If the peace is not an option then the war is the only alternative.
The war is always “all or nothing” approach.
If you gamble long enough, you are guaranteed to end up with the latter!
Putin annexed Crimea - citing historic claims. Russia lost hundreds of thousands a century ago in the Crimean War to keep it
Netanyahu announced to annex the West Bank. Some 2000 years ago it was Jewish
Putin was hit with sanctions by the US
Netanyahu will continue to get billions of dollars of US aid
3
Perhaps this vote should be a referendum on how far America's erstwhile blind support for Israel can go.
Netanyahu's outrageous meddling in American politics, his insatiable, arrogant demands for American money, diplomatic cover and lives, his incessant corruption and lies and his untenable abuse of the Palestinian people have been encouraged by American politicians' silence.
Meanwhile, the American people have become increasingly disgusted with his right wing pandering, which is becoming more and more akin to kleptographic, racist demagoguery.
If the Israeli people want to continue down the path that Netanyahu is cleaving, it is their decision. Whether Americans want to follow obediently behind them is ours.
And the answer, increasingly, is no.
6
Benny Gantz would no doubt be an improvement over Bibi because just about anybody would. He would make no difference as to Israeli-Palestinian relations.
6
This column is the most depressing one I have read in a good long while, and it has had a lot of competition for that status. What more could an antisemite want than Netanyahu and the righists and the super-Orthodox?
2
Looks like "lie, cheat, and steal," beats "ask what you can do for your country."
2
I am committed to the BDS movement to the extent that I won't even by rye bread at the grocery. Until the Israeli voters throw Benny out of office, I will oppose all US financial and/or military aid to Israel. I actually get nauseous watching Trump and our Congress members, Senators and Reps, kissing Netanyahu's behind and pretending that Israel is treating the Palestinians just fine, it's OK that Israel has nukes with no oversight by the IAEA or any other outside agency, that Israel has never signed the International WMD Treaty, that a large percentage of American voters don't support our government's hypocritical defense of Israel as a 'democracy' and a trustworthy ally.
4
No matter who wins the Israeli elections this week, the Israeli voters are not basing their decisions solely on the basis of American approval. Not even the approval of American Jews; no doubt they remember that American Jews were unable to get millions of their European cousins refuge in America. And they know that more Jews are going to need refuge very soon. While some people like you, Mr. Cohen, seem to feel that the Israelis exist to cater to your ideas of virtuous behavior, no one there, not Bibi, not Tzipi Livni, not Benny Gantz, not even the Israeli Jews who are driving Arabs to the polls, are going to watch their children hit by rockets or have cars slammed into them at bus stops. Do you really care about the Palestinians, who are going to start dying in Gaza when the clean water runs out next year? Then tell them they lost the Israeli left somewhere in their campaign of violence, arson and murder of civilians. That the rest of the world, including important parts of the Arab world and their UN acolytes, are in no position to keep supporting the Palestinians economically. The Israelis will be offering, no matter who ends up as Prime Minister, health care, clean water plants, sewage treatment plants, power plants, in return for security measures. It's the best offer the Palestinians are going to get, no matter who is in charge in Israel.
8
I have been worried about the moral degradation of Israeli leadership for years now. We still have cultural memories of oppression for centuries, including the horror of the Holocaust. This is why so many Jews fought for the rights of the underdog when we were no longer underdogs ourselves, and still fight for those rights.
I am not saying that the Palestinians are completely free of blemish. They are people too. But that's part of the point. The way that Israel fights to keep down Palestinian underdogs suggests to me that many Israeli Jews have forgotten the moral clarity of helping the helpless regardless of religion or ancestry.
Yes, I very much want Israel to survive. I am worried that the current path will be survival of Jews at the expense of our values at a time when we do not need to sacrifice them.
4
"He who fights dragons will eventually become a dragon himself." --Nietzsche
2
He would be a nice king if israel was a constitutional monarchy.
In the two millennia Diaspora, the World’s Jews were effectively stateless. They lived within but were never of the nation-states that gave them a hyphenated political identity. Thus , whether they were seen by others as German-, Iranian-, or
Hungarian-Jews, their genuine self-confessed identity as strangers in a foreign land was a self referential tribal “people of the book.”
In 1948 the world gave The Jewish nation—a people and
culture—a state of their own.
In just 71 years that nascent democratic nation-state is very close to becoming the classic European Nation-State defined by blood, soil, mythic history, language, and religion. Only Jews acceptable to the state religion—born of A Jewish mother—will be citizens.
All others will be aliens in a foreign land. Will the final solution for the State of Israel’s Arab citizens be the same ethnic cleansing once perpetrated on European-Jews?
The grandchildren of European Holocaust survivors will very soon decide this question for themselves in a democratic election. It is possible but not inevitable that these Israei citizens will ,through their ballots, ape the European oppressors that made the creation of State of Israel possible.
2
"a country ... that rose from the ashes of the Nazi crematories."
Well, in 1947 also Stalin was in favor of the UN Parition Plan of Palestine. But not because of the Nazi crematories. Stalin is not known to have had sympathy with the Jewish suffering.
The notion, the establishment of the State of Israel was due to the Nazi Holocaust is historical nonsense. - Roger Cohen seems to believe in that.
It's pretty clear that Israel is going in the direction of Apartheid South Africa.
Unlike the Apartheid regime, however, Israel will probably pull off a single state solution, with non-Israeli Palestinians confined to West Bank and Gaza Strip homelands and only settlement areas annexed.
The Israelis will likely be smart enough to never incorporate the West Bank Palestinian areas and security areas into Israel, preferring to leave them in occupation limbo, while gradually annexing only desired real estate as required.
Kicking the can down the road has worked for Israel for the last 50 years and there is no reason to think they'll give it up. Two state solution: fat chance.
3
Netanyahu's 'trump' card is making the West Bank settlements permanent. This flies in the face of international law. Bibi knows one thing; as long as Trump and Kushner are in power, he can make a reasonable promise to do this. 20 months.
2
It would be great if Netanyahu was sent off into retirement. I'm hoping that the margin will be provided by the Mizrahi Jews voting for Gantz, but they have voted Likud for years. It is never mentioned by the author, but the majority of Israelis were driven from Arab lands (or their parents were) starting in the 40s. They remember what it was like to live under the boot of Arab dictatorships, and have voted accordingly.
Of course the Israelis have integrated the several hundred thousand refugees from Arab lands into Israel. The Arabs, in contrast, keep the refugees from their failed wars locked in refugee camps for several decades. I bet they wish they could vote too.
2
Israel annexed the West Bank in June of 1967 when it moved its de-facto eastern border to the Jordan River. The West Bank Arabs have been disenfranchised Israeli citizens ever since. Making it official would simply acknowledge the four-decades-old facts on the ground.
It would also acknowledge that Israel is a bi-national, bi-lingual nation.
1
Why is a "two-state" solution the only solution? Seems to me Netanyahu has done an excellent job and should be prime minister again. He has presided over the longest period of peace, Judea and Samaria has not been given away, and he is the right leader, at the right time. There never was anything ever called a Palestinian, so maybe, it is time for the far left to put a stop to this ruse? Giving a fake people fake hope isn't helpful.
4
Netanyahu's most recent gambit is most frustrating because it is predicated, in good measure, on some notion that some alleged deity, writing through people who lived perhaps 2500 years ago, can so profoundly adversely influence current day Israeli policy. The Muslims also have their understanding from their own deity as to who should own and control the land. Neither side's religious claims are better than the other's and the sooner we recognize that, the quicker we can get to a more rational based decision making process.
1
Response to @Michael
You object to a solution that "gives" Palestinians less than half of the land of "Palestine."
----
It depends on where you draw the border around what you call the "Palestinian" people. Do you draw it around the West Bank, or pre-1967 Israel, or pre-1948 Israel, or the Palestine Mandate which includes all of today's Israel/West Bank, AND Jordan? The Palestinian people in Jordan are the majority there and have their state.
.
There are large Palestinian populations in southern Lebanon and Syria.
.
Should all these populations have their own state?
Wouldn't a better solution be to have Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt give some land for a Palestinian state? This is a problem whose causes go back centuries. To arbitrarily use 1967 or 1948 as the starting date, obscures a complex history and obstructs a just solution in the present.
4
@HH There has never, ever been an Arab people known as Palestinians. Ever. However, in 1922, the British cut away 87% of the Jewish homeland for an Arab homeland. That land is called Jordan.
5
Power shouldn’t be the end goal but simply a way to achieve some greater good (or perceived good). Different ideas are healthy for a country or a society, change is normally good.
In BiBi as in Trump there’s a thirst for power without any clear ideology. Some people may find the lack of an ideology refreshing, but I find it worrisome. The rise of ‘us vs. them’ mentality is bad enough when leaders use it as a rallying cry to stir their people to repel an external threat but when leaders seek to divide their own citizens with a fear of ‘the other’ it’s dangerous. In Israel I’m not Jewish enough, in America I’m not a real American. Hopefully Israel will this opportunity check BiBi’s power grab. If not then I fear Israel will become a Jewish version of Turkey.
1
Netanyahu's projected passage from prime minister to president sounds like a lesson learned from Vladimir Putin. It's truly disgusting when our supposed leaders' strongest motivation for election is to stay out of jail.
2
Roger, Israel is a humanistic, lawful, democracy as much as any country in the world, with all of its warts.
Why do you feel it necessary to attack the Prime Minister who was elected by its people for a longer term than any other PM in Israel's history? Do you really know better than they do, sitting on the sidelines, having never served in the army to stop Palestinian terrorism or had your son or daughter put at such risk? Their experience tells them that the Palestinians are not yet ready to be trusted. But you don't even mention the main reason for Netanyahu's success - Israelis trust him to keep them safe from Palestinian terrorism. And you don't hold Palestinians responsible for their terrorism - when that is the very key to the election. Why do you avoid the central issue for the Israeli people - security, from West Bank terror attacks, Gaza Palestinians storming the Israeli border, firing rockets into central Israel, sending incendiary kites to create ecological disasters and foul the air, Hezbollah sitting with 100,000 missiles aimed at every Israeli city?
The key equation - If the Arabs put down their arms, there will be peace; if Israel put down its arms, they would be destroy.
Roger, please answer these questions.
9
I have a high degree of sympathy for the Palestinians. But you can't loose 8 wars, offered 96% of what you wanted in 2000 peace accord, and then hold out for more and walk away.
The 2 state solution was mortally wounded when Arafat walked out of the 2000 negotiations, and officially died when the Wall stopped the intifada.
Per the Saudis: "If Arafat does not accept what is available now, it won't be a tragedy; it will be a crime."
11
That “96%” figure is a straight-up lie. It was 96% of what’s left after you remove about 40% of the West Bank incorporated into (annexed) Jerusalem by Israel after 1967.
1
The rise of antisemitism in the region (and around the world) is a reaction to Netanyahu's cruel stance and treatment of the Palestinians, not the other way around.
The best way forward for Israel is to keep the status quo until the world is no longer addicted to Middle Eastern oil. It won't take another 50 years to happen.
The US has been a mixed blessing for Israel, when looking at the bigger picture of having enabled the Saudi's to toxify Islam, setting the Middle East on fire etc.
