Last update - 00:00 07/12/2006
N.Y. assemblyman publishes ads in Jewish papers urging Olmert to resign
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent
"Olmert, please resign," was the heading of a full-page advertisement running Thursday in seven prominent Jewish newspapers published in the U.S. Next to a big photograph of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
The ad is the brainchild of New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who is considered a prominent spokesman for the right-wing Jewish camp. Hikind, an Orthodox Jew, has represented Brooklyn's largely ultra-Orthodox Boro Park and surrounding neighborhoods in Albany since 1982.
In the ad, Olmert is termed "arrogant, irresponsible, delusional, confused, inept, indecisive, overwhelmed and incompetent." He is accused of failing to stop the firing of Qassam rockets into Israel and of replicating the situation in the Gaza Strip on the West Bank.
In a conversation with Haaretz Wednesday, Hikind said the ad is the first in a series of ads that will appear over the course of the coming weeks in mainstream newspapers of record in the U.S., such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.
"This is a special campaign aimed at ousting Olmert," Hikind explained. "It's not a political campaign because we don't express support for any politician in Israel and don't mention an alternative to Olmert."
Hikind said he raised the money for the ads from various sources, mainly individuals. "I raised all the money in a couple of hours," he claimed. "I collected thousands of dollars easily." He refused to identify the contributors. "The next ads will include the names of those supporting the campaign to remove Olmert," Hikind promised.
The ad contains the bluntest denunciation of an Israeli prime minister since the campaign waged by Orthodox rabbis in the U.S. against Yitzhak Rabin and the Oslo Accords.
"Olmert, please resign for the sake of Israel and the Jewish people," the ad said. "More than ever, Israel needs strong leadership. Olmert does not have what it takes: integrity, decisiveness, determination, vision, the strength and the skill to lead Israel. He has failed, and Israel cannot afford to fail with him."
Hikind has less influence in the U.S. religious and ultra-Orthodox community than the rabbis who led the campaign against Rabin, but his initiative could gain momentum and support among right-leaning, Orthodox Jews.
Hikind rejected the claim that the content of the ads was unusually harsh, saying it reflects the negative views of Olmert seen in opinion polls in Israel. "I know Olmert personally and the job of prime minister is too big for him," Hikind said.
Among the newspapers publishing Thursday's ad are the Jewish Week, The Forward and The Jewish Press.