Posted on 09/22/2005 8:47:56 PM PDT by anotherview
Attila Somfalvi
Says Bibi hurt Likud voters.
Mofaz Photo: Tzafrir Aviyov
Defense minister attacked his economic policy.
Netanyahu Photo: Hagai Aharon
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz called Thursday on Likud Central Committee members to reject the proposal to bring the party’s primary elections forward.
Mofaz, who spoke during a New Year’s toast, launched a scathing attack on former Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, “Bibi, if your battle (to push up the primaries) succeeds, you will be remembered as the person who destroyed Likud.”
When asked whether he would remain in the party should Prime Minister Ariel Sharon resign from it, the defense minister said, “A sane party does not cut its rule short, and we will continue to run the country. I am a Likud member and we will remain in the party. We have to wait and see what will happen on Monday (Central Committee convention).”
“The dismantling of Likud may result in the rise of the Labor Party to power, Mofaz said.
'We will be surprised if we win'
Mofaz also criticized Netanyahu’s economic policy, saying, “I want to say to Bibi: It is clear that the economic policy, which I was opposed to, has caused us severe damage. It caused damage in every corner, and hurt thousands of Likud voters.”
“I have spoken with several Likud activists in the past few days, and some of them object to bringing the primaries forward despite their support for Bibi, as such a move may lead to the end of Likud’s rule,” he said.
“We must stand united during next year’s general elections.”
Meanwhile, Likud Knesset Member Uzi Landau, who also supports early primary elections, said, “Sharon has become the (Theodore) Herzl of the Palestinian state; the visionary of the Palestinian state. He must be replaced. We must defeat the corrupt leadership.”
Sources close to the prime minister said they believe the proposal to push up the primaries may be rejected on Monday, but one source added, “We will be surprised if we win after all that has happened this past week.”
First Published: 09.22.05, 22:16 Latest Update: 09.22.05, 22:53
You love Netanyahu because he is an eloquent speaker. He was a lousy Prime Minister and he is putting his personal ambition ahead of what is good for his party or Israel as a whole. There was a reason that he lost to Sharon by a landslide in the last Likud primary just as there was a reason that he lost in a landslide to Barak when he stood for reelection. The right abandoned him then and brought down the government over Wye River and pulling out of Hebron. He isn't half the leader Prime Minister Sharon is.
Yes, Bibi speaks well. Let him be a spokesman but keep him away from the reigns of power.
What I gather is Likud is full of sore losers who are threatening to bolt if their chosen candidate fails to win. Why not just have the primary and then unify behind whoever wins it?
The split in Likud is ideological. I don't see it likely that the two conflicting ideologies will be able to remain together in the long term. When Prime Minister Begin accepted the idea of a Palestinian state (or at least self determination) in the territories he forever destroyed the idea of a "Greater Israel". Some in Likud still fail to realize that.
Most oustide of Israel also don't seem to remember that Likud was originally a coalition of center-right and rightist parties, not a unified movement. Those divisions have never fully disappeared.
As I said before, Binyamin Netanyahu's personal ambition and arrogance are what is driving this and he is trying to use this ideological split to his advantage. The great irony in this is that he can't win but likely now can only bring everyone down with him.
Prime Minister Sharon remains very popular. He forms a new party and that new party may well win the election. That, or Labor and Shinui defeat a divided Likud.
Ari Shavit lays it out flat:
"... Only then did I begin to understand that there were two distinct phenomena here. One is Netanyahu himself, and the other is hatred of Netanyahu, a crusade that is gradually taking center stage in our lives. I decided to ask myself the simplest question of all: Why is it that we hate Benjamin Netanyahu so much?
Is it because our security situation has reached unprecedented lows during his tenure? Is it because over 200 people have been killed in our streets and our buses and our shopping centers?
Oops, wrong government. All this happened while Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres were in charge. At the time, we just kept quiet. We didn't think it was so terrible. We, who now hate Netanyahu so much, never even considered the idea of hating Rabin and Peres because of their responsibility for the bloodshed. ...
So, do we hate Benjamin Netanyahu because his government hastily and recklessly adopted irreversible historic decisions with blatant disregard for proper procedure, not bothering to take account of the feelings of half the country, only bothering to receive Knesset approval after the fact? ...
Oops. That would be the Rabin and Peres governments. As for ourselves, we simply remained silent. We did not feel that proper procedure and fair democratic rules and proper public debate were so important. We, who hate Netanyahu so much because he is forcing his worldview upon us, did not even consider hating Rabin and Peres for the patronizing manner in which they pushed through such a fateful historic decision, forcing their worldview upon the entire Israeli public. ...
Thanks to our hatred of Netanyahu, we can convince ourselves that if we only beat up our prime minister a little harder, if we could only manage to break his political bones, if we could only vanquish him and get him out of our lives, then everything would revert to the simple, sweet life that once was. Once again, like in the spring and summer of 1992, and the autumn and winter of 1993, we would be able to breath in that exhilarating, heady aroma of the end of history, the end of wars, the end of the conflict. The intoxicating taste of the end of days. "
This is ridiculous. Nethanyahu is ambitious but Sharon is some kind of saint? Give me a break. Sharon who is widely believed to have done the Gaza withdrawal to deflect a likely indictment. Sharon whose cronies have already planned a casino in Gaza. Sharon whose punk colleagues bragged about breaking the bones of Jews because they opposed his policies. Yeah he is wonderful.
Begin never accepted a Palestinian state. His concept was autonomy for the Arabs in the territories, running their own affairs on the Municipal levels. He would never have done the Gaza punk out.
bump with no comment
What the Likud is now is a party that betrayed the voters to implement the Marxist destruction of Israel. Who cares if it survives the surgery?! That is like saying don't operate, you might destroy the cancer. Better to risk the destruction of a corrupt political party if you can save the nation it feeds on, and perhaps even the party too.
Bibi is a weenie. He gave up Hebron and took no action when the Tomb there was destroyed. Clinton repaid him for his appeasement by sending Carville and Begala to elect Barak. There are several others who could provide far better leadership. Also his wife Sarah is a psychopath. If he gains power again, she would likely do something else to torpedo his government within 6 months. If he is elected, it should be on condition that she would be institutionalized.
From my very Israeli perspective I can't disagree with a word you said. You've got it right.
I do NOT for one minute believe that getting out of an indictment. The rather left wing Attorney General who is not friend of the Prime Minister couldn't find enough evidence to substantiate an indictment. I don't believe for one minut eit has anything to do with casinos that likely will never be built. His "colleagues" expressed their own opinions. Those were not the opinions of the Prime Minister nor did he have anything to do with those statements.
Go ahead and sling mud all you like. It doesn't stick anymore than the left could make mud stick to Ronald Reagan in the U.S. This Prime Minister remains immensely popular with the public and remains (as always) unpopular with the Likud Central Committee. Never mind that he gave Likud it's best showing in an election ever (40 seats in the Knesset) while Netanyahu had the worst showing ever at 19 seats.
An excellent assessment of the Prime Minister's performance was posted to FR yesterday.
He did not fire them and let it be known that police brutality against Jews engaging in civil disobedience would be overlooked. He is not a great leader, he was a great General. A great leader does not adopt the policy he ran against one year ago. That is a triangulator, a guy who really believes in nothing. I am not a big fan of Bibi so I have nothing to say for or against him. I can only speak of Sharon who is worse than Clinton. Clinton for all his faults never gave kicked Americans out of their homes to give a victory to terrorists.
Your thoughts on this?
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