2
I understand how and why Trump became President and and continues to retain the support of his base, 30% or so the American electorate. I sincerely believe most, if not all, of his base hold negative views about non-whites. Many of his supporters, I daresay, are undereducated, especially about history, other cultures and science. All of these factors make Trump's base vulnerable to manipulation by lies, especially those intended to arouse fears, whether of black gangsters or brown immigrants qua terrorists, drug smugglers or job-takers.
But for the life of me, I do not understand Netanyahu's continuing popularity in Israel. He seems to have a base of support as large if not larger than Trump's and as vulnerable to manipulation through fear. Israelis' fears of their Palestinian neighbors may have been understandable in the past, but they should have abated to some extent by now. But if Netanyahu's succeeds electorally tomorrow, their fears in this regard will have have metastasized to a stage whereby willful moral blindness, if not rot, has set in the Israeli body politic.
@Jamie Nichols You won't see it in American newspapers or television news programs, but there is an attempted terrorist attack at least 2-3 times a week in Israel, and there are fatalities. How would you like to live under the gun like that?
7
It doesn`t matter which of the far-right candidates is elected - there is no left in Israel - Greater Israel will be created - international law will be disregarded wit US backing. "Liberal" columnists have known this from the start but continue to pretend that they are interested in peace talks. Palestinians are powerless and Saudi and its allies will do nothing to stop it.
2
@Dominick Eustace Under international law, the US should give up Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and all of the Southwest, as well as any of the Indian territory. Of course, London needs to pull out of the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
5
To @Michael
It depends on where you draw the border around what you call the "Palestinian" people. Do you draw it around the West Bank, or pre-1967 Israel, or pre-1948 Israel, or the Palestine Mandate which includes all of today's Israel/West Bank, AND Jordan? The Palestinian people in Jordan are the majority there and have their state.
.
There are large Palestinian populations in southern Lebanon and Syria.
.
Should all these populations have their own state?
4
The world’s countries are filled with these hard-right, selfish, extremists as their heads. It’s people care about their own comfort, not about the destruction going on, both in governance and in the environment.
Our world is in deep trouble.
4
Netanyahu has done to Israel's world reputation what Trump has done for America. But I have confidence in Both Democracies to succeed.
27
@tom Just because your candidate did not win does not mean these Democracies did not succeed, although the US is a Democratic Republic, and Israel is a Parliamentary government.
6
The parallels between King Bibi and El Trumpo are numerous. A central part of the problem facing Israel may the exodus of so called left wingers to the United States and elsewhere, leaving the King a solid political majority.
Americans do not enjoy the luxury of going elsewhere for better opportunities, though. The situation here is equally dangerous, perhaps more so. If El Trumpo's base has their way in 2020 we could soon see a mandate allowing only evangelical Christians to vote.
1
This is a decision on whether to continue on a negative path or not.
It will be a litmus test for the level sanity or insanity in the world.
3
Netanyahu may represent a clear move away from Democracy in Israel, but let's not place the blame only on him and pretend that Gantz is an answer to the rightward shift in the country. Gantz offers no vision for peace or change with Palestinians. While he says that he won't join with Netanyahu, he also makes it clear that he will never include Palestinian parties in any coalition he forms. He repeats the mantra that peace is not possible and that Israel must maintain control of the occupied territories for the foreseeable future. He maintains that Israel must maintain security control in the West Bank even after an agreement which undermines the possibility of two state. He speaks against isolated settlements, but no the settlement enterprise itself. He brags of his attacks on Gaza and talks about the need for more violence. He represents change in style but not substance. Placing hope in him is to bury our heads for longer in the illusion of Israeli desires for two states.
29
Mr. Cohen's title says it clearly - the Netanyahu era is undermining Israeli democracy. Israel's new 'basic law': Israel is the nation-state of only the Jewish people. Israel's drift under Netanyahu toward one state with millions of disenfranchised Palestinians. If that happens - BDS, sign me up. The voters of Israel can choose what they want, but I will choose to not support 3 billion dollars per year in aid from my country to theirs.
76
@earlyman A successful implementation of BDS will hurt the Palestinians, who rely on aid from Israel, even more than the Israeli general populace. Sanctions always have the unintended consequences of hurting those who they're suppose to help...just look at the historical repercussions of U.S. sanctions.
10
@Stone
No pain, no gain.
4
@Stone, The Palestinians will survive, but a worldwide BDS movement will take all of the wind out of Benny's sails and wake the Israelis up to the fact that their governmental policies on a lot of issues are not supported by the majority of the American people, or billions of others around the world. Mr. Netanyahu has to go...
9
I'm hoping that Gantz wins out over Netanyahu. There must be a way without pandering to the extreme right. Netanyahu still has Rabin's blood on his hands by how he fomented violence against the late P.M. I will never forgive him for that. He and Trump were made for each other.
46
@Jill O Rabin fomented violence against himself by disenfrachising almost half the population and ignoring their very real fears and concerns. Telling people you're not their prime minister and they should go spin like propellers when they fear for their lives was a stupid and dangerous thing to do.
3
Israel has had near mythological meaning and it too, like the US, was seen as an arbiter of justice, human rights, the triumph of goodness over the depravity of violence, destruction and evil. These myths, these identities, these ideas had grounding in some of the actions both nations took, and inspired millions of their citizens also act with honor, decency and compassion.
But now the myth of the both Israel and the United States is shattered as citizens watch the countries they believed in descend into greed, amorality, incompetence, emptiness, selfishness, and violence. Israel and America risk their peoples failing to believe in them because of these narcissistic rulers and elite enablers, and then what?
72
@Barbara
"Israel has had near mythological meaning ... like the US"
There is difference. The European settlers in America didn't claim they were returning to the land of their Biblical forefathers.
3
@Barbara
Many of these comments are truly out in left field, and at best, have no relation to the realities of the Israeli democratic vitality and morality, even as evidenced in this current election.
I suppose it is a crime these days to proudly defend one's country from murderers at the gates, inc Iran now controlling the northern and SW borders of Israel.
I especially am entertained by Jill O, who blithely claims that Bibi played a role in the Rabin murder 25 years ago.
5
Thanks for writing this, Roger. Of the 12 political parties in tomorrow's vote, only 3 propose a 2-state solution. The rest are hard right. Even Gantz, of the Blue and White, has not made clear his stance on Palestine.
But at least he is speaking of morality--something that should be a part of all governments. Neither the Torah or secular law condone dishonesty, theft, fraud or murder, something Israeli policy has permitted under Netanyahu.
Just because immigrants have occupied Palestinian land, and now want to annex it, does not make these actions legal or ethical. The U.N. has asked Israel, twice, to return and remain inside its original boundaries. They have refused.
It's easy to see the parallels between Trump and Netanyahu--both criminals trying to stay out of jail by staying in office, who flippantly defy the law and are supported by extremist, racist bases.
It's more difficult to understand that people of the diaspora, persecuted and killed for their religion, now want to do the same to Palestinians, and further afield, Iranians.
They, or their grandparents, know the horror of losing everything, of persecution, of war, so why this group wants to inflict the same on Palestinians is puzzling. Their memories can't be that short.
37
@Lilou
If only 3 out of 12 Israeli political parties accept the "two-state" solution, maybe it is time to stop the ruse? First, the far left adopts the plight of the "Palestinian", a people who never existed in the first place. Then, the far left wants to give them a home. They have a home. It is called Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. That is where "Palestinians" are from, why not ask those countries why they are no longer welcome?
7
@Lilou When was there ever "Palestinian land?"
7
Israel is an excellent example of the weakness of parliamentary democracy. When no one party can muster a clear majority, small, often extreme parties become the marginal support necessary to form a majority. The price those parties exact for support is influence far in excess of their representation in the country. Italy has often suffered from this dynamic as did France under the Fourth Republic. Sadly, Brexit may possibly produce a similar situation in Great Britain.
The population of Israel is relatively secular, yet because of its parliamentary fragmentation, right-wing ultra-religious parties wield huge power. For all our problems, we are generally spared that, Ralph Nader's candidacy in Florida in 2000 giving us a foretaste of fragmentation's unintended consequences.
75
when carefully constructed, like in Germany, parliamentary systems can avoid fragmentation by having minimum percent qualifications. in other words, for example, any party must exceed 8% of the vote in order to have any Representatives. This avoids the issue of small party fragmentation.
12
@Steve Fankuchen--disagree. I wish we had proportional representation in the U.S. Those running have to win a certain (low) percentage of the vote to win seats in their country's Parliaments, but they work. Many European countries have this system. Yes, coalitions can be formed among those having fewer seats in Parliament, but fortunately, the majority of European countries shuns any far right policies (despite what you may read in U.S. newspapers). It beats the two-party system in the U.S., where neither party represents voters' values.
8
@Steve Fankuchen
Are you familiar enough with the system to imply that the parliamentary systems in Britain and israel are not democratic?
Elections which include lively debate and representation and which often require coalitions of relatively like-minded parties?
If only the US had multiple parties to produce this kind of diverse, vibrant dialogue.
3
It hard to draw parallels from this election to America, not just because of regional dynamics, but because of the mystifying Israeli parliamentary system, which when I recently checked appears to have something like 47 major political parties for 5.8 million voters.
Still, there's Netanyahu and Trump, and parallels between those two are impossible to miss. Netanyahu may be much smarter than Trump, and apparently is a voracious reader and a student of history, when Trump reads nothing and studies nothing, but both are profoundly destructive, narcissistic, amoral, corrupt, and opportunistic, both will do absolutely anything to ensure they maintain political power, and both appeal only to their base while vilifying everyone else in their countries.
Liberal democracy is either under attack, or entirely failing just about everywhere, whether in Europe, North America, or South America. With the collapse of Israeli Labor and the other major left parties, it appears that Ganz is one of the last major representative of liberal democracy in Israel who has a chance to actually compete against Netanyahu, and even possibly defeat him. It is for this reason that as an American I'm watching this election.
Despite regional dynamics, one constant is that the far-right continues to gain ground almost everywhere. If Netanyahu loses and Ganz wins it certainly doesn't mean Trump will lose, but it will at least mean that the politics of vilification and division has suffered a real loss.
134
@Robert B
Netanyahu tries, in his own way, to do what he believes is in the best interests of his country. Trump has no interest in that at all: he is motivated by greed (promotion of his brand) and raw lust for power. This is a fundamental and important distinction.
5
Bibi's election eve promise to annex the West bank is tantamount to #45's campaign promise to build the wall and make Mexico pay for it. I'd like to think the Israelis are smarter than the minority popular vote that elected our national nightmare.
25
"It may be too much to ask of Israel, in its harsh neighborhood, to be a “light unto nations.” But it must surely stand for something more ennobling than graft."
Some day someone will figure out why the world is now edging toward a visceral tribalism where nothing really matters other than allegiance to the local clan. Perhaps it's the defensive response of the natural world to centuries of human abuse, a subliminal circling of the wagons. We desperately pretend that everything is disconnected and individualized in order not to feel the collective pain.
One can only hope that democratic institutions everywhere survive the onslaught. But that seems especially important for Israelis, living as they do in a locale where the dominant grouping of clans is traditionally authoritarian and historically unfriendly. Even if you win all the neighborhood skirmishes the constant need for vigilance becomes internally corrosive. Being rich and militarily strong cannot prevent internal decay.
The perception of a faltering Israeli morality also feeds a growing incidence of global anti-Semitism that feels less restraint in the light of shabby and hypocritical treatment of Israel's Palestinian population. The founding idealism of Israel kept anti-Semitism off balance and ashamed.
