Category: Politics

As I write these words, the masses are gathering for an anti government demonstration in the center of Beirut. Tanks are guarding PM Fuad Saniora’s offices fearing that the demonstration will get out of control. This is the new climax in the crisis between the Sunni – Christian government and the Hizbullah (+ other pro Syrian groups).

Except following the news on television, radio, papers and online news sites, there are lots of blogs written by well educated Lebanese in excellent English. They share personal experiences, feelings and also a deeper look into the very delicate political situation in Lebanon. I became aware of them during the war this summer, and I’m following them regularly. They don’t delete comments written by Israelis like myself. Readers from Israel usually identified themselves proudly and almost always received serious responses.

The current crisis isn’t related to Israel. But Lebanon is always fascinating…

The Lebanese Bloggers

Lebanese Political Journal

Of course, there are lots more. Lots of links can be followed from these blogs. I settle for these two.

America is going tomorrow to midterm elections. All of the seats in the Congress and a third of the seats in the Senate are to be voted upon. The commentary that I’ve heard suggests that the congress will be taken by the Democrats, while the Senate will see a close race between both parties.

I hope that the Democratic Party will win both houses. The reign of George W. Bush and his Republican party has been awful for America. I’m not involved in with internal American affairs, but I can definitely see that the US became more religious, the gaps between the rich and the poor have widened (Katrina) and it isn’t a place I want to live in anymore.

I do know much about their foreign policy, and it’s wrong.

The war in Iraq was the worst mistake. Saddam Hussein, just yesterday sentenced to death, was a cruel dictator. He was bad for his people. The result of the American invasion isn’t better. The United States blamed him of holding Weapons of Mass Destruction. Never found. The CIA accused his intelligence officers of collaboration with Al Queda. Bin Laden’s organization hardly had any presence there. Now they are all over Iraq, killing foreigners and recruiting people for more terror acts, also exported elsewhere. How did that help in the war against terror? Now, when a more real threat come from Iran, the US is weak. The military is won out, the very deep debt (caused largely by the Iraqi adventure) and the world won’t stand side by side with another campaign.

Policy in the Middle East? This administration is very supportive of Israel. Wow, Great!

It only does us a lot of damage. The US has lost it’s role as a fair broker between the Arabs and ourselves. The distrust that the Arabs have towards the Americans, and our snubbing of European efforts make peace look very distant. Another problem is the settlements.

Contrary to previous administrations, this one is the most permissive of them all. Legal and illegal settlement are flourishing in the West Bank. President Bush’s letter to Ariel Sharon in 2004 gave strengthened our right to build there. It puts a burden on peace negotiations, as well as on the Israeli budget. These funds could well help old age pensioners, the decadent education system, or the sick health system.

The latest effect of American policy on Israel, is it’s refusal to permit talks with Syria. After putting Syria in the bad guys section, the only possible policy seems isolation. They never thought of trying to pull Syria out of it’s pact with Iran, and bringing them back to the guys. For us, the start of talks with Syria could be a very positive step towards peace, and a very big problem for Hizballah. It’s an Israeli interest to give peace a chance when Assad makes a proposal. He could be cheating, but we’ll never know if we won’t try, if we keep obeying to our American allies.

I could go on for hours about why Bush is bad. A change in Congress and Senate could make a big difference in American policy. The situation inside the US will be better, and I do hope that also foreign policy will change.

This time I’m going to an event related with the name behind the square. It used to be “Israel’s Kings Square”, until exactly 11 years ago.

I think that every Israeli remembers where he’s been on November 4th, 1995. I’ve been there in the peace rally where PM Rabin was murdered. The rally took place after a long time of protests from right wing movements against Rabin and his policy. The Oslo accords brought lots of aggrevation with them. The rally’s slogan was “Peace – Yes, Violence – No”. I was so happy to see the peace camp finally in the streets, after all the hatred of the previous months.

It didn’t last too long. After the rally ended, I was walking towards a bus station. Policemen told me that I couldn’t get through. I took another direction, and the rumors began coming around. I finally took a taxi, and the rumors became a news report, Rabin was shot and he is badly wounded. It didn’t seem real to me. I arrived to the people I was staying at, and evryone was already watching television anxiously. A few minutes later, we heard the official statement that Rabin died. The people on TV looked shocked exactly like ourseleves. We didn’t speak to each other, but just stared at the television for another hour or two.

Tonight, November 4th is again on Saturday night. I’ll find myself again in the same square, lke every year. Last year, a decade after. we had Bill Clinton as a special guest. I don’t know what the program is for tonight.

