Netanyahu's Likud sinks to new lows in Israeli polls

Yeah the perpetual victims of Israel were forced by the Euros and leftists and Obama to vote for the guy who pledges never to allow and Palestinians state and to keep expanding settlements. Of course never any responsibility taken, including lobbying for the US to break up Iraq leading to ISIS.
.

 

So he isnt' well liked personally, but folks like his racism.

Even more damning in a way.

 

The fact is that Netanyahu is Israel's worst enemy. The best way to guarantee Israel's solution is to have a viable Palestinian state. Had Israel given that back in the 90's so much of the bloodshed today could have been avoided.

The U.S. is finally standing up to Israel and doing it a favor.

 

The road to the US standing up to Israel is still long. Adelman practically by himself owns the GOP and a couple of lesser billionaires and AIPAC can still get many of the Dems to stand up and cheer Bibi and disrespect their own president.

Agreed that the US standing up to Israel will be a favor for the people of Israel. Very similar to how it was in the Jim Crowe South for the rest of the country and in South Africa for the world to stand up to it.

Making Israel behave wrt to the Palestinians is one the main keys to solving the problems so it will be doing a favor for Americans, folks in the entire Middle East and much of the world.

 

Not exactly...Bibi wasn't going to get left-leaning voters to cross over. He needed to get nationalists to show up to vote, and convince them to vote for his party rather than the fringe parties they identified with. No party in Israel has ever won a majority, ever. Being PM means you have to create a tent much bigger than your own party. So, moral panic..."the Arabs are voting, and Americans are helping them to win," worked wonders.

 

funny, when the most informed person on the matter cares to comment, all the Bibi deep throaters scatter like roaches.

 

I respect Deji's takes. Just as he won't agree with all of mine, I don't agree with all of his. But yes, I assume he is a lot more informed than me. But Netanyahu won anyway - and he did what he had to do to win. Whether you politically agree with him or not, one can acknowledge that.

 

Well, I'm glad you changed your stance from "critical of Bibi is akin to being anti-Israeli" to 'it's just political differences'.

 

That was never what I meant to say. But I guess when I am responding to several people at the same time, ranging from batsh!t crazy like Exiled to just "critical of Bibi" like maybe you or some others, I sometimes paint with a broad brush, too.

 

That's actually fair tbh.


Bobby, Texxx et al however...

 

Why am I being dragged into this?

 

I'm not even sure that's entirely true. Mathematically, Likud might have come in second without the 11th hour rally (which happened in the last election, he still became PM), but nothing really shifted in terms of left or right parties -- not enough to get a likely coalition from the left to 61 seats. All Bibi succeeded in doing is cutting himself a bigger piece from the same pie, and in doing so he's alienated much of the Jewish diaspora and most western leaders and any arguments they might have against those speaking of divestment or unilateral attempts for Palestinian statehood.

The next big event is going to be Abbas' move. He might finally make good on his threat to dissolve the PA and demand universal suffrage in the Territories. He'll be able to play looping audio of Bibi warning against Arab voters going to the polls and get applause everywhere he goes at home or in the world.

 

Looks like Bibi heard Obama's Friday comments loud and clear.


Netanyahu apologizes, walks back "Arab voters" comments.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized Monday for comments he made in the final hours of last week’s election, in which he warned of a left-wing conspiracy to bus in Arab Israeli voters, who he said were voting “in droves.” Some critics called the remarks outrageous, and even racist.

“I know what I said a few days ago damaged Israel’s Arabs,” Netanyahu told Arab Israeli supporters of the right-wing Likud party in a video clip posted to his Facebook page and translated by NBC News. “I had no intention of it. I’m sorry for that.”

“I see myself as a Prime Minister of each and every one of you, of all citizens of Israel, without any distinction of religion, race and gender,” Netanyahu said Monday, in response to criticism of his pre-election warning that Arab Israelis votes would put “the rule of the right” in danger. “I see all citizens of Israel share Israel’s deliverance, prosperous and safe, for the benefit of all citizens of Israel. Thank you all.”



But whatever, he won right?