Bibi may succeed politically by embracing Donald Trump, but he is not among reliable friends. Trump is appeasing the American evangelical right, for whom Israel is only a convenient pawn in an apocalyptic fantasy.
90
@woofer Pick up a history book, the world has always been tribal, and always will.
3
@woofer
Very good points, well stated. Spread your message.
3
I am a firm believer in term limits. I remember a time when Netanyahu couldn’t win an election. Now he can’t lose. And with the economy humming and Trump showering gifts, he won’t.
Maybe he has been good for Israel. Objectively I suppose he has been. But he has wrought havoc on diaspora Jews. The Jewish community here in America is divided on Israel more so than anytime in my life. It’s not all Netanyahu’s fault, but he’s a big part of it.
On the other hand, the Palestinians don’t want peace either. They want Israel. If Israel withdrew from the West Bank tomorrow, thousands of missiles would follow in short order. And what kind of government would form there? Would it be a Democracy? It sure isn’t now. Would it be chaotic as it is in Gaza? How is it that people like Roger Cohen think that all problems would be solved if Israel were only to end the occupation?
I actually think Israel should annex 5 miles into the West Bank as a buffer, and relinquish the rest. The country is way to narrow in the middle as it is, making its major cities much too vulnerable to attack.
I also think Jordan should contribute some land to a Palestinian State. Jordan, which is over 50% Palestinian, was part of historic Palestine, before the British gave it away to the Hashemite kingdom in 1922. Why shouldn’t they give up some territory? They can certainly afford it given the vast amount of Palestine it already has.
Someone had to start looking at the bigger picture here.
67
That Netanyahu uses Trump in ads and speeches in the final days to shore up his voting block speaks volumes about the direction he intends to take Israel's democracy.
4
In a democracy the electorate rightly gets to choose who is elected. Generally that electorate does not consists of foreign-based members of the "expert" class. In a democracy the electorate always gets what it deserves. The electorate is always wiser then any single pundit.
3
I suggest the contenders for Isreal's leadership need to express their positions on 2 very basis subjects:
1) International law.
2) Human rights.
8
There should be a 5 state solution.
.
Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt should contribute land - not necessarily contiguous - to form a "Palestinian" entity.
.
Remember, before 1948, Arabs in that region called themselves - Southern Syrians.
7
There is no two state solution. Islamists desire the destruction of Israel. Israel needs to remain strong and not capitulate to murderous terrorists.
10
"It's time for Benny Gantz."
Maybe. It's certainly past time for Netanyahu to go. Corrupt to the bone, with an arrogant self-entitled family acting above the law of the land.
Sound familiar? Cold be a modern version of "Game of Thrones" -- House of Saud, House of Trump, House of Maduro, House of Netanyahu, (add your favorites here).
Seems things besides cream have floated to the top.float.
9
You failed to touch on the prophecy that in the last days, such a man through lies and false promises will bring Isreal to destruction.
6
It would be difficult to maintain respect for a country who elected a leader who doesn't really believe in democracy. The Israelis are marching towards apartheid, and that didn't end well, but it did have a lot of Republican support.
12
@Jim Dennis
If Israel were an apartheid state, I, for example, would not be allowed to work for a Jewish newspaper or live in a Jewish neighbourhood or own a home. The real apartheid is in Lebanon, where there is a law that bans Palestinians from working in over 50 professions. Can you imagine if the Knesset passed a law banning Arabs from working even in one profession? The law of Israel does not distinguish between a Jew and an Arab.
Khaled Abu Toameh (journalist, Arab citizen of Israel)
4
The ‘two-state’ delusion again?
The Arabs now identifying as Palestinian have made it perfectly clear that they cannot be trusted with independent statehood. Is there any doubt that Arabs...themselves the descendants of imperialist invaders, colonists, and 20th century illegal economic migrants to the British Mandate....are still trying to win the war they started 70+ years ago, and LOST?
And let’s not pretend that Jordan...the defacto Arab Palestinian state....doesn’t occupy 80% of the territory formerly referred to as ‘Palestine’...completely judenfrei. In other words, the two state solution already exists.
Land for no peace? Been there, done that, got over 20,000 Hamas rockets and a terrorist base camp on Israel’s southern border. The last thing Israel needs is yet another terrorist base camp to the east, aka an independent state capable of importing weapons of mass destruction.
No. Like many other populations around the world, ‘limited autonomy’ is what the Arab Palestinians shall have and... after a century of Arab terror wars perpetrated against the descendants of indigenous Jews...it’s more than they deserve.
13
Netenyahu's Israel is a carbon copy of Trump's America, though the former came first! Netenyahu is another 'leader' (comparable to Putin) who loves being able to exploit Trump's narcissism to get his way, something he was unable to do with Obama, whom he and most Israelis hate and whom he tried to 'defeat' for a second term even without directly being the opposing candidate in the U.S. elections!
7
Bibi will bury the Two State Solution, and with it, all hopes for Israel's seat among the family of nations.
9
@NDGryphon
It's the Palestinians who buried the 2-state solution. They have never been interested in having their own state. If they were interested, they would have declared independence in 1948. Instead, they asked for union with Jordan. Palestinians don't care about having an independent state. They only care about destroying Israel.
4
@NDGryphon
The essence of what you write has been said repeatedly about the Jews over the last 3000 years.
Your prediction will end up as irrelevant as the others.
2
Both Israel and America await the crowning of our dictators for life, God help us all!
7
"“Moral” is not a word Netanyahu can utter with a straight face."
Why? His buddy, our liar-in-chief, can utter that with two straight faces. See his tweet on Biden?
Reading words like "speaking about a corrupt man who is destroying the country" and "the master of division who has increasingly split (fill in the blank" into rival tribes", I wonder if this a column about Israel and Netanyahu or about the US and Trump?
9
American Jews of my generation have always known that if things got bad for us here we had a refuge in Israel. Until Trump, that was purely hypothetical. Antisemitism had faded from public view, and Jews had nothing to fear from our fellow Americans.
Now two things have changed: Under Trump the neo-nazis have felt empowered to crawl out from under their rocks, and Israel has tuned away from the pluralism and idealism that could make a non-Orthodox or secular American liberal Jew – the majority here – feel welcome there.
Accusations from the more subtle antisemites of the American Left notwithstanding, we never had conflicting loyalties. We love our Constitutional democracy, and embracing Israel’s too required no compromise of our patriotism.
Netanyahu and Trump must go, and their electoral defeats must be not just personal but institutional. Our founding fathers and Israel’’s pioneers, who rose from the ashes of the Holocaust with a vision, are watching.
12
I am really surprised that all the forces of democracy had given in to this guy. He is creating a more volatile situation. He is doing this not to solve any problem rather continue to prolong the issue so that he can use that to win election. What is so different from what the South African had experienced under the apartheid? He is creating a modern day apartheid in Israel. This will not in any way reduce the tensions.
3
@Abu Abdul-Quader
Irshad Manji also asks:
“Would an apartheid state award its top literary prize to an Arab? Israel honored Emile Habibi in 1986, before any intifida might have made the choice politically shrewd. Would an apartheid state encourage Hebrew-speaking schoolchildren to learn Arabic? Would road signs throughout the land appear in both languages? (Even the proudly bilingual Canada doesn't meet that standard.) Would an apartheid state be home to universities where Arabs and Jews mingle at will, or apartment blocks where they live side by side? Would an apartheid state bestow benefits and legal protections on Palestinians who live outside of Israel but work inside its borders? Would human rights organizations operate openly in an apartheid state? They do in Israel. In fact, every year the prime minister responds on the record to the report of Israel's leading human rights group.”
4
If you look at the last 70 years the Palestinian status quo has been nothing but terrorism, instability & war. Israel moved out of Gaza more than a decade ago. It has been rewarded with constant attacks emanating from a territory where the infrastructure of mayhem & destruction — rockets, tunnels and the like — is the only growth industry. Hamas doesn't want peace. They've always chosen violence. Always. Imagine a scenario where the Arabs won the 1948 war they initiated against Israel. What would have happened? Here's what Arab League's Secretary-General Azzam Pasha promised would happen: "This will be a war of extermination & a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres & the Crusades." How can Israel negotiate with that kind of mentality? They can't. Palestinians have had a chance for peace many times. They're where they are today because they're leadership is committed to terror. The so called "Peace Process" is a fraud & the people who have pushed it are self-deluded charlatans. In the past 70 years trillions have been spent trying to solve this problem. We've engaged in horrifying wars with no end in sight because of our involvement in the "Peace Process". What do we have to show for it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The Israeli left only promises more of the same. Netanyahu is going to win because he's a realist. He sees the conflict in black and white terms. In a country that is surrounded by enemies this type of attitude wins elections.
11
Fortunately the Israeli voters won't care one whit with regard to Cohen's opinions. I love this - "The country’s basic law that was passed last year declared Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people alone, despite the fact that Arab citizens make up a fifth of the population." Can you name an Arab or Muslim country where Jews are welcome, heck, where they're allowed to even live and worship? I suggest that Cohen move to the Gaza border or to Gaza itself or Libya.
10
@Bob
Regardless of who is expressing the opinion that morality matters, I hope you’re mistaken in your belief that voters in Israel don’t give one whit about morality. Shouldn’t Israel, of all places, be better than other countries where minorities are abused?
4
Bibi says Israel is “the nation-state, not of all its citizens, but only of the Jewish people,”...How can his position represent Jewish values?
9
It's long been obvious that the concept of righteousness as a paramount feature of Jewish identity has been turned into something like a joke by Bibi and his Likudniks. As a Jewish American I take no pleasure in saying that Trump makes me embarrassed to be an American while Netanyahu make me ashamed to be a Jew.
comment posted on 4/8 at 1:05 AM
13
“The vote is about the nature of Israeli democracy ...” says Cohen. Maybe. But insofar as Israel is a Jewish state, the vote would also appear to be about Jewish/ Judaism itself ... what this is in basic essence. I’m talking about the People of the Covenant for the sake of the world, with the word “Jewish.” Not too long ago someone wrote a “comment” to a NYT “opinion” as re evangelical “Christians” ... that they could follow Trump or they could follow Jesus, but they couldn’t do both. In my view one could say the same about Netanyahu and the essence of Judaism, so remarkably ethical in its mission for worldwide Shalom. Disingenuously borrowing the sacred for the sake of private interest and gain is dangerous for a nation because of being a lie that invites chaotic misery.
4
Netanyahu, like Trump, is corrupt and has no character. Both are historical aberrations the equivalent of a mad king from the Middle Ages.
Good riddance to both of them, hopefully they’ll both end up in prison.
10
There were people who made the same predictions as Mr. Cohen when Menachem Begin was elected prime minister in 1977. Yet, Israel is still a democracy and he even concluded peace with Egypt.
6
There is a lot of ‘Palestinians don’t want peace’ and ‘they had their chance’ or ‘they want it all’.
Change Palestine to Israel in that sentence?
9
@Dwight McFee
If you change Palestine to Israel in that sentence, then the sentence becomes false.
Israel signed peace treaties with both Jordan & Egypt even though that meant giving up large areas of Biblical Israel. That shows that Israel is more interested in peace than in territory.
3
Unlike Trump, who seems always to have been depraved and unbridled by morality or duty, Netanyahu has devolved from a youth of service to an adult of self-service. Perhaps it is the old maxim, about absolute power.
