Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Wednesday 11 September 2019

David Singer: Trump Seems Set to See Netanyahu as Israel’s Next Prime Minister

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

President Trump seems set to see Bibi Netanyahu re-elected as Israel’s next prime minister in the upcoming elections to be held on 17 September – the second this year following an indecisive vote in April that left no one able to form government.

Early voting by eligible Israeli diplomats and emissaries around the world has seen a drop in their turnout from 76 per cent in April to 69 per cent in September.

If general voters follow the diplomats’ lead next week:
  1. The voter turnout of 67.97 per cent in April 2019 will be further reduced.
  2. Netanyahu’s Likud party will increase its proportion of the vote – 26.46 per cent in April 2019 – up from 23.4 per cent in 2015 – to an even higher figure.
Likud increased its numbers from 985,408 in 2015 to 1,140,370 in April 2019 – whilst Yisrael Beiteinu’s numbers decreased from 214,906 in 2015 to 173,004 in April 2019. Blue and White contested the April elections for the first time.

Likud voters – buoyed by the post-April statements detailed in 1, 2 and 3 below – will most likely vote again – whilst Blue and White and Yisrael Beiteinu voters – unhappy with their leaders’ post-April statements detailed in 4 and 5 below – are more likely to stay home.

Any increase in general voter turnout this time beyond 67.97 per cent would defy the diplomatic downturn – but should still see parties on the Right securing more of those new votes than parties on the Left. Statements made since April by Trump’s Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, President Trump himself, Likud’s Netanyahu, Yisrael Beiteinu’s Lieberman and Blue and White’s Gantz support this conclusion.

      1. Ambassador Friedman indicated that some degree of annexation of the West Bank would be legitimate.
 “Under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, but unlikely all, of the West Bank”
More new voters – conscious of their own families’ personal safety – would vote Right – than those opposing any annexation – who would vote Left.
  1. Trump endorsed Netanyahu as a great guy”
  2. Netanyahu – speaking in Elkana – located in Samaria – pledged:
“With God’s help we will extend Jewish sovereignty to all the settlements as part of the (biblical) Land of Israel, as part of the State of Israel. “This is our land…”We will build another Elkana and another Elkana and another Elkana. We will not uproot anyone here”
In a first-ever public address from Hebron by a sitting Israeli prime minister – Netanyahu vowed:
To cite the late Menachem Begin and the late Yigal Allon: ‘Hebron will not be devoid of Jews.’ It will not be Judenrein [ed: i.e. Jew-free]. And I say on the 90th anniversary of the disturbances [ed: when 67 Jews were murdered] – we are not foreigners in Hebron, we will stay here forever.” 
These patriotic declarations should attract more Right-supportive than Left-opposing new voters.
  1. Lieberman promised to amend the law to make ultra-orthodox youths do compulsory military training.
United Torah Judaism MK Yakov Asher has declared this the best possible get-out-the-vote campaign the ultra-Orthodox parties could wish for.

New ultra-orthodox voters turning out to spare children in their ultra-orthodox community undertaking this military obligation would likely exceed new secular voters who think this is a reform long overdue.
  1. Trump’s judgment has been challenged by Gantz stating he would have admitted US Congresswomen Omar and Tlaib into Israel.
Gantz’s decision would not resonate with a majority of new voters – who would consider any disagreement with Trump could jeopardise Trump’s amazing support of Israel during his presidency.

Trump and Netanyahu appear destined to continue their very special relationship after the votes have been counted.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones” one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

1 comment:

  1. Professor A.J. Caschetta said:

    “[Rashid] Khalidi [of the Center for Palestine
    Studies] inadvertently admits that the Palestinian
    economy consists almost exclusively of handouts
    from the world, especially the United States and Israel.

    Cash installments to the P.A. [Palestinian Authority]
    are used to pay everyone from terrorists to counter-terrorists.

    Israel collects taxes for the Palestinians and supplies
    most of their electricity and water. Many of the
    real job opportunities for Palestinians who reside
    in Judea and Samaria, [the so-called “West Bank,”]
    are provided by Israeli companies.”

    SOURCE:
    Encouraging Palestinians to swim uphill
    by A.J. Caschetta, 2019 August 5, JNS dot org
    www.jns.org/opinion/encouraging-palestinians-to-swim-uphill/

    ===================================
    Thane Rosenbaum [author of many
    books and a Distinguished Fellow at
    the NYU School of Law] said:


    “In this universe of automatic virtue
    bestowed upon anyone with a history
    of oppression, Jews are, bizarrely,
    kicked off the team, their privileges
    suspended, all because of their
    ostensible White privilege.”

    SOURCE: ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
    reminds us of age-old Jewish truths

    by Thane Rosenbaum, 2019 August 7
    www.algemeiner.com/2019/08/07/fiddler-on-the-roof-reminds-us-of-age-old-jewish-truths/

    ===================================

    Major General (res.) Gershon HaCohen,
    [who] led the IDF 36th Division that was
    responsible for the disengagement [from Gaza]
    [said this to Jewish News Syndicate]:


    “…No one in his right mind in Israel will
    now agree to a disengagement from Judea
    and Samaria [also known as The West Bank]
    except for a few Left-wing radicals.”

    SOURCE:
    Disbanding Gush Katif a failed experiment,
    says general who helped carry out evacuation

    by Avrohom Shmuel Lewin, 2019 August 12
    www.jns.org/disbanding-gush-katif-a-failed-experiment-says-general-who-helped-carry-out-evacuation/

    ===================================
    Bill Maher described the anti-Israel BDS movement as:

    “a bulls**t purity test by people who
    want to appear woke but actually
    slept through history class.”

    Bill Maher also said:

    “As if the occupation came right out of
    the blue, that this completely peaceful
    people found themselves occupied.

    Forget about the intifadas and the suicide
    bombings and the rockets and how many wars.”

    SOURCE:
    Rep. Rashida Tlaib Pushes Boycott of Bill Maher
    Show after Host Calls BDS a ‘Bulls**t Purity Test’

    by Benjamin Kerstein, 2019 August 18
    www.algemeiner.com/2019/08/18/rep-rashida-tlaib-pushes-boycott-of-bill-maher-show-after-host-calls-bds-a-bullst-purity-test/

    ALSO: www.algemeiner.com/2019/08/23/bill-maher-calls-bs-on-bds/
    ALSO: www.jns.org/opinion/from-bill-maher-to-gloria-steinem-celebrities-jump-into-tlaib-omar-fray-head-first/

    ===================================

    Abdul Hameed al Ghabin
    [Saudi writer and political analyst] said:


    “How can we achieve peace if the Palestinian
    people remain without a place to call home?
    The answer is simple:

    Jordan is already 78% of historical Palestine.
    Jordanians of Palestinian origin constitute
    more than 80% of the population according to
    U.S. intelligence cables leaked in 2010. Jordan
    is essentially already the Palestinian Arab state.

    The only problem is, the King of Jordan
    refuses to acknowledge this.”

    SOURCE:
    A new Saudi perspective for peace
    by Abdul Hameed al Ghabin, 2019/8/21
    https://www.jns.org/opinion/a-new-saudi-perspective-for-peace/

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