Me and some of my friends have been complaining about the annual ceremony. It is always non political, consisits mostly of sad songs, and remembering how Rabin was a good grandfather. For this kind of ritual we have an official ceremony, with the heads of the state, beside his grave in Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, in the place where the prime minister was murdered for political reasons, I would surely expect a political rally, reminding everybody that it was a political murder, from a man who opposed Rabin’s path for peace.

Anyway, I’ll be there, at around 19:30 – 20:00. If someone reads this by chance and wants to say hello, I’ll be by “Discount Bank” on the corner of Ibn Gvirol and David Hamelech.

 

Syrian president Assad gave an interview to Der Spiegel a few days ago. Amongst other things, he said that he is interested in peace with Israel. Israel’s response: No. I think that its quite a stupid policy that could have bad consequences.

What did Assad say? When he was asked to comment on the Iranian president’s call to destroy Israel, Assad said: I don’t say that Israel should be erased from the map. I want to make peace. Peace with Israel.

What did Israel say? PM Olmert’s office said the conditions aren’t set for negotiations. Sources in Jerusalem say that the US opposes negotiations with Syria due to Syria’s arms smuggling into Iraq, support of Hizballah and of Palestinian terror organizations.

Afterwards, Olmert gave an interview in which he said (in person) that Assad is not a partner for peace, since it supports terror. Olmert also volunteers to explain the American stand. He says that the American are afraid of negotiations with Syria, because the Syrians aren’t serious. “There is no reason that Israel will reward them”.
Assad isn’t a saint. He supports Hizbullah, supports Hamas, and doesn’t help in calming down Iraq. His declarations might be aiming at German ears. The German FM cancelled a planned visit to Syria, after Assad said that Israel is an enemy. In the worst case scenario, it will be proved that he only wants to lower the international pressure. In a better scenario, it could open the road to peace.

Well, Syria supports terror, and is also involved in money laundering and drug trafficking. We are an enemy to Syria, just as Syria is an enemy for us.

It’s time to change the attitude. In order to stop Syria backing of terror, we should go for peace. Refusing to negotiate with Syria because of it’s wrong doing would only reduce the chance for peace and the chance that Syria will stop it’s wrong doing.

The negotiations that were held in Shepardstown in 2000 were very serious. The parties laid down many many details concerning a peace treaty. Almost everything was agreed upon. If both sides would be serious now, a deal can be struck. Of course, new negotiations could result in nothing over the exact same issues. Isn’t it worth a try?

A refusal to open negotiations with Syria might send us back to a frozen situation. The middle east doesn’t stay frozen for a long time, and we might see another round of violence. The field can be Lebanon (again) or a direct war with Syria. As we’ve already seen, war brings so much suffering and no winners.

This is how I see the Israeli interests, and the Israeli policy that I wish for. I would like to see that my country is promoting its interests.

Not those of the US.

The US is interfering too much with our interests here. It is no longer in the shadows. It’s exaggerated and dangerous. We should be an independent country, not another Puerto Rico. The US supports us and funds us. That doesn’t give them ownership. They can’t deny us of our interests.

Olmert, who volunteers to explain the American stand, doesn’t catch that he is actually obeying the American directives. His interviewers didn’t bother to ask him those hard questions. I was certain that Olmert will throw a positive declaration that would send away all the bad publicity about his personal corruption allegations (I’ll write about it in another time). Well, nothing. He even called his ministers to stop talking about the Syrian issue.

The education minister (labor) and the chairperson of the Knesset (Olmert’s Kadima party) did support talking with Syria. These voices, along with left wing opposition voices, faded away.

Sorry for not linking to the news articles. I’m a bit in a hurry.
Anyway, I hope that we haven’t missed yet another chance for peace with Syria.

Someone asked me if there were already songs for the last war. Well, the war ended only a month ago, on August 14th. Songs? So soon?

Well, today I was surprised to hear a commercial for a new compilation of songs from the recent war in Lebanon. I guess that the record company wants to make some easy money before the Jewish New Years Eve (Rosh Hashana is in 2 days). As I understood, all the songs are old songs, some of them in new remix versions. The songs that are featured in the commercial are either patriotic or longing for peaceful times. Where are the angry, frustrated songs?

The woman who narrated the radio commercial seemed so pleased with the songs, and also from the war. Such good songs, so touching, oh, how we miss the war!

I don’t get it. Hardly anyone in Israel believes that we won the war. There are arguments about the amount of damage inflicted on Hezbollah, about the diplomatic achievements, etc. There is lots of criticism about the government’s poor role in running the war. This refers to both military and civil issues. The war doesn’t top the agenda, mostly becasuse people want to forget it. More than 160 people dead, scores of wounded civilians and soldiers and serious economic damage (strenghened by a cruel budget for 2007).

That was the war. No glory, no calm, no pretty songs.