Israeli politics is an enigma to Americans with coalitions created and coalitions eroding... always in flux. In any case it is now up to Israelis to decide if Gantz can assure their relative safety, or if they are willing to put up with Bibi's misdeeds for a while longer. It is as much, if not more, a matter of promises made to disparate political parties than anything else. Look to the Talmud for justice, not Israeli politics.
It seems part of the American DNA to believe that there is a solution to every problem... we just haven't found it yet. Unfortunately the Israel/Palestinian problem doesn't lend itself to this thinking.
While half of the Israeli DNA is Western in ethos, the other half was born and is firmly rooted in the Middle East. This half recognizes the ethos of its Arab neighbors who wish to reclaim this land "to the sea." Reasonable compromise having been rejected time after time, leaves Israel no choice but to contain the threat. To do otherwise is to die.
Yes, Israel is an imperfect democracy... so is ours, yet they are both far better than any other regime within the Middle East.
3
How amazing it is to see trumpism adopted in Israel. I guess corrupt politicians find trumpism irresistible. Out of sheer ignorance I underestimate trumpism.
6
What a coincidence that Trump declared Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization today. Hard to decide who's a more loathsome embarrassment to two countries that deserve so much better.
8
If the choice is Netanyahu or Gantz (extremel far right or far right) it is a sad day for Israel. Israel needs a leader who can turn the country around 180 degrees and lead it back to the ideals set by the country's founders. Hopefully is not too late to restore Israel as a liberal democracy, a champion of international law, and a leader for human rights.
5
@Greg
Israel is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-confessional, multi-lingual liberal democracy.
Israel was ranked 30 out of 167 on The Economist's Democracy Index. That's better than Belgium, Greece, Cyprus & at least a dozen other European countries. Israel has maintained democracy even though it's been under continual attack.
According to Freedom House, Israel's Freedom Status is "Free." Israel is rated "1" (on a scale from 1 to 7 where 1 is most free.) in "political rights" and Israel is rated "2" in Civil Liberties."
Israel is the only state in the Middle East that is rated "Free."
Israel was ranked #26 by Global Democracy Rating
Even Palestinians think that Israel is a democracy.
“57% say democracy in Israel is good or very good”
3
I know this is meant to be a somewhat anti Bibi article, but Roger Cohen's condescension is overpowering. About the Palestinians: "who do, after all, exist." Really? Really? Would you want to say that about Native Americans in the US - where too a two state solution has failed, so to speak. Let me scratch that. He *would* say that about Native Americans because that's exactly the kind of thing a so called liberal but otherwise smug imperialist would say.
5
@Rajesh Kasturirangan Friend, it was a mocking remark aimed at the irrational and anti-democratic racism of Netanyahu and company, not a disparagement of Palestinians or Arabs. Roger Cohen was defending their existence, their rights and their legitimate aspirations.
6
@Rajesh Kasturirangan
He was being facetious, momentarily taking Netanyahu’s perspective -because Netanyahu acts as if the don’t.
5
"When Netanyahu says, as he did this year, that Israel is “the nation-state, not of all its citizens, but only of the Jewish people,” he eviscerates the core idea of democratic citizenship."
This seems so parallel here today in Trump's U.S., “the nation-state, not of all its citizens, but only" of white Republicans...
9
Face it: The great majority of Jewish Israelis, incl. most "leftists", believe 100% that the entire Land of Israel belongs to them; only "leftists" realize they might have to accept limited Palestinian self-rule -- a "state". Re: the claim that the Arabs have not changed -- who has continued for over 50 yrs. to occupy land lived on by others, and continues to deny their basic rights? Where is the "intransigence"? Only the "Palestinians play for the entire pot"? And what kind of solution is a two-state or federation arrangement, when the Palestinians, almost as many as the Jews, get less than 25% of their homeland? Where is the difference between Net. and Gantz, when the latter, like the former, maintains, he won´t accept a democratically elected Israeli-Arab party in his coalition, calling them "enemies of the Jewish state"? Israel isn´t, and never was a democracy, neither in theory (it belongs to the Jewish people, not to ALL its citizens), nor in practice: the Palestinian citizens lived from the beginning until 1965 under military control in "their own" (?) state, and since then have been legally and socially discriminated against; and with the patriarchal religious authorities having the power over personal affairs - marriage, divorce and more - women, also Jews -- are discriminated against too! It´s widespread ignorance of what the situation there really is, and lack of critical thinking, also evidenced in the comments ("sovereignty but without control of the borders" !)
6
@Michael
Israel was ranked 30 out of 167 on The Economist's Democracy Index. That's better than Belgium, Greece, Cyprus & at least a dozen other European countries.
Israel has maintained democracy even though it's been under continual attack. By contrast, we Americans locked American citizens of Japanese descent in concentration camps during world war 2 & we confiscated Joe DiMaggio's father's fishing boat because he was of Italian descent.
Even Palestinians think that Israel is a democracy.
“57% say democracy in Israel is good or very good”
6
@Michael
It depends on where you draw the border around what you call the "Palestinian" people. Do you draw it around the West Bank, or pre-1967 Israel, or pre-1948 Israel, or the Palestine Mandate which includes all of today's Israel/West Bank, AND Jordan? The Palestinian people in Jordan are the majority there and have their state.
.
There are large Palestinian populations in southern Lebanon and Syria.
.
Should all these populations have their own state?
3
@HH
A sincere answer to my claim would acknowledge that the Palestinian People, who lived in and on the land of Palestine for hundreds of years, include those who were expelled or fled in the clash with the Zionist Jews in the pre-1948 period, during and after that war, or during and after the June 1967 war. The British -- and not the Palestinian -- Mandate is dead since the 1920´s, and Jordan and the other Arab states mentioned are not their homeland or their states -- unless they accept that and are accepted. A claim that Jews, many of whose ancestors never were in the land, have the historic right to settle in Palestine -- which includes the state of Israel -- cannot in my opinion be morally held to trump the rights of the Palestinian refugees and their families, regardless of where they live. Your claim is the mirror of the Arab-Palestinian claim that the Jews should return to their homelands in Europe.
Anyone here not familiar with Israeli politics should pause and just view Bibi's last minute action-- just that, and you begin to taste the egregious politics this man has been indulging in throughout the world.
He is promising direct annexation of West Bank --as the final straw to remain in power-- in direct violation of international law, UN resolution, as of now against all international consensus... what kind of a politician does that?
The one who is NOT a statesman and has absolutely no commitment to peace.
That means no two state.
The consequences of such an act, with Turkey on one side and Iran on other and SA, more and more militarized??
So whose support is the mighty Netanyahu banking on, you might ask? Russia, China... Gawd NO.
It would be good ol' America to the rescue. It is just that the kind of man Trump is, if Bibi had any intelligence he shouldn't bet on it.
Because, look at Trump's record so far, he runs from the field and has not been able to stand ground on anything. He makes horrible decisions but what gets truly implemented, except for the hodge-podge policy and executive orders creating chaos ad I guess that's what a narcissistic personality is only capable of accomplishing.
Israel is at cross-roads.
History will remember them if they make the error of putting Bibi back in power.... just the way, it would shake its head at us for having Trump as a president.
What happened to the intelligentsia, were they all sleeping?
8
Yes, I plan to vote tomorrow for BN. Why not?,Israel is thriving under his leadership. While I have respect for Gantz his star only began to rise when he merged his Israel Resiliance party with Lapid's Yesh Atd. under the Blue & White. Lapid presented himself as a centrist which in Israel is an oxymoron. To be not with the Right and not with the left is to be Nowhere. Lapid & Gantz made a deal that if victorious they would have a rotating premiership, Gantz would be PM for awhile, then Lapid. Yeah, lots of luck with that.
65% of voters less than 54 years of age will vote for Bibi, those over 54 will split their vote. There are 39 parties vying for 120 Knesset seats which require a minimum of 3.25% electoral threshold. This will leave about 10 parties, two of which are Arab. The eight remaining parties will join with Bibi to form the new government and why not.
There has not been a major war save for the occasional "mowing of the Grass" in Gaza and the economy is strong, Overall the spirit of the people is good. Of course there is disparity amongst various groups or "tribes" but same goes in the US.
As far as potential indictments are concerned the same liberal voices which predicted Trump guilty of collusion/obstruction" are touting wrongdoing by the PM who is merely doing his job. It seems that the liberal Left media whether in the US or Israel become enraged when they see the successes brought about by the Right.
Its like Game of Thrones here .King Bibi shall reign.
6
Israel is a parliamentary democracy with 34 political parties vying for a voice in the government. Netanyahu, whether he's reelected or not, isn't the "King of Israel", just as Trump, despite his ego, isn't the monarch of the United States. Roger Cohen knows this.
You can hate Netanyahu, but remember, he's been the leader of a representative government, a coalition of his own Likud party, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Kulanu, and the Jewish Home. Could we ever imagine a U.S. government ruled by the cooperative interests of FIVE separate political parties?
Just as Trump shocked our electorate by attracting the vote of the disparaged "deplorables" of the flyover States, Netanyahu, like it or not, has been elected fairly, democratically, one-person-one vote, in the Jewish homeland of Israel.
7
@Stone Ah, but it isn't one person - one vote here in the States. We have the EC.
3
@Victoria Bitter Every citizen of voting age still has a single vote...the electoral college was devised to smooth out the advantages that the densely populated urban electorate has, or had, over rural dwellers. Perhaps the day of the EC has come and gone, but that's another issue.
2
Substitute the word Trump every time Netanyahu is mentioned and the similarities are beyond striking. Let us keep our fingers crossed that Israel rejects the corrupt Netanyahu and shines a light to the USA for our own election in 2020
3
Regardless of what anyone in NYC or elsewhere may write or wish, Netanyahu will once again become PM of Israel.
This is not a good or just thing. It is just realpolitik in action.
Most Israelis admit that he is a liar and opportunist.
They also believe, fairly or not, that he has made Israel strong and secure in the midst of many enemies who would see their land and their kids exterminated.
It may be hard to realize this from the viewpoint of somewhere else, but simply living in Israel reminds one daily that one cannot make security mistakes without great consequences.
I have lived there 4 times. I saw people die, I heard a bus filled with over a 100 women and their children returning from prayer at the Western Wall blow up, destroyed by a Palestinian terrorist. I watched volunteers pick up pieces of the dead to give them a proper burial.
And I got on the same Bus No. 1 ( Jerusalem) the next morning as people went about their normal lives.
This is not black and white though many will present it in such terms.
No totally good or bad guys.
If someone else can get people to believe that they can insure the security of the Jewish Homeland, then they can beat Netanyahu.
Until then, he is it.
5
Why would Israelis not harboring thoughts of suicide ever contemplate returning to the pre-1967 borders, when Israel was about 12 miles wide at its narrowest point, and the Arabs spent their time fulminating about how they would drive the Jews into the sea. The Syrians sat on top of the Golan Heights and lobbed shells at Tibérias, across the Sea of Galilee, and at Ein GeV, at the foot of the cliff, where Israeli territory was far less than a mile wide. Any country has the right to defend itself, especially one that must live in as awful a neighborhood as Israel does. The Arabs have tried and failed numerous times to destroy the state, and they can always come back for another go; if Israel fails once, game over.
The reptilian Netanyahu is almost as loathsome as Trump, but until something more convincing comes along - and there’s nothing on the horizon - he’ll probably stay put. The Palestinians have added several chances by to have their state; after Gaza, the idea that a somewhat responsible government would emerge in the West Bank just isn’t believable.