 

Nice to have an Israeli journalist saying the truth about the lack of truth by Israel There have been many complicated phony excuses for Israel's behavior wrt to the so called "Peace Process" of the last 25 yrs Most Israelis want either no state for the Palestinians or a couple of small pseudo states under total external control as the Occupied Territories of Gaza and the West Bank are presently



. Better late than never.
By Gideon Levy 10:13 22.03.15 35
Tweet 5
I would like to say thank you to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Thank you for telling the truth. Last week you were revealed as the first
Israeli prime minister to tell the truth. For at least 25 years most Israeli statesmen have been lying, misleading the world, the Israelis and
themselves, until Netanyahu arose – he of all statesmen – and told the truth. If only this truth had been told by an Israeli prime minister 25 years
ago, maybe even 50 years ago, when the occupation was born. Still, better late than never. The public rewarded him for this truth, and
Netanyahu was elected for a fourth term.
Netanyahu said last week that if he were to be reelected, a Palestinian state would not be established on his watch. Plain and simple, loud and
clear.

This simple, pure truth was the case for all his predecessors as well – all the prime ministers, peace lovers and justice seekers from the
center and the left, who gave false promises. But who thought to admit it before him? Who had the courage to reveal the truth? The latest of
these deceivers was Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog: His daring plan included five years of negotiations. T

.... The end of negotiations, the end of games. No more shuttle
diplomacy, Quartets, emissaries, processes, outlines, mediators and plans. That’s it; it will not happen.

It had no chance from the very beginning. In Israel, there was not one single prime minister – including the two Nobel Peace Prize laureates –
who intended for one second to let a Palestinian state be established. But the bluff of the century was convenient for everyone. Now Netanyahu
has put an end to it.


If Israel had played its cards openly from the outset, as Netanyahu has done now, perhaps we would be in a different place, a better place.
If only Israel had told the truth: that it covets the occupied territory for itself and will never give it up; that hundreds of thousands of Jews are
living there and it has no intention of evacuating them; that it does not care about international law, and cares nothing for what the whole world
thinks; that the Palestinians have no rights there; that Abraham our patriarch is buried there; that Rachel our matriarch weeps there; that Israel’s
security depends on it, and that the Holocaust is at the door.

The reasons are many and varied, and they all say one thing – now and forever,
from Hebron to Jenin. Yes to autonomy, to self*administration, to village leagues or a Palestinian Authority. But no to a state. Never.

.... History will remember that he was the first
Israeli prime minister to speak the truth.

http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/.premium-1.648122

 

dont lie. if you wanted the top job you'd say anything to get elected whether that's hating on the chinese, blacks, whites, moslems, etc. leave the guy alone he's just a politician. those who voted for him, those who got him back into office liked what he had to say about the arabs. you should be blaming most israelis for supporting that kind of thinking because he won.

 

I'm very glad I'm not you.

 

im sorry your too naive to know how politics works and how voters will elect the biggest scumbags into office because that person supports their world view which may be different than yours. i know a lot of people who voted for mccain because he's white and with a normal sounding name. you can look down on that but it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. netanyahu said something that bothered you but it got him elected.

 

Yeah, I'm too naive about politics. Forget that I watched the Kennedy/Nixon debate live, worked for Robert Kennedy, saw his brother Jack give his speech at Rice, protested against the Vietnam War, enjoyed voting against Nixon, enjoyed voting against Reagan, enjoyed voting for Bill Clinton twice, and have been active in the Democratic Party probably longer than you've been alive. Sure, I know nothing about politics.

 

my dad and granddads and family fought in ww2, korea, vietnam, grenada, panama, and iraq. i worked in ron paul's campaign. i live in the hood and take the bus and work with illegal immigrants, prostitutes, crack addicts, and more. yeah you're old and seen a few cool things. doesn't mean you have a monopoly on wisdom or being correct on everything. you take pride in voting for bill clinton but the man was a liar and cheater and did a lot to help wall street and increase inequality in this country, glass-steagal, china and wto, nafta, outsourcing, etc.

my point stands. netanyahu's comments on arabs bothered you but it still got him elected. i said that's how politics works. you made a patronizing comment because that doesn't sit with your world view even though it happens all the time.

 

Using blatant racism to win an election is not "how politics works." It's politics broken.