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Only settlers are taking Obama seriously in Israel
By Gideon Levy, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: ISrael News, Barack Obama 

The acute shift in the United States' attitude toward Israel interrupted the public in the middle of its springtime nap. This nonstop sleep has continued for at least a decade. Sleep? Heck, this has been a coma.

Only one group of people has opened its eyes and gone to work - as usual, the settlers - while the other segments of Israeli society are entrenched in an awful state of apathy and inaction. Tzipi Livni is spending leisure time on a jet ski in Eilat, Meretz is still preoccupied with the pope's visit, the New Left Movement has been shelved, Peace Now is making do with counting the number of new homes built in settlements, authors are selling new books and celebrating birthdays, most of the media is busy with stupefying absurdities, and silence casts a shadow over the abyss.

Israel is arguably standing before the opportunity of a lifetime, yet there is not even a hint of real public debate. The town square is empty - for years it has been devoid of demonstrations and protests, neither for nor against, completely empty. The frightening indifference dragged us into wars, and the no-less horrifying indifference could lead us to miss a rare opportunity for peace.
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Barack Obama has made Israel an offer it cannot - and must not - refuse, yet Israel fails to wake up. Where are those 57 percent of Israelis who said in the latest Haaretz poll that they support a two-state solution? What do they think? That this solution, which they allegedly support, will fall from the sky, without lifting a finger, without making waves among the depths of society, waves that will put such a grandiose process in motion? Where are the protests against the anti-peace position of our elected prime minister, who continues with his hackneyed we-will-not-divide-Jerusalem and we-will-not-come-down-from-the-Golan?

Isn't it time to stop saying one thing to a pollster and then continue napping? We have demonstrations only when factories are closed, albeit this happens too rarely. Yet there are no demonstrations to protest a country in danger of closing; a country already ostracized among wide swaths of international public opinion; a country up to its neck in its corrupting, brutal settlement enterprise; a country threatened by potential dangers including the shattering of its vital alliance with the United States.

Settler leaders are already running to and fro, disseminating their demagogic and ridiculous claims like "natural growth," along with their standard campaign of fearmongering and threats. The response is nothing. Silence and deep sleep. The field is left completely abandoned to their shenanigans. With the exception of a few determined, yet insignificant, outcast groups on the left, the settlers are the only active element in our society. This is how they will once again succeed in sowing fear and extorting the majority that is allegedly fed up with them (in polls, and only in polls), just as they have done these past 40 years. Tel Aviv will decide the fate of the settlement of Ofra, and Tel Aviv is lying in a coma, not responding, not answering, looking on at the developments with indifference.

Obama's first achievement - restoring the occupation and settlements to their rightful place on the international center stage - has already been noted to his credit. But he has not succeeded in bringing these issues to the center stage of public consciousness, which will ultimately determine its future.

Israel's poor have yet to internalize the connection between their poverty and the massive resources being futilely poured into the criminal settlement enterprise. The seekers of peace and justice still do not understand the momentous opportunity for change standing before Israel. The talk of the day is about the professional basketball finals and the final round of the reality TV show "Survivor." Even the final of "American Idol" attracts greater interest. And yet nobody talks about the real final round, the last round of the occupation, perhaps the final of all wars.

What happened to the days when "the future of the territories" was the topic of conversation during every family gathering on Fridays? Where are the days when a massacre that we did not directly commit was enough to bring hundreds of thousands onto the streets? They came, and they went. A stranger who stumbles on this place would hardly believe it: A fateful opportunity is liable to be missed due to public indifference.

This is perhaps the last boarding call to a flight whose destination is a better future, and the passengers are stuck in duty-free. Just another fragrant perfume at a can't-miss price, just one more bottle of whiskey at a discount, taking their time, delaying and delaying, all the while missing out on the real deal, the best deal.

One cannot sit at home, stare at the television, take vacations and leave our future in the hands of a tiny group of politicians and generals. People must wake up, make their voices heard, take action, all before it's too late and the plane leaves the terminal, once again without us.

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      1.   Irrelevant Levy 04:58  |  A Nice Fellow 24/05/09
      2.   First time I agree with you, Gideon Levy. EXCEPT: 05:26  |  Fortuna Benmayor 24/05/09
      3.   An interesting note about gideon levy 05:30  |  Yitzhak 24/05/09
      4.   awake? 05:54  |  yuval 24/05/09
      5.   Israeli Goberment 05:59  |  Daniel 24/05/09
      6.   not sure it`s indifference, demographic changes are partly reason 06:24  |  Smadar 24/05/09
      7.   Damn Gideon that was some of your best yet... 06:32  |  BBSNews 24/05/09
      8.   possibility 06:42  |  potobac 24/05/09
      9.   not sure it`s indifference, demographic changes are partly reason 06:43  |  Smadar 24/05/09
      10.   A state for all its citizens 06:49  |  Steve Beikirch 24/05/09
      11.   Healthy indifference 07:05  |  ron 24/05/09
      12.   Hey,big enervator,stop blaiming 07:12  |  drdanielito 24/05/09
      13.   We need a new government 07:22  |  MarkC 24/05/09
      14.   You have a very good point Steve from Iola... 07:36  |  BBSNews 24/05/09
      15.   The truest sentence that Gideon has ever wrtitten: 07:37  |  Esther 24/05/09
      16.   And what have the settlers done this morning...?! 07:45  |  Esther 24/05/09
      17.   # 3 which is exactly what it did in 1967 07:59  |  eric 24/05/09
      18.   And where is Livni? 08:00  |  Daphna 24/05/09
      19.   Re: Wake up 08:06  |  Dany 24/05/09
      20.   direct blows gideon, and right on the nail`s head! 08:20  |  eric 24/05/09
      21.   doctor levy,what about.... 08:30  |  medusi 24/05/09
      22.   There is nothing new Gideon you are asleep 08:42  |  Baruch Gold 24/05/09
      23.   Let `em settlers keep on homesteading... 08:42  |  Lasmarch 24/05/09
      24.   You would also if your home was taken away 08:58  |  lily 24/05/09
      25.   What is the freaking opportunity? You never explain 09:39  |  McQueen 24/05/09
      26.   Why does Gideon lie about some `opportunity of a lifetime` 09:42  |  Steve Randolph 24/05/09
      27.   Gideon Levy / Only settlers are taking Obama seriously in Israel 09:45  |  Zwi Goldberg 24/05/09
      28.   Levy the historical revisionist. Still lame after all these years 09:47  |  Joe Sittizen 24/05/09
      29.   Sponging off others.... 10:36  |  dutch 24/05/09
      30.   Baruch from Hebron, Palestine 10:44  |  John Spear 24/05/09
      31.   first to go last to know 10:45  |  jmom 24/05/09
      32.   Smadar #1: I`d like to hear the rest of the story. 10:49  |  Hanna 24/05/09
      33.   direct blows gideon, and right on the nail`s head! 10:49  |  eric 24/05/09
      34.   The Inflation of words has reached a level where people 10:49  |  Kris Lazar 24/05/09
      35.   I am a "settler" Esther # 5 10:53  |  Jamie 24/05/09
      36.   "and the passengers are stuck in duty-free" sums it up perfectly! 10:58  |  JustMe 24/05/09
      37.   There is no new opportunity.The Palestinian consciousness never 11:02  |  ks 24/05/09
      38.   Procrastination is the call-of-the-day... 11:20  |  Esther 24/05/09
      39.   Faith in Obama 11:37  |  David 24/05/09
      40.   Israelis need a taste of their own medicine... 11:44  |  Dutch 24/05/09
      41.   to settler Jamie 11:47  |  fnrkz 24/05/09
      42.   Precious little has changed 11:54  |  Ben 24/05/09
      43.   Israeli indifference 12:21  |  Dutch 24/05/09
      44.   Lily 12:22  |  John Canadian 24/05/09
      45.   "..a few determined yet insignificant outcast groups on the left" 12:22  |  Nemesis 24/05/09
      46.   Want to know why they`re all sleeping, Gideon? 12:27  |  Nemesis 24/05/09
      47.   gideon levy in his own write 12:36  |  harzion 24/05/09
      48.   what israel should do 12:38  |  eliyahu 24/05/09
      49.   gideon levy once worked as an adviser for peres 12:39  |  harzion 24/05/09
      50.   we are all driven by economic imperatives 12:41  |  gad 24/05/09
      51.   To Gold 12:41  |  Gili 24/05/09
      52.   Too late . lets start writing the constitution of the ONE state.. 12:45  |  Charlie 24/05/09
      53.   SETTLERS ARE CORRECT.OBAMA IS ENEMY OF ISRAEL 13:22  |  John Biber 24/05/09
      54.   A summons for the movers and the shakers from afar to act 13:41  |  Ivar 24/05/09
      55.   the settlers are right; you are wrong 13:56  |  Joe 24/05/09
      56.   to Jamie #18 14:18  |  zeev 24/05/09
      57.   same facts are seen by you and levi.only fathoming them remains 14:39  |  elisheva anat kanz 24/05/09
      58.   moderator this is fair comment on levy 14:42  |  gad 24/05/09
      59.   Levy: A righteous Jew 14:49  |  WHG 24/05/09
      60.   The Israeli Republicans 14:59  |  Magdalena 24/05/09
      61.   jamie pays her own way,we should live to see the day. 15:06  |  yonatan elkana 24/05/09
      62.   Theright to exist 15:12  |  Magdalena 24/05/09
      63.   Jamie #18 15:20  |  Esther 24/05/09
      64.   #15 Hanna 15:31  |  Smadar 24/05/09
      65.   harzion #20 15:32  |  Esther 24/05/09
      66.   Magdalena #29 15:49  |  Esther 24/05/09
      67.   Gideon Must Recognize the Failure of the Arab Leaders 15:51  |  NoToBadJournalism 24/05/09
      68.   esther i agree peres is a very fallible man 15:53  |  harzion 24/05/09
      69.   harzion #51... 16:08  |  Esther 24/05/09
      70.   #3 Yitzhak, your `note` is nothing if not the difference between 16:55  |  Nemesis 24/05/09
      71.   like Ilan Pappe`s stories. 16:57  |  Quebec observer 24/05/09
      72.   esther our world view is different 17:30  |  harzion 24/05/09
      73.   Rabin`s Government Diverted Money from 17:35  |  ARTH 24/05/09
      74.   Settlements 17:38  |  Yvonne 24/05/09
      75.   Mcqueen, the opportunity won`t last... 18:20  |  BBSNews 24/05/09
      76.   #28 Joe Sittizen 18:43  |  Mike from Boston 24/05/09
      77.   esther and large settler families 19:02  |  harzion 24/05/09
      78.   RIGHT ON, GIDEON! 19:23  |  Ed 24/05/09
      79.   To BS News (#75), the "time`s up" parrot with no concept of time. 19:28  |  flyingdoc57 24/05/09
      80.   to Smadar fr Toronto and Hanna 19:32  |  Leila from Abu gosh 24/05/09
      81.   BBS you are in for a surprise.There is a reason US and Israeli 19:34  |  ks 24/05/09
      82.   #77 harzion 19:38  |  Mike from Boston 24/05/09
      83.   Settlements 19:54  |  Magdalena 24/05/09
      84.   mike boston and "breeders for the state" 20:01  |  harzion 24/05/09
      85.   longliveisrael.. 20:01  |  Magdalena 24/05/09
      86.   Esther`s Musings on Settlement Injustice 20:26  |  Jasper 24/05/09
      87.   Israeliwomen 20:37  |  Magdalena 24/05/09
      88.   The new Exodus 20:51  |  Magdalena 24/05/09
      89.   # 23 Lasmarch 21:32  |  Veggie person 24/05/09
      90.   to #1 22:56  |  jennifer 24/05/09
      91.   Peace in Israel??? 06:04  |  Daniel Repko 25/05/09
      92.   Peace 07:58  |  Iain 25/05/09
      93.   #74 don`t count on it too much magdalena, esther is right 09:46  |  eric 26/05/09
      94.   to ARTH #73 - 4th try 02:33  |  zeev 29/05/09
      95.   to harzion #72 - 4th try 02:35  |  zeev 29/05/09
      96.   to Magdalena #62 - 6th try 02:44  |  zeev 30/05/09
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