3
Trump is cleverly forcing open the gap between Jews and Zionism, by supporting Netanyahu's hard-line policies and then claiming that this makes him pro Jewish since it makes him pro Israel.
The so-called pro-Israel establishment has deftly covered up the fact that Jewish and Israeli interests are often at odds. So, anti Semitism promotes Jewish emigration to Israel, good for Israel but bad for Jews. Trump is forcing Jewish Americans to take sides.
In the process, Israel is becoming increasingly right wing. This will continue, with or without Netanyahu.
2
With Miller and Kushner firmly in place, Netanyahu has nothing to fear.
3
We’re all obligated to The NY Times for posting an OpEd by an American citizen telling citizens of a major ally - Israel - how to vote in upcoming elections. Hopefully The NY Times will continue this tradition so citizens in other democracies will have the benefits of how they should vote from America. Of course it would have been helpful for the NYTimes to have posted an Opinion piece with an opposing view to the one published so that Isreali citizens would have the full benefit of alternative views on how they should vote from the American perspective. Isreali voters surely do need to be well informed about the American perspective when casting their votes.
5
Has there ever been anyone so hatefully obsessed with Netanyahu and Israel. Everyone and every country and people (Palestinians) are perfect. There never was a two-state solution and if Netanyahu as buried it then it is for the best. All we ever saw was Israel giving up land and the Palestinians making the same demands and not compromising on anything. The Palestinians will never give up the “right of return” and the destruction of Israel, no matter what Gantz or anyone else may believe. Cohen complains about the Israel nation state law, which doesn’t deny Palestinians any rights. He says nothing about a Palestinians state – NO JEWS ALLOWED. He says nothing about Abbas rewarding terrorists for killing Israelis or that Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel and killing Jews.
Jews have been second class citizens everywhere for 1,000 so don’t complain to this Jew. Find me a state, include the US, where there aren’t second class citizens, with real deprivation of rights.
Netanyahu has issues, but review American presidents and they too had issues and not only Trump. No one cared that Truman dropped 1 bomb and killed 80,000 at Hiroshima or the tens of thousands of non-combatants Churchill killed in bombing at Dresden and other cities.
One thing we will never get from Cohen is the whole truth.
4
Isn’t it fascinating that all of us have the capacity to subjugate democratic values to our selfish desires. It’s on both sides. Obama forcing health care through feels good to me, a liberal, but it really is no different than Trump pushing through his tax cut. Just because you win, you don’t need to represent all? FDR was elected 4 times, but isn’t the travesty the fact that he thought it was okay to run 4 times? I hate to harken to fascism in an article about Israel, but what I read in the NYT about Israel these days, it has that feeling.
1
'Israelis have gotten used to going through the ballot-box motions and then bowing to their “magician.”'
Could any statement be more patronizing of Israeli voters?
American liberals don't have a clue about Israel and this column is exhibit number 1 in that regard. The Palestinians under Arafat lost their chance in 2000 when Clinton had a deal on the table that would have worked worked for both sides. When they refused the deal, they gave birth to the Netanyahu phenomenon.
4
A truly outstanding column by Mr. Cohen ! .
We'll know it all in less than 48 hours.....
Zionism was originally intended to normalize the position of Jews in the world after two thousand years of living entirely on the float. In that it has succeeded. Now, just like Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, the Jews have a country run by a bunch of self-serving, self-aggrandizing, power-hungry miscreants.
Jews outside Israel should no more be automatically held accountable for the actions of Israel, let alone be expected to have a critical opinion of the country, than a Catholic should be held accountable for the policies of the Vatican, Ireland, Mexico, or Poland, than a Muslim for Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, or Syria, a Hindu for India, a Buddhist for Myanmar, etc.
2
My take back. Netanyahu wins, big. Israel is our parallel universe. Stick a fork in it, the turkey is done. It quit servicing the people. Now it works for the shekel.
2
I agree with Mr. Cohen.
However, I do want to provide a distinction between Netanyahu and Trump. Netanyahu is politically brilliant (albeit immoral), while Trump is a political idiot (albeit immoral). Trump is the puppet and Netanyahu is pulling his strings. It is in this regard that Trump has enabled Netanyahu. Those world leaders who have recognized how clueless Trump is (Putin, Netanyahu, MBS to name a few), have capitalized on the vacuum Trump has created and boosted their own positions.
Trump is not only a disaster for our country, he is a disaster for the world.
5
I fear that "Next decade Damascus" is the new goal.
2
There was never any intention for a Palestinian State. Netanyahu made it clear many years ago. His predecesors made it plain. The "creating facts on the ground" model has been in play since 48. Take more land, build more settlements til there is nothing left for anything resembling the possibility of a state. In the meantime, lie, deceive, "negotiate", meet, all the while taking more land, destroying villages, Ethnic Cleansing, removing Palestinians from Jerusalem and West Bank villages. A continuous process has reached the final stages. Gantz will not do any different. "Judea and Samaria" will be liberated from the indigenous population!
3
The vitriol demonstrated by Mr. Cohen is opinion, not fact. He is entitled perhaps in many ways. Bibi is not the King and Gantz may be an improvement but that's for Israelis to decide. Check out fourth generation refugee camp Palestinians who frankly say they want all of Israel. Write about Gaza with 40% unemployment but with loads of rockets. Write about Jihadists. Write about the billions given to Fatah that have routinely lined their leaders' pockets... not cigars but billions. Instead it's bad guy Bibi. Rabin signed Oslo and the local Arabs never agreed. The "master of division" is public enemy #1 not the Death to Israel Iranians, the Saudi Wahabis, the lack of one democracy in 22 Arab League nations. Mr. Cohen, you are certainly entitled but I am saddened by your and your paper's focus on the King of Israel. Also, please recall that there was never an Arab state called Palestine, no government thereof, no legal tender, constitution, etc. Please note that over a million Israelis are Arabs with the right to vote. How many Jews live in Arab countries.... less than 10,000 maybe. Wishing for peace. Who are the partners?
5
Zionism was originally intended to normalize the position of Jews in the world after two thousand years of living entirely on the float. In that it has succeeded. Now, just like Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, the Jews have a country run by a bunch of self-serving, self-aggrandizing, power-hungry miscreants.
Jews outside Israel should no more be automatically held accountable for the actions of Israel, let alone be expected to have a critical opinion of the country, than a Catholic should be held accountable for the policies of the Vatican, Ireland, Mexico, or Poland, than a Muslim for Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, or Syria, a Hindu for India, a Buddhist for Myanmar, etc.
3
The world is watching Isreal. If Netanyahu is re-elected, then there will be a huge eroding of support for this country. This time Isrealis will have done it to themselves. Jews wanted their own nation because of past denials of democracy to them. It appears they have come full circle. Becoming as evil as those they felt mistreated by. They will then complain of anti-semitism and lurch further rightward misreading why they have become disliked. Yes, Trumpian America is just as bad these days but we currently are not a country to be emulated.
4
Benny Gants, Cohen's preferred zionist PM. will bring with him zero probability of less expansion and brutality than we saw under Netanyahu. Gantz had snipers kill hundreds of Palestinian protesters, has repeatedly confessed his loyalty to the expansion troops (called settlers nowadays) and will show a normal continuation of the policies we saw the last 70 years. In fact, if observed closely, Netanyahu is an element in this continuity as well. He stands out only in his greater courage to say what he and most Israeli's want:continued and boundless judaisation of Palestine.
3
Gantz may be the least worse choice today, but someday Israel needs a leader that turns the country 180 degrees and guides it back to the liberal democratic ideals of the country's founders.
6
Well done and yes, the "monarchical sobriquet" moniker that you note is trending from Jerusalem to Washington is trumping morals.
1
If King Bibi is recrowned the country claiming to be the only democracy in the Middle East will become an apartheid state. By continuing to build Jewish settlements in the West Bank, he had already killed all hopes for a two-state solution. Annexing the West Bank and keeping Gaza under pemanent economic blockade without giving the Palestinian inhabitants the same civil and political rights in a one-state solution will make Israel an international pariah.
4
The Pals had their chance, three times they had godd solid offers of a state and said no.
My feeling is they are getting what they deserve.
Which is nothing.
Besides Golda was right. There is no such thing as a Palestinian people. They are just Arabs like all the other Arabs.
3
Good deals? Israeli Control of all aquifers under Palestinian territory. Water is a crucial resource. Israel control over air and sea. Palestinians disarmed. Details matter as well as trust after experiencing the bigoted treacherous justice of the occupation.
Roger, I think it is time to give up your fantasy of an Israel that has any kind of moral claim to anything at all. Israel was created by dispossessing and displacing the native population of Palestine. Pretty much everything that has followed proceeds from that original sin. Israel's need to rationalize its victimization of others was set by its contradictory need to present itself as the ultimate victim. Thus, the uncomfortable truth of its origin had to be ignored or covered up or rationalized through language and attitudes that dehumanized and erased the Palestinians. After 1967, Israel effectively destroyed itself by doing what its founders had always intended - i.e., expanding its borders through force. The illegal settlements required a doubling down on the dehumanization process. Today, Israel's future is pretty much set before it - a rabidly colonial state that brutally and viciously oppresses the indigenous population while hiding behind a long-exhausted narrative of victimhood. The Palestinians will be present, in much the same way that African Americans were present in the American South - a marginalized people, kept in their place by fear and violence, who will eventually rise up in desperation and rage. At that point, they will be slaughtered, as they have been in the past and as the natives always are. Hopefully, by then, no one will have any illusions as to what Israel is, has always been, and was always going to be, given the circumstances of its creation.
9
@Shaun Narine And the Big Lie strikes again...
2
It is time for "Bibi" not to be. In addition to "French law" legislation, 2 term limit legislation is required. However, Mr. Gantz is unqualified to be prime minister due to his lack of experience and habit of speaking before he thinks: for example, declaring that the return of the remains of the brother of my neighbor's body after 37 years was an attempt by "Bibi" to bolster support for election to a 5th term. Mr. Cohen's opinion is extremely misleading and typical of a pundit who does not live here. He ignores the fact that the Palestinians opted for attempted destruction of Israel in 1948, when they were provided with an opportunity to have a separate state under the UN partitian plan; instead, then, back in 1948, they, the Palestinians, destroyed the 2-state solution. Joshua Schwartz accurately describes the current political situation in Israel. Mr. Cohen ignores the fact that Golda Meir was from the Labor party and the fact that settlement by Israelis in the West Bank started when the Labor party was in power; furthermore, the "Gush Etzion" area was part of Israel before it was attacked by the Palestinians in 1948. It was recovered by Israel during the 6-Day War in 1967.
3
Will Israel's 'King', Bibi Netanyahu, be uncrowned tomorrow? Bibi has had too many years of his brand of democracy only for Israeli citizens and not for the millions of Palestinian subjects who live in Israel and are denied the right to vote. If Benny Gantz is elected tomorrow we'll keep hope alive for a two-state peace in Israel.
Hoping, too, that president Trump's hegemony over America will be curtailed. The Israeli Prime Minister and Trump are akin in their malign shrewdness and nationalistic reach at the expense of the rule of law and justice. Benny Gantz, of the Blue and White Party, running against Likud and Bibi, reminds us of Yitzhak Rabin ("Shalom, Chaver" Clinton/1995). The right-wingers have locked Netanyahu in power too long.
