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- Netanyahu is weak now
Netanyahu is weak nowMistakes by Netanyahu weaken his status. Debkafile 10 (Debkafile provides an intelligence and security news service, July 1, http://www.debka.com/article/8882/) EH The "Turkish flotilla effect" continues to plague Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, leading him into one misstep after another with the result that he arrives in Washington on July 6 for talks with President Barack Obama with a divided government. debkafile's Jerusalem sources report that Thursday, July 1 finds Netanyahu scrambling to stabilize his cabinet lineup and recover from the fallout of his disastrous decision to let infrastructure minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer meet Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu for supposedly secret talks in Brussels to try and narrow the widening rift between Ankara and Jerusalem. It was leaked that same day, causing a huge uproar in Jerusalem - both because the initiative which failed was seen to be a crass error at a time that the Turkish prime minister Recep Erdogan's anti-Israel campaign was in full flight, and because the prime minister neglected to update foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman of the event. Lieberman, who heads the right-wing Israel Beitenu, publicly accused Netanyahu of breach of trust. All day Thursday, he refused to answer the prime minister's phone calls. The result: total disconnect between the head of government and his foreign minister less than a week before the Israeli prime minister meets the US president. Another key member of the Netanyahu cabinet, defense minister Ehud Barak, leader of the Labor party, is suspected by broad political circles of engineering the Israeli minister's rendezvous with Davutoglu - not just for a reckless bid to melt the Turkish wall of hostility, but to edge the foreign minister and his party out of the government coalition. He has denied this charge - according to debkafile's sources, to avoid being associated with a second fiasco after the fumbled Israeli commando raid of the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship heading for Gaza on May 31. The defense minister understands that his complicity in the Brussels encounter could weigh against him when he testifies before the public inquiry commission Israel established to find out how the flotilla incident came to end with nine Turkish activists dead and six Israeli soldiers injured. Its findings could damage Barak's career irretrievably. The panel, headed by ex-justice Jacob Turkel with two foreign observers, is to be given a broader mandate and real teeth. Instead of preparing calmly for a hardheaded discussion with the US president on a long list of tough issues, Netanyahu must now concentrate all his efforts on hauling his government coalition out of a morass. It is hard to see him managing this uphill job in the four days left before he boards a flight to Washington. He will therefore arrive at the White House with his government in disarray and his personal standing uncertain. Netanyahu is weak nowNetanyahu is weak, his policies are being overturned by EVERYONE. Kaufman 10(Amy, Israeli Journalist and contributor to the Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ami-kaufman/everyone-except-obama-kno_b_470792.html, 2/21)dc. Over the past year, Netanyahu has succumbed to pressure from coalition members and from his own party that has made him renege on so many of his initiatives, it's hard to keep count. Here are just a few examples: Value added tax on fruits and vegetables Netanyahu backed down from a plan to impose a Value Added Tax on fruits and vegetables after he met strong opposition from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a partner in his coalition. Shas Chairman Eli Yishai said that the tax would harm the weaker sectors of society. Eventually, Netanyahu claimed that "A central part of my job is to listen to the will of the people. I've reached the conclusion that now is not the time to impose this tax." The drought tax The government had a great idea to hike up water prices to make people use less of this disappearing resource. But the huge public outcry meant that Netanyahu had to let this initiative go down the drain. Expulsion of the children of foreign workers Netanyahu's government isn't exactly known for its tolerance of minorities and foreigners. So, when he and his Interior Minister Yishai decided it was time to kick out the children of foreign workers in Israel, the public outcry worked once again. The deportations won't begin until August 2010, assuming he sticks to his guns this time... The Highway and Railroad Plan Just two weeks ago, Netanyahu unveiled his plan to spend over 80 billion shekels ($20 billion) on new highways and railroads connecting the Galilee to the Negev. But officials in the Treasury got up on their hind legs and seem to have derailed this plan, as well. 1/2 National Heritage Sites And just this morning, Netanyahu added two controversial sites to a list of sites that would be granted 400 million shekels (100 million dollars). After pressure from right-wingers, Netanyahu added the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem to the list. The "Jobs" Law This would have allowed municipalities across the country to appoint dozens of deputy mayors to public offices at a huge cost to the public coffers. The huge public outcry did it again (thank G-d for Israeli public outcry...). The Absorption Budget When Foreign Minister and head of the extreme right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party Avigdor Lieberman heard that the Absorption Ministry's budget would be cut along with all the other ministries, he called a press conference and announced his party wouldn't be voting with the coalition. Bibi quickly put in a call, and invited him in for a chat at his office to promise it wouldn't happen. Right to vote for Israelis living abroad Netanyahu's initiative to allow all Israelis abroad to vote will probably change drastically, if not vanish totally into thin air. The goal, of course, was to strengthen his fan base, since most of the several hundred thousand Israelis living abroad are known to lean to the right. Netanyahu has met strong opposition from his coalition partners, mainly Ehud Barak and the Labor Party. It now seems the privilege will be given only to those who left the country one year before elections. And this is just a partial list, from one year in office. So, why is it that small-town politicians, officials and public outcry can twist Bibi's arm, but the leader of the free world can't even beat him in a thumb-wrestling match? Simple. Everyone knows Bibi is "Lachitz", and everyone knows his weak spots. Everybody knows he cares what people think of him, that he can't take the pressure, and most importantly: all he wants is to do what most prime ministers never do - finish a full term without going to elections. You might ask then, "Why is it that when it comes to Iran and the peace process he doesn't give in"? Well, that's because those are precisely the areas where he has no pressure to do otherwise - not from abroad, and not at home. U.S. administrations have rarely put any pressure on Israeli governments Directory: files files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2 files -> Integer programming and game theory files -> 4 Integer Programming files -> Bpa vehicle Window Repair Scenario #1 task: Procure vehicle window relacement. Objective files -> Pop Warner History files -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose files -> Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Program Data: Standard 1 Exhibit 4d files -> Hanban – asia society confucius classrooms network 2010 request for proposal files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations Download 1.62 Mb. Share with your friends:
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