[SwF] The Israeli Elections - What The Hell Has Happened?

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The Israeli Elections - What The Hell Has Happened?
By Uri Avnery
31 March, 2006 - Gush Shalom
http://www.countercurrents.org/pa-avnery310306.htm

The most dramatic and the most boring election campaign in our history has =
mercifully come to an end. Israel looks in the mirror and asks itself: What=
 the hell has happened?

On the way to the ballot box, in the center of Tel-Aviv, I could not detect=
 the slightest sign that this was election day. Generally, elections in Isr=
ael are a passionate affair. Posters everywhere, thousands of slogan-covere=
d cars rushing around ferrying voters to the ballot stations, a lot of nois=
e.

This time - nothing. An eerie silence. Less than two thirds of the register=
ed citizens did actually take the trouble to vote. Politicians of all strip=
es are detested, democracy despised among the young, whole sectors estrange=
d. Those who decided not to vote, but at the last moment relented, voted fo=
r the Pensioners' List, which jumped from nothing to an astonishing seven s=
eats.=20

This was a real protest vote. Even young people told themselves: Instead of=
 throwing our vote away, let's do them a favor. Old people, sick people (in=
cluding the terminally ill), handicapped people and the entire health and e=
ducation systems were the victims of the Thatcherite economic policies of N=
etanyahu, backed by Sharon, which Shimon Peres (of all people) called "swin=
ish".=20

That vote was a curiosity. But what happened in the main arena?

At the beginning of the campaign I wrote that the whole of the political sy=
stem was moving to the left.

Many thought that that was wishful thinking, sadly removed from reality. No=
w it has actually happened.

The main result of these elections is that the hold of the nationalistic-re=
ligious bloc, which has dominated Israel for more than a generation, has be=
en broken. All those who announced that the Left is dead and that Israel is=
 condemned to right-wing rule for a long, long time have been proved wrong.=
=20

All the right-wing parties together won 32* seats, the religious parties 19=
. With 51 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, the rightist-religious wing cann=
ot block all moves towards peace any more.

This is a turning point. The dream of a Greater Israel, stretching from the=
 Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, is dead.

Significantly, the "National Union", the party that is completely identifie=
d with the settlers, has won only 9 seats - more or less like last time. Af=
ter all the heart-rending drama of the destruction of the Gaza settlements,=
 the settlers remain as unpopular as ever. They have lost the decisive batt=
le for public opinion.

Netanyahu declared that the elections were going to be a "national referend=
um" on the withdrawal from the West Bank. Well. It was - and the public ove=
rwhelmingly voted "Yes".

The main victim is Netanyahu himself. The Likud has collapsed. For the firs=
t time since its founding by Ariel Sharon in 1973, it has been subjected to=
 the humiliation of being the fifth (!) party in the Knesset.

The heartfelt joy about this rout of the Right is tempered by a very danger=
ous development: the rise of Avigdor Lieberman's "Israel our Home" party, a=
 mutation of the Right with openly fascist tendencies.=20

Lieberman, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union and himself a settler,=
 draws his main strength from the "Russian" community, which is almost unif=
ormly extremely nationalistic. He calls for the expulsion of all Arabs (a f=
ifth of Israel's population), ostensibly in a swap of territories, but the =
message is clear. There are also the usual hallmarks of such a party: the c=
ult of the Leader, a call for "law and order", intense hatred for "the enem=
y" both within and without. This man got 12 seats and has overtaken Netanya=
hu. His main slogan "Da Lieberman" ("Yes Lieberman" in Russian) reminds one=
 of similar historical salutes.

For those who are interested: the fascist group that called for my murder a=
s part of their election program has failed to attain the 2% necessary to g=
ain entry into the Knesset. But, of course, an assassin does not need 2% to=
 follow such a call. (I would like to use this occasion to express my heart=
felt thanks to all those around the world who expressed their solidarity.)=
=20

The joyful scenes at the Labor Party's Headquarters may seem at first glanc=
e exaggerated. After all, the party got only 20 seats, as against 19 last t=
ime (to which must be added the three of the small party led by Amir Peretz=
 at the time). But the numbers do not tell the whole story.

First of all, the political implications are far-reaching. In parliament, i=
t is not only the raw numbers which count, but also their location on the p=
olitical map. In the next Knesset, any coalition without the Labor Party ha=
s become impractical, if not completely impossible. Amir Peretz is going to=
 be the most important person in the next cabinet, after Ehud Olmert.

But there is more to it than that. Peretz, the first "oriental" Jewish lead=
er of any major Israeli party, has overcome the historic rejection of Labor=
 by the immigrants from Muslim countries and their offspring. He has destro=
yed the established equation of Oriental =3D poor =3D Right as against Ashk=
enazi =3D well-to-do =3D Left.