Re-electing Bibi tomorrow will continue to eviscerate any chance for a two-state solution and the hope for Palestinian Israelis to live in peace in their country. In his "hail Mary" pass to win tomorrow, Netanyahu promised to annex the West Bank (in addition to the Golan Heights, that Trump granted him last week in Washington).
Israel's peace plan deal has been continuous and endless occupation. President Trump, in his all-out effort to win re-election next year has told Americans that "the Democratic Party is Anti-Israel and anti-Semitic!" Another of his egregious lies. We've become used to our ignorant, abrasive "King of America" telling lies to us and the world. Will Netanyahu (and Trump) be uncrowned? We'll see.
4
I don't know if Trump has poisoned Netenyahu's mind, or vice-versa. What I do know is that both of them have twisted representative democracy into a parody of law, governance and moral authority. Good riddance to these two, who demonstrate that you don't need absolute power to be corrupt, absolutely.
2
Israel’s very existence is threatened by demagoguery! Democracy is imperiled!! These are the arguments we hear constantly these days in both Israel an the U.S. But they’re hogwash, as is Mr. Cohen’s constant insistence on forming a second state for the Palestinians. To do so would create another failed, hostile neighbor right at Israel’s doorstep. Just observe what they have made of stable governments in both Gaza and the West Bank. This is what you would get, but on a much larger scale. No, the Arabs in Israel have to realize that they can be a part of this modern miracle called Israel. The challenge will be to create an Israel where every citizen, Arab, Jew or Christian, participates in the life of the country, while acknowledging that they belong to a Jewish state, so that whatever voting system they come up with gives the Jews a 51% majority. It would make for some daring politics.
Interesting the author sheds light on Russian Jewish support of Netanyahu. Why not highlight all demographic tendencies for the different parties? Otherwise, why not leave that out.
3
The annexation of PARTS of the West Bank, even if it should it happen, is not the "death knell" of the peace process. The perpetuation of the "Single Arab State" dream, promoted in Palestinian Arab schoolbooks, has been that. The open payment of rewards to those Arab people who have killed Israeli Jews, no matter what the age of the victims, has been that. An illegitimate leader who has held onto office without elections in 14 years, and who has persistently rejected the opportunity to sit down for negotiations unless he is granted exactly what he wants, has been that.
For a quarter of a century the Palestinian Arab people could have been preparing for peace and coexistence, but were not. Their leadership has trampled their democracy into dust. But it is Israel, and only Israel, that is a problem fir the peace process.
Ehud Barak admits to having built more in the settlements than Binyamin Netanyahu. But, he notes, he spoke far less about it. When Mahmoud Abbas walked away from Barak's offer, whose fault was it? If the Israeli people, after years of hoping for peace, have grown weary of an intransigent negotiating partner, whose fault is it?
Apparently Netanyahu's.
Every story has two sides, except this one.
Netanyahu and the right did not kill the Israeli left, Abbas did.
3
Tfw the lesser evil is a guy boasting about how many people he ordered killed in an open-air prison.
3
Its been seen before an Israeli general comes in stating he wants peace and then when its time to put up he walks away from the deal. Gantz has to prove his bona fides by having an action biography from Gaza. A more hopeless forgotten place than Gaza by the rest of the world would be hard to find. Israel tries to sell as a nest of terrorists. Netanyahu is the master conspirator. Beyond Israel's borders if Netanyahu is reelected the Trump Mideast sham peace plan well be unveiled. An unprovoked war with Iran. And removal of Palestinians from Israel.
1
Over and over there is lament that Palestinians turned down “good” peace deals. Rarely are any details provided. Israel remained armed in these deals and the Palestinians disarmed. Israel controlled the water aquifers under Palestinian land, the most important resource. Given their experience with Israeli occupation there was no trust that Israel would share anything.
4
Maybe this is a rather simplistic view of things but I cannot understand how a peoples can treat "others" so poorly when considering what has been done to the Jewish people. What we have here is Apartheid, didn't the world reject that in South Africa many years ago? There must be a solution to this and I cannot believe it is annexation, in the long run i cannot believe that will work.
2
"The reason" for withholding information about the transfer of German submarines to Egypt without informing key domestic military units? "State secrets."
Here in the USA, we have our own big state secret. It's called the unredacted Mueller Report, suitable only for the eyes of an administration that is the subject of the Report's investigation.
5
Bellwether or continue into the abyss? The world (and the United States) is waiting.
3
I couldn't help thinking that this piece could well be about Trump and the U.S.
How sad. How depressing.
4
As I read this piece, I simply could not help but conflate the vicissitudes of Benjamin Netanyahu with those of Donald Trump. Both countries, under their present leadership, have listed unapologetically to the right.
Freedom of the press is under attack. The continuing marginalization of the Palestinians seems to be Israel's defining DNA, the repression and domination of another outraged people in its land-grab expansion, much like America's abhorrence with immigrants not white and Christian.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is beset by scandal and is feverishly attempting to nullify the Israeli Supreme Court as a way to avoid facing retribution if he's removed from office. In Washington, the president is in a 24/7 war against the press and continuing investigations into his finances while a private citizen. He is counting on a Justice Department and a Supreme Court to turn away from his alleged crimes.
The similarities are, to me, all too frightening. Democracy is at risk in perhaps the last two nations in which the theory is becoming less a reality with every passing day.
6
So Mr. Gantz has a "less-than-perfect-English". Well Donald Trump has a "less-than-perfect-English" and it did not stop him to be elected President of the USA. Also the official language of Israël is Hebrew, and I am convinced that M. Gantz speaks the language very well.
2
Israel came into being in part thanks to the strength, character and determination of Holocaust survivors like the mother of Benny Gantz. Sadly, the notion of a Jewish homeland that by force of will, ingenuity and irreproachable morality could become a light unto nations of late appears to have been utterly abandoned. Israel's choice is to continue degrading herself and dishonouring her heritage under the leadership of a short sighted cynic, or take her rightful place among nations that find their dignity in fulfilling, rather than evading their moral responsibility.
5
The climate in our own country, the refusal to legitimize challenges to Netanyahu's policies, to Israel's treatment of Palestinians, has built up this monster. Our own Congress legitimizes him. Commentators in our own press bear responsibility for not strongly and intelligently challenging this government over the years.
6
Sound familiar?
Too familiar.
Let's hope that next year's Democratic candidate provides the strength to challenge and defeat the illegitimate and corrupt incumbent.
3
First, it would be nice to attribute the quote to its author, Gary Lineker:
"Football is a simple game - 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."
Second, if Israel now is "a country where the start-up economy is humming, the American Embassy is in Jerusalem, and military conflict has been contained", then why change it? To satisfy some Americans?
2
@areader.
As for the great English player and pundit Gary Lineker, he was referring only to the problems of HIS nation in games decided by penalty kicks. Let's hope Israeli voters hold their nerve Tuesday from the spot and fire one past Bibi now that their goal--democracy--is finally close enough to touch.
1
We gave up on the Palestinians wanting a state more than we want peace quite a while ago. Don't blame the PM for this. Just look around at the payments to terrorists for murder and HAMAS in Gaza. If you want to blame the PM, blame him for his decisiveness, his corruption, and his ego. Regardless, he has delivered Israelis a sense of security, and diplomatic success, and a strong economy It's hard to choose. In the end, I'd like to see a coalition of Gantz and Netanyahu's parties. Then, there would be less reliance on fringe parties.
1
Writing from a country where the popular vote doesn't elect the president but instead relies on appointed Electors, warnings of the imminent collapse of Israeli democracy are a tad hollow.
Nevertheless, Gantz was correct when he said that earlier on Netanyahu was very good for Israel but that in recent years "something has happened to him". That something is what happens to all leaders that have been around too long, namely, "how can you live without me?". Often the answer to that plaintive cry is "quite well, actually".
Regardless of his past accomplishments, Netanyahu is no longer useful to Israel as a whole, but mostly to himself and his coterie.
Gantz is a good choice not because he will necessarily be a better leader than Netanyahu, but that he will not be burdened by the ugly baggage Netanyahu has recently acquired.
Decades ago the NYPD used to periodically replace everyone in various Vice Squads in the city under the theory that after many years of monetary and other temptations corruption was bound to set in.... and so it is with Netanyahu.
2
Eventually, nations pay in blood for militarist follies of their leaders. Hate begets hate. Injustice forces the weak to adopt desperate measures.
This holds true for Bibi's Israel just as for Trump's America.
We are well on the way towards alienating all our democratic allies.
The only possible escape clause our democracies have before them they become so crippled and perverted by corrupted right-wing demagogues - to elect principled moderates who are committed to right historical wrongs as they govern on behalf of all the people.
And then subject our corrupt leaders to the full measure of justice. All of them along with their enablers.
3
Netanyahu is Trump with an intellect. They are both pushing similar agendas of nationalism at the expense of minority rights, which is an undermining of democratic principles.
Netanyahu may very well pull off what Trump has only dreamed of. Interesting contrast here. Many on the left like to think that Trump's base is mostly uneducated, backwoods yahoos. Israel is not populated with uneducated, backwoods yahoos. But yet, Netanyahu is achieving even greater success with his strategies than Trump is. He has even been charged with serious crimes and keeps humming along. That means Trump's reach goes much farther than many realize. His base is much more diverse.
If Israel can fall into an undemocratic, nationalist tailspin where its institutions are threatened with demogagary, then any nation can also fall into that same abyss.
Israel is then the canary in the coal mine. They even have a pseudo hero who has little chance to win to bring them back from the plunge. With nearly 20 Democratic candidates, I'd say the same thing is happening here. Our circular firing squad is already firing off rounds into our pseudo heros.
We must watch and study this election and learn from it. Our edition of the democracy test will be administered shortly.
3
Netanyahu is that most cynical kind of leader, one who plays into peoples’ worst instincts and fears, one who divides and conquers.
Bibi looks for convenient scapegoats and distractions for his own sleaziness and poor use of power.
The Prime Minister pretends that he is advancing Israel, while he is enacting a reactionary agenda and courting religious extremists.
It’s time that he was shown the door and that a new one opened.
1
Is their 'democracy' in Israel? Let's here from all races in Israel if it be true or not. Here in America, your land squabbles do not directly affect one, but all of your citizens will be effected by the vote.
Wish you all luck in your voting on Tuesday in creating the state you have so desired. Hope it does not come back and haunt you.
Your histories will continue....
Looking forward to the results and the responses from American points of view and the views of those who live in these areas.
If collusion is a bad thing, why are Americans being encouraged to interfere in Israeli elections - and vice versa?
2
I think Israeli's have supported Netanyahu to their own peril. The rise in anti-Israelism is due primarily to Netanyahu's penchant for stoking the flames of war to attempt to validate his anti-peace overtures to the Palestinians. Israel will do themselves a HUGE favor by voting against Netanyahu and for a viably more peaceful future.
1
So, Netanyahu is also leveraging political success to avoid indictment and prosecution.
Question: What do Trumpublicans and Netanyahucans call it when obstruction of justice is so successful that the underlying charges cannot be brought against their authoritarian “monarchs”?
Answer: Exoneration.
2
The Palestinians have not been the easiest partners to negotiate with, and that's an understatement. But as the Europeans are finding out with Brexit, you negotiate with the neighbors you have, not with the Canadians everyone would love to have next door.
