Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., October 02, 2008 Tishrei 3, 5769 | | Israel Time: 01:34 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Making this a good year By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Ariel Sharon, Tzipi Livni  The end and beginning of a year are a reminder of the speed and indecisiveness with which time passes when it is not properly used. That is true on both the personal and national levels. With regard to the latter, we have gotten used to a permanent sense of missed opportunities at the end of each year - and that is in the best case, when we are not mourning some specific failure or disaster. This year, the Rosh Hashanah holiday and the "Days of Awe" that follow come at a time of endings and beginnings both in Israel and worldwide, and with them, attempts at making amends and stocktaking. The bad taste left in Israel after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's term in office - which, to put it mildly, ended without achievements - joins the bad taste left by the crisis in Western capital markets and the Bush administration. These and other disappointments have reined in our hopes and accustomed us to fear. In Israel, these hopes and fears are focused on Tzipi Livni, who is trying to form a new government for the new year. In the decade since a prime minister-elect named Ehud Barak arrogantly promised the "dawn of a new day," which ended in bitter disappointment, Israelis have learned to lower their expectations of their leaders. Indeed, the prime ministers who followed Barak reached their posts not on the wings of hope, but on the belly of despair. Advertisement Ariel Sharon was elected to his first term as a desperate last resort during the bloodbath of the intifada and the terror attacks. His successor, Olmert, entered the huge vacuum left by Sharon's sudden departure; this, too, was a last resort, for the amorphous hopes of "convergence," which dissolved almost immediately. And Livni got the job that Olmert was booted out of halfway through his term without any clearly defined hopes at all, except for one: that she not have her predecessor's flaws. The fact that years of great crisis opened with high-flown promises and proclamations does not necessarily mean that terms in office that begin with low expectations will be pleasant surprises. Ultimately, years are not "good" or "bad" in and of themselves; they are made so as a result of our actions. Issues like an agreement with the Palestinians and bolstering an Israeli identity within clearly defined borders will not magically go away if we sweep them under the rug or try to bury them with verbal sleights of hand and political tricks. The only question is how severely and violently they will once again force themselves into our consciousness. And if past experience proves anything, it is the uselessness of ignoring the obvious and putting off the inevitable - two positions that prime ministers tend to adopt at the beginning of their terms, and later try frantically to make up for via hasty shortcuts because their time in office is running out. As the years pass, Israel has indeed become stronger in certain areas, but it has also become weaker. Thus as we enter the new year, it would be a mistake to make do with hoping to "get through the year in one piece." The disappointments we have known have almost obliterated the fact that Israel was born with higher hopes than this. And as we start a new year, nothing is more worthy of being remembered and revived under new leadership than these hopes. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Iranian support Khamenei: Iran will never abandon Hamas, its holy warrior Ismail Haniyeh. Weight connection Israeli, Palestinian women come together to lose weight and stay healthy.

Read & React Prof. Sternhell: Supporters of occupation are not Zionist Responses: 217 Discontented Fatah politicos consider launching third intifada Responses: 108 Olmert: Israel must quit East Jerusalem and Golan Responses: 395 Gershom Gorenberg: The settlement movement began in self-deception Responses: 63 McCain camp: Claim that Palin endorsed Hamas is 'libel' Responses: 94 More Headlines 00:38 Ex-U.S. weapons hunter: Iran 2-5 years from bomb 01:29 Iran supreme leader: Israel is on a path to destruction 00:39 Olmert to face eighth round of police questioning Thursday 22:57 Syrian FM: We aren't supplying weapons to Hezbollah 22:23 Congress leaders optimistic on revived U.S. bailout package 21:34 VIDEO / Israeli, Palestinian women come together to lose weight 20:26 Holocaust denier detained at London's Heathrow airport 12:36 'How can the People of the Book be against books?' 14:00 Bahraini FM calls for Mideast forum that includes Israel, Iran 22:52 U.S. approves sale to Israel of 25 F-35 fighter jets 16:07 Austria vote / When an efficient far-right meets a deficient center 21:58 Rescue team finds missing Israeli tourist in Ecuador 16:10 McCain camp: Claim that Palin endorsed Hamas is 'libel' 16:10 Israel cuts U.S. cluster bombs for homemade self-detonating brand Previous Editions Select Day 01 oct 30 sep 29 sep 28 sep 26 sep 25 sep 24 sep 23 sep 22 sep 21 sep 19 sep 18 sep

Special Offers Advertisement Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Dial 013 for your long-distance calls and get all your money back US CITIZENS Vote for real change. Request your ballot today! Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved