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No compass, no conscience
By Ari Shavit

When Benjamin Netanyahu was prime minister and his power was on the wane, he also complained about the whole world. In the late 1990s, when his government was falling apart, Netanyahu stated time and again that he was being treated unjustly. The attorney general was hostile toward him, the state prosecutor was persecuting him, the Likud princes (the scions of the old guard) were betraying him, the police were intrusive and the media were abusing him. He screamed: You've lost your minds, it's impossible to govern this way, it's impossible to run a country this way - in a systematic and evil way, the Israeli elite is trying to undermine the person whom the people voted in as prime minister.

A significant number of Netanyahu's claims were true. The princes, led by Ehud Olmert, did betray him. The judiciary and the police did make things unreasonably difficult for him, the media did lynch him. Indeed, after a whole year in which Israel focused intensively on the Netanyahu question, suddenly the issue lost its meaning. Suddenly it became clear that it no longer mattered whether Netanyahu was right or wrong, whether he was a dangerous demagogue or a martyred saint. After all, a prime minister is elected to govern and ensure that the country's systems function. Therefore, if the prime minister is unable to govern - he has to go. Right or wrong, he has to go. If the country's systems, for which he is responsible, are in a state of disarray, the prime minister needs to go.

This is precisely the point the Olmert government reached this week. On the face of it, this government, which does not rule, had a good week. The bane of the government's existence, Micha Lindenstrauss, made some tactical errors, which gave the prime minister a few points in his favor. For a little while, the horrifying truth behind the way Olmert was running the affairs of the state was silenced.
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However, last week was proof that Olmert-led Israel is in utter disarray. There is no policy, no responsibility and no decision-making. There are no morals, no norms, and there is no respect for the law. The home front is not prepared for another war. The Israel Defense Forces is not prepared for another war. No official authority has been established to deal with another war. There is no diplomatic initiative that could prevent the next war.

Against the increasingly growing threats, Olmert's Israel is behaving like an ostrich: It does not see, it does not hear and it does not do. The bug of government negligence is running amok in Jerusalem: an absence of leadership bug, an absence of governance - of anarchy.

This anarchy is what brought us the second Lebanon war. It is what caused the war to be managed the way it was. But much worse is the fact that even after the war, the anarchy continues. It has grown even while the writing is on the wall. Every day of anarchy brings us closer to the next disaster. A catastrophe for which every one who remains silent now is responsible.

Now that the Olmert era has become a nightmare era, the question of whether Olmert is right or wrong is irrelevant. Now, when the government in Jerusalem lacks both direction and a conscience, the question of Olmert vs. Lindenstrauss is not at all interesting. It isn't true that it's all personal. When an unprecedented threat looms on the horizon, nothing is personal. Only responsibility is personal. Only the responsibility of those who in a crucial moment failed to do anything.