But before any of that happens, Israel needs to clean its own house. Right now it is lead by a Prime Minister who stands accused of deep-seated corruption and eagerly promotes racists and homophobes as his future partners. Like Trump, he daily assails government institutions that are essential to the functioning of a democracy: the security establishment, the press, the judiciary-patriots all, who have all been labeled enemies.
Tomorrow, Israeli citizens will decide how much they cherish political freedom. Sadly, those who never experienced life without it, have little appreciation for it. Let's hope they choose wisely and in the words of a viral video making the rounds on Facebook, say loud and clear: "Bibi, Ciao."
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@elMago--Well said, and the same can be said of Israel.
Of the 12 political parties in tomorrow's vote, only 3 propose a 2-state solution. The rest are hard right.
At least Gantz speaks of morality--something that should be a part of all governments. Neither the Torah or secular law condone dishonesty in business, land theft, fraud or murder (except in self-defense), something Israeli policy has permitted under Netanyahu.
Immigrant occupation of Palestine does not make its annexation legal or ethical. The U.N. has asked Israel, twice, to return and remain inside its original boundaries. They have refused.
It's easy to see the parallels between Trump and Netanyahu--both criminals trying to stay out of jail by staying in office, who flippantly defy the law and are supported by extremist, racist bases.
It's more difficult to understand that people of the diaspora, persecuted and killed for their religion, now want to do the same to Palestinians, and further afield, Iranians.
They, or their grandparents, know the horror of losing everything, of persecution, of war, so why this group wants to inflict the same on Palestinians is puzzling. Their memories can't be that short.
2
@Lilou I'm not sure how you count, but there are at least 4 parties that are adamant about a 2 state solution (the 2 Arab parties, Meretz, and Labor) and it is widely understood that this is exactly what Gantz wants to negotiate.
The vast majority of Israelis, Likud voters included, do not want to kill Palestinians. The vast majority of Palestinians do not want to kill Israelis. This is an incredibly complicated conflict where the desire by some to win it all, has trumped the desire of most to have just a part, but have that part in peace.
Hateful words on either side only help perpetuate this conflict; they will not bring about a much needed pause and reconciliation.
1
@elMago--I went by Reuter's reporting of yesterday, which has only Labour and Hadesh-Taal and Meretz supporting a 2-state solution. Raam-Balaad is against Israeli occupation but doesn't say what it is for.
According to Reuter's, "Gantz has called for pursuing peace with the Palestinians while maintaining Israeli security interests. He has signaled he would make territorial concessions toward the Palestinians but has also sidestepped the question of Palestinian statehood." I do not see that as an understanding of a 2-state solution.
Trump just denounced, today, part of the Iranian army as a terrorist organisation, without citing basis, dates, numbers injured -- without any proof. I believe he did it to give Bibi a boost in the polls, but more importantly, it increases Arab hatred of the U.S., which has fought hard in the Middle East, and in the process, killed innumerable innocents, destroyed property and left power vacuums filled by even worse leaders than their predecessors.
Trump is using Israel as a political tool, as Netanyahu is using Trump. The press on each is unsavory to say the least.
I can only project that Israelites do not want to kill people, but they will vote for someone who does, and they really want to hang on to their settlement homes, even if it is tantamount to theft. If they offered to pay Palestine for the land, that would at least be a fair business gesture.
When democracies are faced with a real security threat like all of them today, the question is whether or not democracy should yield in favor of a more nationalistic approach to one's country's destiny. If so, this is troubling. I predict Bibi will win and I predict that he will go forward in solidifying the Israeli presence in the West Bank, legitimizing their settlements. It's sad because the Palestinians had the chance to have a state but rejected it at least three times. Now, the blow back to them will be annexation. For many Israelis, the feeling will be that such is the way to fight against terror and threat. Allow the Palestinian cause to be diluted and eventually become extinguished and relegated to the dustbin of history.
9
Thank you for your opinion regarding the election.
However, it seems that the local electorate prefers to decide what is best for itself rather than heeding the views of foreigners. As it should be.
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@Dr. Sam Rosenblum
I disagree. Foreigners, insulated from irrational local passions, often have a better perspective on the true interests of a nation. This illustrates one of the weaknesses of democracy.
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@Dr. Sam Rosenblum
The same applies in reverse. At least Trump didn't go to the Knesset to promote one of the candidates and there is no US lobby group bribing members of the Knesset that I am aware of.
4
@JMcF Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others.
3
they are voting.
that is a democracy
armchair quarterbacks can throw darts all day long.
Which of their neighbors best represent the ideal democracy and shining light for human rights?
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@Joe Yoh Exactly. Democracy doesn't always flesh out the way one might expect, which explains the bizarre reality of Trump. But, it's the best system available...one-person-gets-one-vote and let the chips of a free elections fall where they may.
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@Joe Yoh
Israel is the beacon of the Middle East; it's the leader in human rights (though slipping), technology, medicine, etc. But Netanyahu threatens all of that. He should be on trial, not running for another term.
3
@Joe Yoh the question is not which of their neighbors best represents democracy. The question is which period in Israel of the last 70 years best represents Israeli democracy.
4
It is depressing these days to witness the likes of Trump, Netanyahu, Orban, etc. destroy democratic gains since the end of WWII. Clearly the schools have failed to instill in large number of people respect for democratic norms and to suppress atavistic attitudes. To see supposedly civilized countries fall for demagogues common in undeveloped countries is a warning that maintaining a civilized society requires continuous vigilance, it does not come naturally to human beings,
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@serban Sadly true - esp. that civics lessons are wasted on a large number of students (as in, 'you can lead a horse to water, but can't make him drink'.) It's also likely that civics lessons in our public schools have been cut back significantly over the years.
4
@serban--even if Civics were taught and embraced by schools from kindergarten to 12th grade, if the real world they greet falls far short of fulfilling its democratic duties, if inequality or favoritism for the rich is what they see, if their country does nothing to stop global warming, even if their Constitution says "the sciences shall be promoted at all times", if the current leader supports racism, sexism and violence, if their families are working harder and becoming poorer, I would think that at least anger, bitterness and a sense of betrayal would set in.
However, with a strong foundation in Civics and government, these same youth would also have some guiding principals at hand, which would help them fight for democracy and not dictators.
2
Netanyahu and Trump are evil twins out to be dictators, but more likely will destroy their countries. Before these two, the US and Israel were the most shining examples of democracy. Now they are the most shining examples of corruption and demagoguery.
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"...Benny Gantz, an Israeli hero straight out of Central Casting,..."
Benny Gantz was in charge of the IDF when it committed war crimes in the 2014 war on Gaza. I do not consider that to warrant "hero" status.
16
The vote will come down to "for Bibi" or "Anyone but Bibi". The issues that affect us daily and even the Palestinian issues are sidelined by this one concern. I hope with all my heart that the left can pull this off through Gantz. It all comes down to voting conscientiously or voting strategically. This will be a defining moment in our ability to call ourselves a Democracy.
20
@ljhs51
There is no Left. Israel is Right to Rabid Right. Gantz boasts about the number of Palestinians he killed in Gaza to win votes. This is reminiscent of Shimon Peres allowing the bombing of civilians at K'ana, Lebanon, killing 200, to show how tough he was to appeal to voters.
2
Hoping (one more time this week) that Mr. Gantz reads this comment:
Why not promote the obvious solution, the only one that will replace a century of strife by a constructive peace, with dignity and security for both people? A Federation of two sovereign states - Israel-Palestine - with each its own parliament, cabinet, secure borders and thriving culture and economy. Israelis would be responsible for all military matters, which means that Palestinians do not have to worry about any predatory moves by their unstable neighbours. Palestinian refugees who wish to return would do so in the new Palestinian State and would be compensated by Israel and the international community. The two populations have lived and worked together since the beginning of the 20th Century and they will continue to do so forever, whether they are at peace or at low intensity war with each other. This solution would simply turn the page and evacuate the conflict. It is amazing that practically no politician ever mentions such a possibility.
9
@SA: So Israel keeps its military and the Palestinian Arabs must disarm? Not going to happen. In any case, these are two people who've come to hate one another. Shared sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem might be a decent idea, but a federation of two separate states? You can't even get the Syrians to agree to that.
10
@stu freeman
The Palestinian arms are toys next to Israel's arsenal. The West Bank is largely disarmed already. The settlers, without their military protectors, are as equally armed as Fatah.
1
@SA
Why Palestinians cannot join the Army? You do not trust them?
I prefer a joint army where conscription applies to both Israelis and the Palestinians.
The key word in Roger Cohen's article is "moral." Netanyahu, like Trump, shows absolute aversion to any notion of ethical/moral leadership. Like Trump, it is political expedience and absolute power that drive Netanyahu's inner being. Sadly, the religious establishment of Israel, like the evangelical movements in the US, continue to abrogate their responsibility as a moral/ethical conscience and guide to those most in need of their counsel.
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@Rabbi Howard Siegel
There is definitely a problem of diminished morality on the part of Netanyahu. He should not be elected.
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But where is there a shred of morality on the part of the Palestinian Authority?
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There should be a federation of the Palestinians on a part of the West Bank along with Jordan, which has a population that is 70% Palestinian.
1
@Rabbi Howard Siegel--actually, Israel does not follow Torah constraints against theft, dishonesty in business or murder. Secular law does not condone these acts either.
So Israel steals Palestinian land, refuses to offer market-rate payment for it, and murders rock-throwing Palestinians with automatic weapons. Netanyahu lusts to destroy Iran--when in ancient times, Persians and Jews had respect for each other because both peoples could read -- they were "people of the book".
There are 12 Israeli parties running tomorrow. Only 3 offer a 2-state solution. It is confounding that Israeli immigrants are so willing to do to Palestinians what was done to their ancestors in Poland, Germany and Europe by the Nazis -- take their land and possessions, deny them voting rights, kill them, consider them less than "human".
One would think Israel would remember WWII's tragedies, and not want to emulate them.
7
There are two issues here-
First Netanyahu is toxic. I really hope Habtz wins. Agree or disagree with his policies, the man has no moral compass and it’s clearly interested in its own survival.
Two state solution? I wish it could happen, but it was striken down down by Arafat, when he rejected Barak’s Proposal without answer, and buried when Abbas rejected Olmert’s.
If the Palestinian wanted a two state solution, and were willing to compromise and not stand in a macimdlist position (all we want or nothing) we would have two states long ago, Netanyahu popularity is a byproduct of Palestinian intransigence, maximalism and what happened to Gaza after Israel left.
I hope we see better leaders on both sides that can achieve peace, but at this point it looks like a pipe dream.
10
Y “wanting all” you mean not accepting an “offer” that assigns the Palestinians a “state” (which they don’t actually control) in less than 70% of the West Bank (made to sound like 98% for gullible Westerners by not counting the huge chunk incorporated into Jerusalem by Israel after 1967), with no resolution of the refugee issue, with continued Israeli control of the Jordan Valley? Because that sounds like something no sane person would accept.
3
@Marcelo, you forgot the part where the 'all' that the Palestinians want is what is mandated by international law. No other nation on Earth has been permitted to annex land by war since Israel's founding. That's always conveniently left out of the story.
3
@Marcelo
The Palestinians were only ever offered the crumbs Israel was willing to give. Olmert was a lame duck and could not have implemented his offer. The dynamism of the land grab was on a roll immediately after Oslo. The Palestinians are the aggrieved party in this conflict. What a different world it would be if the Zionists had heeded the Zionist Isaac Nachman Steinberg's recognition that in 1947 Palestine was not a land without people. He argued for founding Israel in Australia. His son said he was glad his father died before he could see what his fellow Zionists did in Palestine, as his grief would have been unbearable.
