I mentioned yesterday the public opinion polls in Israel and the number of seats that each party is likely to win. Over the past days, I have noticed that the figures differed a little from day to day. After I noted the latest figures which I read yesterday, I found today (I am writing on Friday) that the Likud has managed to stop the decline in the number of it supporters; and that its alliance with Yisrael Beiteinu may go on to win 35 or 36 seats. The alliance seems to be saying to the settlers: Support us or pay the price, and has secured the support of the Settler Council and its leader Dani Dayan, which makes them all war criminals. Yet the most important characteristic of these polls is that they show that the rightwing parties may win 66 seats compared to 54 seats by the center or left parties. There are many reasons behind the Israeli society's lurch towards the far right, but one of the most important ones is the divisions among the center and the left. For instance, the meeting between Shelly Yachimovich, leader of the Labor Party, Yair Lapid, leader of Yesh Atid (There is a Future), and Tzipi Livni, leader of the new party Hatnua (The Movement), ended up with a public dispute with mutual accusations and denials. Then Livni returned to saying that her proposal for a coalition of the center and the left still stood, and may win if the turnout was large enough. The Arab readers are, in addition to the above, familiar with the rightwing Likud party, the religious Shas party, Yisrael Beiteinu or the party of the Russian immigrants, and others. Arab readers must have also heard of leftist parties like Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), and Meretz, the Zionist social democratic party. The same goes for Balad, whose official Arabic title is the National Democratic Assembly. There is also Am Shalem, a one-year-old party founded by MK Haim Amsalem after his expulsion from Shas. But there is a party that is worth further elaboration: The Jewish Home, a far right extremist party which the polls give 13 to 15 seats in the upcoming election, making it the strongest rival for the other rightwing parties. Its leader, Naftali Bennett, is the son of American immigrants and is sometimes described as a rising star in the Israeli right and a strong contender for leadership against Benjamin Netanyahu, having served as the latter's chief of staff between 2006 and 2008. Benett has declared publically, “I oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state in our country." Well, I say that it will never be his country, since Palestine belongs to its people, the Palestinians. Furthermore, he is an immigrant, or refugee, from America, most likely from a dubious European origin, and has no right to be in Palestine. I say that no peace is possible with the Israeli government that will be formed after the election on the 22nd of January. Since my opinion is based on solid information, I hope that Benjamin Netanyahu will return as prime minister, because President Barack Obama will never forget the quarrel between them, and Netanyahu's brazen meddling in the US election in favor of Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Furthermore, the Israeli right is exposed and hated by the majority of the peoples of the world and their governments, unlike the Israeli left, which was the foundation stone for Israel. While their policies are the same, the left is sugarcoated and fools a lot of people abroad. I read reports that quoted US officials as expressing their fears that Netanyahu may interfere with Congress to prevent the confirmation of Chuck Hagel's appointment as Defense Secretary, as Obama wants. I hope that Netanyahu tries to do so, because this would increase Obama's hostility to him. There are many Israelis who believe that choosing Hagel, who is known for opposing the influence of the Israel lobby, is the first step by the US administration against the Israeli prime minister and his US allies. US concerns are not without justification. The Emergency Committee for Israel, which includes neocons and American Likudnik symbols, has announced that it is against the nomination of Hagel, and hopes to succeed in harming Obama though him. The storm coming from the north also hit Israel with its winds and snow, which means that I received limited news from Israeli newspapers and radios on Thursday and Friday, and then there was the Sabbath, their weekend. I dare say I was relieved of reading their lies, extremism and terrorism. But I do not need to read any of that to know that their lies will remain so long as they remain. [email protected]
