s full statement.
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At the end of his remarks, Abbas switched to Hebrew and uttered conciliatory remarks about improved communication between Arabs and Jews.
Betzalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist Party, observed angrily:
“So Abbas is once again putting on a spectacular show of hypocrisy, with a nationalistic speech in Arabic in which he says the truth; a speech full of soothing words in Hebrew intended for Jewish listeners who are blind and deaf, especially those who make themselves so.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307997
Smotrich gets it, and we are on the same page.
The question is how many others also get it.
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To further clarify matters, see these statements Abbas made yesterday in an interview, after having spoken in the Knesset (emphasis added):
“This government was established based on our will, and we will influence it at every moment. Today we have proven that the Arab community is a strong player in the political arena in Israel.
“This government is dependent on us and on our decision, and if there is a decision that contradicts our national principles and our religion we will not be there.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/308015
“Our national principles and our religion”: He’s an Islamist, I reiterate. He does not accept Israel as a Jewish state.
I warned about this in my last posting. It is insanity to predicate the existence of a government of Israel on an Islamist party. Any time he wishes to bring down the government, he can. Or, conversely, he can threaten to bring it down in order to bring the “right-wing” Bennett in line.
This is horrendous and unacceptable. Please absorb this situation.
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When Naftali Bennett spoke, immediately prior to his assuming the position of prime minister, he was heckled severely by members of the right-wing.
There was severe criticism of this heckling, as undemocratic and lacking in civility. But I’m going to surprise my readers, I think, when I confess that I had a degree of sympathy with the hecklers. Because something simply was not right.
Relying on an Islamist party was the most seriously offensive matter. But there were other concerns. I’ve had it from very reliable sources that when Bennett went to negotiate with Netanyahu to see if a right-wing coalition might be formed, he rejected every suggestion out of hand: he was not negotiating in good faith and understood from the get-go that, after pretending to negotiate with Netanyahu, it was fully his intention to forge a coalition that included the Ra’am party.
And now Bennett speaks about unity and bringing peace to the country. But he, along with Lapid, was the one who fomented hostility and unrest. A great deal does not sit easily on me, and I do not trust Bennett. Never trusted Lapid.
I’ve read comments about the Bennett government being “what the people wanted.” But that is simply invented nonsense: Likud had 30 mandates and Yamina only six. Has does someone who pulled down only six mandates end up as prime minister? Me thinks through a lot of finagling.
There is a great deal of enthusiasm about the fact that the new government is “diverse,” but that diversity does not impress me. I continue to long for a truly right-wing government because I believe that is what the country needs. Badly.
I want what is good for the country, and I do not believe this government is it. As long as they are in power, I wish them the good judgment and strength to avoid doing serious damage. But I do not wish the government length of days. Netanyahu has said he will work to bring it down as quickly as possible. I pray that he succeeds before concessions are made to the left, or there is too much indication of weakness on display. Our enemies are watching.
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Tomorrow a flag parade is scheduled. It was originally supposed to be held on Yom Yerushalayim and was cancelled when Hamas launched rockets towards Jerusalem.
It was re-scheduled for last week, but cancelled because the police commissioner was concerned about Arab violence. This was a very bad move: it sets a precedent that shows weakness. Netanyahu intervened and it went to the Security Cabinet which opted to have it. Consultations were held with the police, with regard to the route, and it is to be held tomorrow.
Hamas has already threatened to launch rockets again if it is held. And the Palestinian Authority has scheduled a “day of rage.” I believe it will be held – it MUST be held. But the day has potential to be very tense.
It is very offensive to our enemies, when Zionist youth dance with the Israeli flag. The parade will not go through the Damascus gate, but will approach it.
This is Bennett’s initiation, I think.
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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.
