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Israel elects its Bush By Gideon Levy Tags: Israel news, Gideon Levy  Click here for more articles by Gideon Levy The elections for the 17th Knesset have already been decided: Benjamin Netanyahu will be the next prime minister. Nothing will change the current trend, which was reflected in polls this weekend. At a time when the entire world, including Israel, is amazed and moved by the miracle election of Barack Obama, Israel is on the verge of electing George Bush. Tzipi Livni will not become less feeble, and Ehud Barak will not fix his waywardness. And the new left-wing party in the works will not make a difference one way or the other - it is too little, too late. Israelis intend to vote for the conservative, right-wing, nationalist, bellicose candidate - the Israeli Bush. The world is moving forward, while Israel is taking a step backward. Advertisement Netanyahu may not be as awful as it would appear for the left, but the sweeping support he enjoys in the polls signals to us and to the world, including the Arab world, the true nature of Israeli society. Good riddance to the deceptive myth that most Israelis want peace; you can forget about all the deceitful polls that showed most of the public supports a two-state solution. No solution and no two states, but only the truth, which once again has been exposed: a nationalistic, belligerent society electing its spitting image as its leader. Once every few years we have this referendum over the future of peace and the occupation, the main issue in every election campaign. Once every few years, the left is revealed to be as virtual a force as there ever was. Candidates bicker among themselves over who will "divide" and who will "return," who will "concede" and who will "give" - questions that are downright immoral given that the discussion is over territories that are not ours. Ultimately, the candidate who is elected - every candidate who is elected - does too little, if anything at all, to advance peace and end the occupation. The deceptive dialogue - which implies that immediately after the elections, something will change - shatters, time after time. From this standpoint, there is no huge difference between the candidates. Nonetheless, the broad support for Netanyahu has deep significance. It reflects the nation's prevailing spirit: Israelis want the Arabs "to disappear," or at the very least to leave them in "quiet," it does not matter how. Forget about all the rest. We will all vote for Netanyahu and his Likud party, with the bizarre Benny Begin and Moshe Ya'alon at the helm, and for a few more years of violence and occupation. We will vote Netanyahu and we will have "economic peace" and a right-wing economy, just like we want, just like we deserve. We will signal to the Arabs: Forget about peace, the Saudi initiative, a just and historic compromise, strengthening the moderates among you, and negotiations rooted in a genuine, sincere desire to reach peace. In the next breath, you will get the lie of "economic peace" and that famous, nonsensical "they'll give, they'll receive," and the "major operation" so desired in Gaza, which would mean the end of real negotiations. Israeli society will once again get chants of "they are a-f-r-a-i-d," whispers of "the left has forgotten what it is to be Jewish," piggish capitalism and Thatcherism. Indeed, not even a particularly sharp microscope could spot any changes in Netanyahu since the last time Israelis got fed up with him. Nothing in him has changed - only we have changed. The nationalistic, bellicose genie has once again emerged from the bottle. There are times when a vote for the right could signify a temporary postponement of inevitable historic processes. Not so this time. The Arab world is repeatedly knocking on Israel's door, nearly begging us to resolve the Palestinian problem and let everyone make peace; the president of Syria has made statements similar to those that brought Anwar Sadat here and is not being heeded; the desperate Palestinians are standing on the verge of the next major confrontation with us, led by Hamas in Gaza and soon in the West Bank; some of the former leaders of the right, chief among them Ehud Olmert, have finally awaken from their dangerous dreams of a Greater Land of Israel; and more than a few settlers are willing to consider leaving in exchange for compensation. As all these opportunities lie before us, Israel is voting in favor of rejection. We are on the verge of electing a candidate who has explicitly declared that there is nothing to discuss with the Palestinians regarding a settlement, someone who has already proven his extensive pyromaniacal skills in opening the Western Wall tunnel, someone who tries to mislead the public with baseless statements about Palestinian industrial zones in place of evacuating settlements, and providing economic aid instead of granting the Palestinians political independence - as they are entitled, as every nation is entitled. Netanyahu will once again deceive, Obama will keep his distance due to other urgent problems, opportunities will be missed and the fire will flare up again. This is what we want, and this is what we will get. Nonetheless, the inauspicious polls do contribute one thing: They rip off the disguise. An Israel that votes Likud does not want peace - no ifs, ands or buts. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Disturbing trend Jewish Agency says Anti-Semitic acts in Jan. 2009 triple last year's records. After the war IDF gains in Gaza have softened Israel's stance on Shalit deal.   1.   WHOAA.. 10:53  |  indrajaya 23/11/08   2.   Israeli voters and "crazy women"...... 10:59  |  Swiss (Dino) 23/11/08   3.   Bibi will dance to Obama`s tune 11:01  |  Danny 23/11/08   4.   A Child`s black & white Line Drawing 11:01  |  FOX 23/11/08   5.   The time is right for Netanyahu 11:14  |  Natallie Durson 23/11/08   6.   Israel get ready to get thrown into the trash bin 11:19  |  Dutch 23/11/08   7.   Jerusalem Mayor Olmert Opened Western Wall Tunnel 11:21  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 23/11/08   8.   OBAMA WAS BORN IN KENYA 11:25  |  victor hardman 23/11/08   9.   # 3, DANNY 11:28  |  indrajaya 23/11/08   10.   Gideon, How come first Peace was made by Begin? 11:34  |  Rob 23/11/08   11.   Israel will elect Netanyahu - not Bush 11:36  |  Zev 23/11/08   12.   Enough to frighten the bejaysus out of any thinking Israeli 11:44  |  Clickfool 23/11/08   13.   # 8, VICTOR "MANDATED IN 1922" HARDMAN (a.k.a PAUL HARRIS) 11:45  |  indrajaya 23/11/08   14.   Lesson in Democracy 11:46  |  ARA 23/11/08   15.   # 5 Natallie Durson 11:46  |  Swiss (Dino) 23/11/08   16.   I`m not sure of your point, Victor Paul Harris Hardman # 8 12:17  |  Clickfool 23/11/08   17.   THANK YOU GIDEON, SEEING YOU SO DESPERATE HAS TRULY MADE MY DAY! 13:11  |  Freethinker 23/11/08   18.   Vote for Net and Yahoo = vote for Bi National State 13:21  |  Labhras 23/11/08   19.   Worst case scenario, Bibi will bring international boycotts 13:27  |  Danny 23/11/08   20.   GL has crowned himself prophet 13:41  |  Rina 23/11/08   21.   For Swiss (Dino) # 15 13:53  |  Clickfool 23/11/08   22.   Does not matter... Your days are numbered 14:17  |  Che 23/11/08   23.   Victor H #8....Are You really Paul Harris formerly of TA? 16:01  |  Brian Freund 23/11/08   24.   Netanyahu 17:23  |  Keith T. 23/11/08   25.   Bibi and the Tunnel & Ovadia ben Avraham 17:27  |  Afikoman 23/11/08   26.   Bibi will go along with Obama 17:48  |  Afikoman 23/11/08   27.   to Rob 18:22  |  curious george 23/11/08   28.   FAKER ALERT 18:23  |  * BEN JABO 23/11/08   29.   Minor concesions 18:35  |  arik 23/11/08   30.   israel elects bush 18:42  |  elliot 23/11/08   31.   FOX-#4 agenda driven poster 18:47  |  badger 23/11/08   32.   Good riddance 18:48  |  hollingsworth 23/11/08   33.   For Ben Jabo # 23 18:48  |  Clickfool 23/11/08   34.   For Brian Freund, on Victor Hardman # 21 18:51  |  Clickfool 23/11/08   35.   Levy - - We Want Peace ! ! 19:09  |  George Kaplan 23/11/08   36.   Re # 1 In a sense 19:21  |  Ines 23/11/08   37.   to Danny, #3 19:22  |  David M 23/11/08   38.   Letter to Gideon Levy the `Great Jew Thinker .... 19:24  |  Dagma 23/11/08   39.   #25 Every Peace deal is a bussiness deal. 19:28  |  Rob 23/11/08   40.   Only the comatose thought Israelis "want peace" 19:32  |  ManintheMiddle 23/11/08   41.   #10 Rob, Good point: Begin signed first peace with Arabs! 19:35  |  I 23/11/08   42.   Re : Kadima was born 19:45  |  Ines 23/11/08   43.   Once Iran becomes nuclear, Likud will become a peace dove 19:46  |  Aounist 23/11/08   44.   38, Sure: Iran, Hezbolla, Hamas and AlQaeda all want peace 19:53  |  I 23/11/08   45.   #43 Sure Aunist:When Israel became nuclear Iran became peace dove 19:58  |  I 23/11/08   46.   aounist 19:58  |  strange 23/11/08   47.   17 Gideon is not the only one disgusted by Israel` preference 20:06  |  Dutch 23/11/08   48.   Netanyahu is no Bush 20:30  |  Stuart 23/11/08   49.   # 21 Clickfool, about 10 months, so they say.... 20:31  |  Swiss (Dino) 23/11/08   50.   Finally some honesty. 20:50  |  Che Vive 23/11/08   51.   #1, Voice of the Ignorant 21:02  |  Gary 23/11/08   52.   #35 George Levy beats war drums in NOO YORK 21:06  |  Labhras 23/11/08   53.   To Danny # 19 - Worst case Scanario...... 21:12  |  Natasha 23/11/08   54.   aounist43 21:15  |  strange 23/11/08   55.   Totally Disagree with Gideon 21:48  |  GR 23/11/08   56.   There is No Doubt Israel really wants PEACE 21:57  |  Dagma 23/11/08   57.   To ManintheMiddle @ 40 - Israelis NOT for PEACE? 22:04  |  Dagma 23/11/08   58.   Re: Well the Intifada... 22:11  |  Ines 23/11/08   59.   Re # What is Gideo`s agenda suppose to be ?? 22:15  |  Ines 23/11/08   60.   Re # 5 The problem is that... 22:22  |  Ines 23/11/08   61.   Re : Victor .... Are you really serious ?? 22:27  |  Ines 23/11/08   62.   Re # 9 Indrajaya .... As you may know 22:32  |  Ines 23/11/08   63.   #30,totally stupid reasoning ! 22:39  |  Gary 23/11/08   64.   #3, Don`t Brag Just Yet ! 22:43  |  Gary 23/11/08   65.   Re # 11 Hopefully Israel will not... 22:50  |  Ines 23/11/08   66.   Re # 12 You are totally right ... 22:52  |  Ines 23/11/08   67.   Re # 13 You are very right Indrajaya 22:54  |  Ines 23/11/08   68.   Re # 14 You mean to say that... 22:56  |  Ines 23/11/08   69.   Re# 16 Besides... 23:10  |  Ines 23/11/08   70.   Re# 21 Obama has infinite powes 23:17  |  Ines 23/11/08   71.   Re # 22 Whose days are numbered ??? 23:23  |  Ines 23/11/08   72.   Re# 27 May be that is the way of the world 23:36  |  Ines 23/11/08   73.   Re # 32 Really ??? 23:44  |  Ines 23/11/08   74.   Re # 35 Well... What is really Your ... 23:53  |  Ines 23/11/08   75.   Re# 40 That is simply not true !!!! 23:58  |  Ines 23/11/08   76.   This is disgustiing... 00:02  |  John 24/11/08   77.   Hallo, Hallo, Is this a Newspaper 00:06  |  Gil 24/11/08   78.   Israel elects its Bush 00:28  |  Esther Sherman 24/11/08   79.   Obama and Livni are twin defeatists who endanger Israel. 00:37  |  John Biber 24/11/08   80.   "Wait and See"; Not sexy but sensible.... 01:03  |  Gray 24/11/08   81.   America elected a Pro-Arab defeatist .Israel refuses to copy this 01:03  |  Gisser 24/11/08   82.   Israel refuses to elect the Livni the "Queen of Surrender" 01:10  |  Bob Gervitz 24/11/08   83.   Evidence that Gideon is 100% correct 01:18  |  Lisa 24/11/08   84.   right wing guvernment 01:44  |  yoni shur 24/11/08   85.   israel elects its bush--#47 01:53  |  elliot 24/11/08   86.   I agree Gideon, we are on the same page 02:24  |  Edith 24/11/08   87.   Gideon Levy: Mr. Anti-Israel 02:50  |  Irv 24/11/08   88.   Papers employ journalists, Haaretz employ broken records, recor 03:11  |  Ofer Maimon 24/11/08   89.   Folks, it is clear that Haaretz has blown us off 04:12  |  Mark Lincoln 24/11/08   90.   Gideon on the Loose 04:12  |  Ron 24/11/08   91.   # 18 Yes, labra, Bibi in, philistines and Giddy`s to the stinky.. 04:56  |  misha 24/11/08   92.   To Natalie Durson 05:49  |  Otto Rand 24/11/08   93.   #3 Danny - First, Obama must decide which tune 06:26  |  * BEN JABO 24/11/08   94.   Or other invaders 06:28  |  Galal 24/11/08   95.   Ines: We all would like to see Israelis... 07:02  |  Gray 24/11/08   96.   Galal, Moslems direct their prayers towards Mecca, not Jerusalem. 07:21  |  I 24/11/08   97.   Israelis DO want Peace but not at any price 07:44  |  Dagma [Second time] 24/11/08   98.   Rather Bush than Obama 08:19  |  idov 24/11/08   99.   territories - refugees 08:37  |  Dr. Francoise Farron 24/11/08   100.   Bush is not a Netanyahoo 09:24  |  Michael N 24/11/08   101.   I.I said muslims WERE directing 10:49  |  Galal 24/11/08   102.   #98 Idov 18:04  |  ballistic 24/11/08   103.   #91 Well hey there Misha 18:13  |  ballistic 24/11/08   104.   Netanyahu 01:15  |  Jeremy 25/11/08   105.   Israel`s Bush 04:08  |  Connie Phillips 25/11/08   106.   Let`s examine why Israelies` don`t want peace 08:38  |  Tova 25/11/08   107.   #106 Tova 02:03  |  Johnboy 26/11/08

Read & React Livni: Israel should strike Hamas again to halt arms smuggling Responses: 44 Amir Oren: 'Decisive' Gaza offensive merely rehearsal for next crisis versus Iran Responses: 7 Netanyahu: Likud-led government wouldn't build new settlements Responses: 30 Akiva Eldar: Saudi plan offers Israel united front with Arab states against Iran Responses: 7 More Headlines 11:52 Egypt to Hamas: Take Gaza truce before Netanyahu is PM 12:30 Veteran ultra-Orthodox MK Avraham Ravitz dies aged 75 11:24 Iran MPs plan Gaza visit to praise Hamas resistance against 'Zionist offensive' 11:55 Sky News joins BBC in refusing to air Gaza fundraiser 10:14 Nine held for allegedly attacking Israeli Arabs in Upper Nazareth 10:36 Netanyahu: Likud-led coalition wouldn't build new settlements 12:12 Survey: Most Israelis want Benjamin Netanyahu to be prime minister 09:33 IDF rabbinate publication during Gaza war: We will show no mercy on the cruel 10:35 Haaretz probe: Unknown overseas sources paid MK Lieberman NIS 2.5m 10:51 2 hurt, 1 seriously, after light plane crashes near Beit She`an 04:42 EU presses Egypt to take action against Gaza arms smuggling 11:27 Number of laid-off Israelis set new high in December 07:41 U.S. businessman Guma L. Aguiar gives $8m to Nefesh b'Nefesh 07:43 Program launched to bring all Jewish teachers worldwide to Israel 04:43 Court to state: Let foreign media into Gaza when borders open 04:45 Egypt evacuates Rafah area, fearing IAF strike on Gaza Previous Editions Select Day 25 jan 23 jan 22 jan 21 jan 20 jan 19 jan 18 jan 16 jan 15 jan 14 jan 13 jan 12 jan

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