This has not yet found its full expression in the voting. The increase in O=
riental voters for Labor has been only incremental. But no one who has seen=
 how Peretz was received in the open markets, until now fortresses of the L=
ikud, can have any doubt that something fundamental has changed.=20

And most important, when Peretz arrived on the scene, hardly three months a=
go, Labor was a walking corpse. Now it is alive, vibrant, hungry for action=
. It's called leadership, and it's there. Peretz is on his way to being a v=
iable candidate for Prime Minister in the next elections. Until then, he ce=
rtainly will have a major impact both on social affairs and the peace proce=
ss.

That is, of course, the main question: Can the next government bring us clo=
ser to peace?

Kadima has won the elections, but is not happy. When it was founded by Shar=
on, it expected 45 seats. The sky was the limit. Now it has to be satisfied=
 with a measly 28 seats, enough to head the government but not enough to di=
ctate policy.=20

In his victory speech, Olmert called on Mahmoud Abbas to make peace. But th=
is is an empty gesture. No Palestinian could possibly accept the terms Olme=
rt has in mind. So, if the Palestinians don't show that they are "partners"=
, Olmert wants to "establish Israel's permanent borders unilaterally", mean=
ing that he wants to annex something between 15% and 50% of the West Bank.=
=20

It is doubtful whether Peretz can impose another policy. Possibly, the whol=
e question will be postponed, under the pretext that the social crisis has =
to be addressed first. In the meantime, the fight against the Palestinians =
will go on.

It is up to the peace movement to change this. The elections show that Isra=
eli public opinion wants an end to the conflict, that it rejects the dreams=
 of the settlers and their allies, that it seeks a solution. We have contri=
buted to this change. Now it is our job to show that Olmert's unilateral pe=
ace is no peace at all and will not lead to a solution.

On our election day, the new Palestinian government was confirmed by its Pa=
rliament. With this government we can and must negotiate. At the moment, th=
e majority in Israel is not yet ready for that. But the election results sh=
ow that we are on the way.=20

* All numbers mentioned in this article are those published with 97% of the=
 votes counted. There may be slight changes in the final count.

Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom.