3
Oh please, please, please stop saying "But the two-state solution." This has been a Trump-level con and slow-roll for the past fifty years. At some point political equilibrium will be reestablished and "a land without people for a people without a land" will be occupied equally and justly by all of its inhabitants under a government that will not distinguish among any of them by religion or race. Just not in my lifetime.
7
@Danny There is only one race, but perhaps all too many religions and an infinite number of ethnicities.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
1
@Larry Lundgren Agreed.
For Netanyahu, like Trump, words like morality, decency, dignity and respect, don't impinge on their consciousness. Likewise, their electoral bases wouldn't recognize these noble concepts it they came down from heaven on angels' wings. So, in short, both Netanyahu and Trump will be reelected. The world will continue to shake perilously on its axis. I do not long for hope; there is none.
14
Correct Mr. Cohen, the election is about Mr. Netanyahu.
What he says or promises is irrelevant; he can promise, but fulfilling is another matter.
However, you exaggerate the pull of Mr. Gantz.
Generals are a dime a dozen here. Hero? Not so much. Just another general in a party top-heavy with generals which pulled the rug from under the former guitar-playing, boxing, journalist. Mr. Gantz has no political experience and did not succeed in his short business career. This is not Exodus and Mr. Gantz is not Ari ben Canaan or Paul Newman.
If he becomes Prime Minister, his policies do not differ much from those of Mr. Netanyahu, i.e. the real policies to be implemented.
It would perhaps be different if there really were a partner for peace, but that is not the case. The Palestinians play for the entire pot, and nobody here will give it to them; it would be immediate political suicide.
Tzipi Livni dropped out not because of her policies, but because she lacked charisma and political skill. She won an election and could not put together a coalition. But even if she had, nobody would offer the Palestinians more than Ehud Barak or Ehud Olmert did and that was rejected.
29
@Joshua Schwartz
Joshua, thanks for a substantive view from Israel. Might it be appropriate (or not?) to make the comparison that, when it comes to substantive effect and affectation, Netanyahu is to Gantz as Trump is to Pence?
I have always thought that to understand Netanyahu you have to remember that he had a brother who was a genuine hero, one that Bibi never can live up to no matter how hard he tries. Does that analysis resonate with you?
1
@Steve Fankuchen
Bibi spent five distinguished years in the army, serving as a captain in an elite commando unit, the Sayeret Matkal. He took part in a raid on Beirut's airport in 1968 and fought in the 1973 Middle East war. unit. Indeed he lived whereas tragically his brother did not.
3
It makes no difference who wins the election in Israel as far as a two state solution is concerned because Israel will never let the Palestinians have a real county. The hope of the Israelis is that if the occupation goes on long enough they will break the Palestinians sprit and they will capitulate. It won't happen. What will happen I'm sorry to say is the inevitably of tragedy.
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@joe
Jews accepted the 1937 Peel Partition Plan, the 1947 UN Partition Plan, the Clinton Parameters & Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert presented a 2-state peace plan. All of these were 2-state solutions.
5
Imagine if Mueller has recommended Trump be charged and the republicans in the senate promised to keep him out of jail as long as he passed whatever radical agenda they proposed. Any leader whose power can be exploited thru personal leverage is not fit to lead.
35
@Mat Yep. That's how Israel ended up with the debacle of the Gaza withdrawal. But Netanyahu isn't Ariel Sharon.
A negotiated two-state settlement offers the best prospect for lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. We were relatively close with the Oslo process 25 years ago. Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing base have taken us far from that. We should not give up on it.
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@Blue Moon
Agreed and disagree.
A peace agreement and negotiated solutions is the best way out.
I place the blame for failure squarely on Arafat and Abbas for not compromising and negotiating in good faith with Barak and Olmert - they wanted alll, not an agreement, but all.
Netanyahu is a byproduct of their intransigence and lack of vision- and we are all the worst for it.
19
@Blue Moon
It is true that Oslo has failed. While Bibi may not be serious about a two state solution, blaming that failure and him just simply ignoring history. Oslo failed while others were prime minister because the Palestinians would not accept 90% of what they wanted.
Gantz’s policies are not that much different Because the overwhelming majority of Israelis do not support a Palestinian right of return or dividing Jerusalem
Whoever wins these with the election, there will be no peace agreement unless a Palestinian leader strong enough to compromise emerges.
25
@Blue Moon
The Israelis will not accept a two-state agreement. The best that the Palestinians can hope for is a one-and-a-half state scheme, in which the Palestinians live in what might be described as something between the old South African bantustans and the Native Peoples reservations in the USA and Canada.
The Native Peoples of North America were defeated, forced to sign treaties that relocated them to the west, and when that land was wanted they were forcibly relocated again and again and again.
Europeans viewed that the Native Peoples did not have rights to their land, as many Israelis view the Palestinians as not having rights to live without military, economic and political oppression.
According to my mother, in the 1930's my grandfather argued that Zionism would create perpetual conflicts between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. 90 years it seems that he was right.
18
Not sure why "French law" was put in scare quotes because French law, as do many other democracies, grant immunity to serving elected officials. Just e abuse it’s not an Anglo-American concept doesn’t put it beyond the pale.
As to the most recent addition to Israel's Basic Laws (which constitute its Constitution, as opposed to the UK which has none and the US which does), does Cohen really deny that Israel is the State in which the Jewish people have been able to express their right to self-determination. In other words, Israel is the ultimate haven for Jews. Cohen must know that the Nation State law says precisely nothing about diminishing the civil or religious rights of anyone else - and so Israel is staying true to its founding mission which was itself enshrined in international law through the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine.
Finally, we get that Cohen and others suffer from Bibi-fatigue. However, when he does eventually leave office, what in the Arab world will have changed? The fundamental problem has always been Arab rejectionism and refusal to acknowledge the rights and history of the Jewish people. Until that changes, it really won’t matter who leads Israel. Of course, Western political commentary will remain much the same, just directed at a new Prime Minister.
24
@Charlie in NY
No matter whether you grant civil and religious rights to all, if a large number of your citizens cannot vote because of their religion, that is non-democratic.
3
@Charlie in NY The Nation State law cancelled Arabic as an official language in Israel and in doing that, definitely diminished the civil rights or 20% of Israel's citizens. In my opinion, in doing so, it also diminished Israel's culture and very soul.
3
@Charlie in NY Netanyahu has made it plain that Israel is a state only for Jews. If you are comfortable with an ethno-religious state that discriminates against non-Jews, that's fine, but let's not pretend that Israel is a liberal democracy or that it has anything in common with true liberal democracies. As for the cause of the conflict, it started with Israel being created on Arab land, at the expense of the native population. Today, it has been compounded and exacerbated by endless illegal settlements on Palestinian land, settlements that are completely unjustifiable in any world. They serve no purpose other than to steal land and they are a clear statement that Israel wants land far more than it wants peace. It believes - perhaps correctly - that it can steal everything the Palestinians have left, marginalize them completely and forever, and live comfortably with an eternally subservient population in its midst.
2
Roger Cohen's Times' colleague Bret Stephens just endorsed Benny Gantz but a few days ago. I am naive about Israel's politics, so I follow what both Mr. Cohen and Mr. Stephens write.
I do, however, observe closely the character and behavior of Netanyahu. He is of the same ilk, I fear, as Mr. Trump, only smarter and perhaps more dangerous...if that is possible. At some point our democracies need to place morality and ethical leadership above corrupt and thuggish actions borne of greed, power, and control. It is for that reason I will be watching this election closely. I will look to the results as either auspicious or ominous. To be honest, I am fearful. And to be perfectly selfish, this fear is not triggered so much for and by our ally, but rather by what lies ahead for my country if Donald Trump is allowed to remain the unfit demagogue he has become.
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@Kathy Lollock Kathy, at this point, Trump's lethal disregard for decency is shoring up cruel and misguided leaders throughout the world. If Americans are looking for a reason to defeat Trump in the next elections, this is one of the main reasons.
Trump (and Netanyahu) are throwing decent governance out the door and the only meaningful solution is the vote.
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@Kathy Lollock Exactly. If Israel re-elects a crook and right-wing criminal, and if there is "no light" between Israel and the US, then why should the US not do the same?
If Israel is a Jewish state, then could the US be said to be a Christian state?
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@Kathy Lollock
As long as some of the super-wealthy control much of the media, morality and ethics will continue to be sidelined. Government foreign policy in the ME is bought and paid for.
There is a coming need for more grass roots movements. People need to start to think for themselves and resist the brainwashing.
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All of the negatives that Mr. Cohen throws at Bibi may in fact be true. Yet it is hard for anyone, especially Israelis, to see Bibi as anything but a successful Prime Minister.
The economy, which in the 1970s was a laughing stock, is booming (which other country of 10 million people has Google, Intel, Facebook, and so many other hi-tech companies moving in ?)
Relations with Sunni Arab countries throughout the Middle East, not to mention India, smaller African nations, and central Europe, are at a high.
Iran is complaining that sanctions are hurting.
There is no sign of any real war.
The American President is your buddy (compare that to Obama's 7% approval rating in Israel in his first term).
The Palestinians still have no credible leadership, so peace talks are pretty much irrelevant now.
So you think Bibi takes a little money on the side ?
You think he's arrogant or bombastic ?
Things could be a lot worse; in fact, many would argue things are downright good to excellent.
So the only real question is: are you tired of seeing Bibi's face on the evening news, and would you rather see someone else's face ?
Or is that too minor an issue to risk blowing things up ?
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@G “So the only real question is: are you tired of seeing Bibi's face on the evening news”
As a Mizrachi Jew born in Israel and residing in the US for 65 years, I must ask yet another real question that I had read in Christian scripture: “For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?”
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@G
It feels much more like the quiet before the storm. The ME is a mountain of rubble, we have right-wing lawless governments in the US, Israel, and the Arab states. Israel lives well and finances his war power with American and European aid. The Arabs have an immature prince with delusions of grandeur, much like Trump. All three would destroy Iran turning it into another Iraq, that alone does not bode well. And the Trump people would even provide nuclear know-how to the Saudis if they could. That is crazy, the ME is a powder cake, any one of the three can throw the burning match.
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@G
For the first time in Isreal’s 70 year existence it has positive and close relations with the world’s two superpowers - US and Russia. That is no mean achievement. And for the first time Isreal has informal relationships with several major Arab nations beyond Egypt and Jordan. That too is no mean achievement.
Especially when Isreal’s most formidable adversary in the mid-east, Iran, frequently promises to “annihilate the entire nation”, without disapproval’s from either Europe or the UN.
Even Bibi’s most vigorous opponents would likely agree that Isreal is now militarily more secure than at any time in its 70 year history during which 25,000 died defending their small nation. That too is no mean achievement.
Especially for those concerned with Isreali’s survival.
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Netanyahu is far too committed to the Trump connection. It's gotten him some obvious short-term gains, but being closely associated with Trump is a very poor long-term strategy. This would be a good time for him to go for that reason alone.
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@Bob Acker Trump thinks himself royalty, and his oldest daughter has mused she might make a good president. She makes Wallis Warfield Simpson, who was two-timing the Prince of Wales with Ribbentrop, look like true quality in comparison.
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