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Is this security? By Yossi Sarid Tags: security, politics, Israel Once upon a time, the apprehensive citizen lived here. Now he is being replaced by the alarmed citizen, and he is every citizen. Indeed, the black prophecy is fulfilling itself, the red telephone is ringing in the middle of the night. It's Fuad - Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, the National Infrastructures Minister, sorry for calling so late. He has just received the public opinion poll findings: Defense Minister Ehud Barak is continuing to crash, the Labor Party is on the skids, an emergency situation. And as he speaks, there's another phone call: The Nili affair is getting more complicated. But who's this? Shalom Kital, Barak's new media adviser. The alarmed citizen recalls decisions that were taken in the middle of the day and is appalled by the thought of decisions that will be taken in the middle of the night. He is covered in cold sweat and can't fall asleep. He tries to lull himself with the idea that such-and-such things have already happened - altercations, insults. He tries, but unsuccessfully. Even indefatigable-subversive (as Yitzhak Rabin once said of Shimon Peres) sounds to him like a compliment, compared now to the scorn that is being sprayed about these days and nights. From every epithet springs a counter tendril: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is a pretty birdie - like her full Hebrew name, Tziporah - but she is a featherweight; an acting prime minister is straining with all his might to reignite the ashes of his term in office, and a few more potential prime ministers who tripped in their previous positions are hoping to rise in their next, exalted position. Advertisement All the while, the alarmed citizen is wondering whether his security is in good hands, as he was promised by the local politicians as they huddle over the budget. This week, he received a brochure from the research department of the National Security College: "Studies in National Security: Government Corruption in Israel." Even in the Israel Defense Forces, they have come to the conclusion that corruption at the top of the tree rots the roots. However, in the budget debates, not a word about the corrupt was heard. So much timber and underbrush needs to be cleared away. Is this security? And the bells also toll in the home of the petrified citizen: This week, an elderly man phoned him and asked him to meet his granddaughter and her friends, who are refusing to be conscripted into the army for reasons of disgust and conscience. They met, he tried his best to wield his influence, and he failed. He would wish that this group be invited to a government meeting for the sake of clarification: It is much more important to trust leaders and commanders than it is to trust budgets. Is this security? And another phone call: A general retiring from the IDF asking citizen M., whose eyelids are untouched by sleep, to participate in a film in his honor; he agrees. Some 10 soldiers and civilians show up at his home with their cutting-edge equipment. Television crews who would visit him, he recalls, would consist of two or three people, at most. And they are still positioning Barak's young people opposite Buji's old people. And Buji's ineffable name is Isaac, specifically Social Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog, which is as funny as Tziporah. But this is not funny at all, nor is it security. And Education Minister Yuli Tamir could have been the one to afford a pleasant surprise, had she contributed an insight of her own, had she stepped outside the confines of the Finance Ministry. Recently a team of Israeli high-school students returned from the Mathematics Olympics; they placed 27th out of 97 delegations. Students from Iran, by comparison, took fifth place, ahead of the Israelis by 22 spots. It is they who are enriching uranium, and it is they who will launch a satellite into space. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Nail in the coffin? Haniyeh: Arrival of blockade-busting boats spells end of Gaza siege. Operation Shalit Islamic Jihad urges Palestinian groups to kidnap Israeli soldiers.

Read & React Ma`aleh Adumim mayor to appeal new West Bank fence route Responses: 151 Haniyeh: Arrival of blockade busting boats spells end of Gaza siege Responses: 115 Livni: World pressure on Israel, PA could spark third intifada Responses: 142 Mofaz: Israel must show a tough stance against regional foes Responses: 93 Karim Sadjadpour: Iran doesn't want to bomb Israel, just vote it out of existence Responses: 82 More Headlines 21:56 Haniyeh: Arrival of blockade-busting boats spells end of Gaza siege 17:36 Islamic Jihad urges Palestinian groups to kidnap Israeli soldiers 02:00 Haredi rabbis call for renewal of ban on Jews entering Temple Mount 01:35 Despite row over cuts, gov't likely to approve 2009 budget 09:16 Obama chooses Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as VP running mate 22:49 ANALYSIS / Obama played it safe, but is Biden good for Israel? 21:59 Paul McCartney announces he will perform in Israel next month 03:30 U.S. entrepreneur makes aliyah seeking 'next big invention' 08:17 Country or family? Israeli soldiers may have to choose which to defend 19:50 New film follows Holocaust refugees-turned-soldiers 00:36 Olmert eyes Russia trip 'to discover what they're planning to sell to Syria' 15:06 Still aiming for 2008 peace deal, Rice heads to Israel, West Bank 13:29 Four die on Israel's roads within 24 hours 00:34 Democrats in Israel irate over Hikind's support for Huckabee 09:59 Ma`aleh Adumim mayor to appeal new West Bank fence route Previous Editions Select Day 22 aug 21 aug 20 aug 19 aug 18 aug 17 aug 15 aug 14 aug 13 aug 12 aug 11 aug 10 aug

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