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<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#800000 size=5><STRONG>The Israeli Elections - 
What The Hell Has Happened?</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial color=#000080>By Uri Avnery</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><STRONG>31 March, 2006 - Gush 
Shalom</STRONG></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><A 
href="http://www.countercurrents.org/pa-avnery310306.htm">http://www.countercurrents.org/pa-avnery310306.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>The most 
dramatic and the most boring election campaign in our history has mercifully 
come to an end. Israel looks in the mirror and asks itself: What the hell has 
happened?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>On the way to 
the ballot box, in the center of Tel-Aviv, I could not detect the slightest sign 
that this was election day. Generally, elections in Israel are a passionate 
affair. Posters everywhere, thousands of slogan-covered cars rushing around 
ferrying voters to the ballot stations, a lot of noise.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>This time - 
nothing. An eerie silence. Less than two thirds of the registered citizens did 
actually take the trouble to vote. Politicians of all stripes are detested, 
democracy despised among the young, whole sectors estranged. Those who decided 
not to vote, but at the last moment relented, voted for the Pensioners' List, 
which jumped from nothing to an astonishing seven seats. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>This was a 
real protest vote. Even young people told themselves: Instead of throwing our 
vote away, let's do them a favor. Old people, sick people (including the 
terminally ill), handicapped people and the entire health and education systems 
were the victims of the Thatcherite economic policies of Netanyahu, backed by 
Sharon, which Shimon Peres (of all people) called "swinish". </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>That vote was 
a curiosity. But what happened in the main arena?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>At the 
beginning of the campaign I wrote that the whole of the political system was 
moving to the left.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>Many thought 
that that was wishful thinking, sadly removed from reality. Now it has actually 
happened.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>The main 
result of these elections is that the hold of the nationalistic-religious bloc, 
which has dominated Israel for more than a generation, has been broken. All 
those who announced that the Left is dead and that Israel is condemned to 
right-wing rule for a long, long time have been proved wrong. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>All the 
right-wing parties together won 32* seats, the religious parties 19. With 51 of 
the 120 seats in the Knesset, the rightist-religious wing cannot block all moves 
towards peace any more.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>This is a 
turning point. The dream of a Greater Israel, stretching from the Mediterranean 
Sea to the Jordan River, is dead.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>Significantly, 
the "National Union", the party that is completely identified with the settlers, 
has won only 9 seats - more or less like last time. After all the heart-rending 
drama of the destruction of the Gaza settlements, the settlers remain as 
unpopular as ever. They have lost the decisive battle for public 
opinion.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>Netanyahu 
declared that the elections were going to be a "national referendum" on the 
withdrawal from the West Bank. Well. It was - and the public overwhelmingly 
voted "Yes".</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>The main 
victim is Netanyahu himself. The Likud has collapsed. For the first time since 
its founding by Ariel Sharon in 1973, it has been subjected to the humiliation 
of being the fifth (!) party in the Knesset.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>The heartfelt 
joy about this rout of the Right is tempered by a very dangerous development: 
the rise of Avigdor Lieberman's "Israel our Home" party, a mutation of the Right 
with openly fascist tendencies. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>Lieberman, an 
immigrant from the former Soviet Union and himself a settler, draws his main 
strength from the "Russian" community, which is almost uniformly extremely 
nationalistic. He calls for the expulsion of all Arabs (a fifth of Israel's 
population), ostensibly in a swap of territories, but the message is clear. 
There are also the usual hallmarks of such a party: the cult of the Leader, a 
call for "law and order", intense hatred for "the enemy" both within and 
without. This man got 12 seats and has overtaken Netanyahu. His main slogan "Da 
Lieberman" ("Yes Lieberman" in Russian) reminds one of similar historical 
salutes.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>For those who 
are interested: the fascist group that called for my murder as part of their 
election program has failed to attain the 2% necessary to gain entry into the 
Knesset. But, of course, an assassin does not need 2% to follow such a call. (I 
would like to use this occasion to express my heartfelt thanks to all those 
around the world who expressed their solidarity.) </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>The joyful 
scenes at the Labor Party's Headquarters may seem at first glance exaggerated. 
After all, the party got only 20 seats, as against 19 last time (to which must 
be added the three of the small party led by Amir Peretz at the time). But the 
numbers do not tell the whole story.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>First of all, 
the political implications are far-reaching. In parliament, it is not only the 
raw numbers which count, but also their location on the political map. In the 
next Knesset, any coalition without the Labor Party has become impractical, if 
not completely impossible. Amir Peretz is going to be the most important person 
in the next cabinet, after Ehud Olmert.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>But there is 
more to it than that. Peretz, the first "oriental" Jewish leader of any major 
Israeli party, has overcome the historic rejection of Labor by the immigrants 
from Muslim countries and their offspring. He has destroyed the established 
equation of Oriental = poor = Right as against Ashkenazi = well-to-do = 
Left.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>This has not 
yet found its full expression in the voting. The increase in Oriental voters for 
Labor has been only incremental. But no one who has seen how Peretz was received 
in the open markets, until now fortresses of the Likud, can have any doubt that 
something fundamental has changed. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>And most 
important, when Peretz arrived on the scene, hardly three months ago, Labor was 
a walking corpse. Now it is alive, vibrant, hungry for action. It's called 
leadership, and it's there. Peretz is on his way to being a viable candidate for 
Prime Minister in the next elections. Until then, he certainly will have a major 
impact both on social affairs and the peace process.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>That is, of 
course, the main question: Can the next government bring us closer to 
peace?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>Kadima has won 
the elections, but is not happy. When it was founded by Sharon, it expected 45 
seats. The sky was the limit. Now it has to be satisfied with a measly 28 seats, 
enough to head the government but not enough to dictate policy. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>In his victory 
speech, Olmert called on Mahmoud Abbas to make peace. But this is an empty 
gesture. No Palestinian could possibly accept the terms Olmert has in mind. So, 
if the Palestinians don't show that they are "partners", Olmert wants to 
"establish Israel's permanent borders unilaterally", meaning that he wants to 
annex something between 15% and 50% of the West Bank. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>It is doubtful 
whether Peretz can impose another policy. Possibly, the whole question will be 
postponed, under the pretext that the social crisis has to be addressed first. 
In the meantime, the fight against the Palestinians will go on.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>It is up to 
the peace movement to change this. The elections show that Israeli public 
opinion wants an end to the conflict, that it rejects the dreams of the settlers 
and their allies, that it seeks a solution. We have contributed to this change. 
Now it is our job to show that Olmert's unilateral peace is no peace at all and 
will not lead to a solution.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#800000 size=3>On our 
election day, the new Palestinian government was confirmed by its Parliament. 
With this government we can and must negotiate. At the moment, the majority in 
Israel is not yet ready for that. But the election results show that we are on 
the way. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3>* All numbers mentioned in 
this article are those published with 97% of the votes counted. There may be 
slight changes in the final count.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#000080 size=3><EM>Uri Avnery 
is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush 
Shalom.</EM></FONT></P></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></tt>



  

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