History will judge us all. Every minister who continues to sit in this failed government will answer for it. Every member of Knesset who continues to support this disastrous government, will answer for it. And so will every colleague in the press, who cooperated with this disgrace. Every member of a committee of inquiry, who held back in the last minute. No one knows when reality will strike, but it is clear that reality will strike. Olmert-led Israel is not prepared for such a strike, and it is not prepared to deal with it. Israel under Olmert's leadership is struck by blindness and is stewing in its own rot
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  1.   Only in Israel 09:48  |  S 08/03/07
  2.   Olmert the Ostrich. 09:55  |  Nora 08/03/07
  3.   An Exact Description Of Olmert`s Gov`t. 10:16  |  Terry 08/03/07
  4.   An Exact Description Of Olmert`s Gov`t. 10:16  |  Terry 08/03/07
  5.   An Exact Description Of Olmert`s Gov`t. 10:16  |  Terry 08/03/07
  6.   Change the system of elections 10:19  |  Yonatan 08/03/07
  7.   Change the system of elections (part 2) 10:26  |  Yonatan 08/03/07
  8.   Olmert may be a failure, but do you have anyone better.....?? 10:29  |  Swiss (Dino) 08/03/07
  9.   The Best Journalist Israel Has 10:41  |  Johnny 08/03/07
  10.   #5 ANYONE IS BETTER DINO , JUST ANYONE 10:52  |  paul harris 08/03/07
  11.   Netanyahu is better 11:03  |  avi 08/03/07
  12.   To all those who hate Israel 11:18  |  Jasmine Murphy 08/03/07
  13.   Govt in line with public opinion 11:20  |  Joe 08/03/07
  14.   Says it all really 12:18  |  Michael 08/03/07
  15.   A question for Ari Shavit 12:34  |  Jonathan S 08/03/07
  16.   Dino #8! Did you read my #1? 13:12  |  S 08/03/07
  17.   AMEN TO A TRUTHFULL ACCURATE ARTICLE!!!!!!!! 13:13  |  Ben 08/03/07
  18.   And No Concern 13:40  |  Yonatan Netser 08/03/07
  19.   And No Concern 13:40  |  Yonatan Netser 08/03/07
  20.   Ari shavit has proven his intellectual worth and ethical integrit 14:20  |  jenny 08/03/07
  21.   The "Sky is Falling" hysterics 14:38  |  FOX 08/03/07
  22.   And Waiting in the Wings, We Have...? 14:50  |  Yaakov Sullivan 08/03/07
  23.   A Drive Down Memory Lane ( Part 1) 14:50  |  Klaudia 08/03/07
  24.   A Drive Down Memory Lane ( Part 2 ) 15:03  |  Klaudia 08/03/07
  25.   Heres a quote to chew on..... 15:18  |  Miriam Davidowitz 08/03/07
  26.   Kladia and her longing for the days of the tanks #23 15:18  |  Yaakov Sullivan 08/03/07
  27.   WHEN ALL IS SAID AND STILL UNDONE 15:23  |  EMESS 08/03/07
  28.   Drive Down Memory Lane ( Part 3 ) 15:26  |  Klaudia 08/03/07
  29.   Sullivan 15:26  |  SICK OF SULLIVAN 08/03/07
  30.   Metaphor or Ford Motor??? 15:40  |  Ronnie Wolman 08/03/07
  31.   It is time for Feiglin 15:46  |  Herbert Kaine 08/03/07
  32.   Yaakov Sullivan, under the article of Israel Harel in today`s ... 15:47  |  Nadav 08/03/07
  33.   To Yaakov Sullivan What color is YOUR Prius? 15:50  |  Klaudia 08/03/07
  34.   SICK OF SULLIVAN #29 15:54  |  Yaakov Sullivan 08/03/07
  35.   29sick of sullivan. Now, now, calm down! 15:56  |  shades of a charade 08/03/07
  36.   To Ronni Wolman 15:56  |  Miriam Davidowitz 08/03/07
  37.   Miriam:One Liners 16:08  |  Ronnie Wolman 08/03/07
  38.   For Klaudia the poet 16:09  |  Jonathan S 08/03/07
  39.   A steady state of a vicious cycle 16:10  |  Michael N 08/03/07
  40.   The KKKK disaster is obvious. My concern... 16:14  |  bat yam 08/03/07
  41.   # 16 S 16:17  |  Swiss (Dino) 08/03/07
  42.   Klaudia and her red burka #33 16:23  |  Yaakov Sullivan 08/03/07
  43.   Yonatan Netser 16:25  |  Gabe1 08/03/07
  44.   To Klaudia, specialist for cars 16:28  |  Jonathan S 08/03/07
  45.   The phlegmatic guy, the demagogue and the "joker"...... 16:29  |  Swiss (Dino) 08/03/07
  46.   shades of charades and his illusions #35 16:29  |  Yaakov Sullivan 08/03/07
  47.   To Shades of a Charade from Miriam Davidowitz 16:30  |  Miriam 08/03/07
  48.   Why Wait for Spring, Do it Now ! 16:32  |  Klaudia 08/03/07
  49.   Censors:If possible please post my reply to Miriam 16:42  |  Ronnie Wolman 08/03/07
  50.   Nadav #32 16:57  |  Gabe1 08/03/07
  51.   G-d have mercy on us! 17:13  |  Please!! 08/03/07
  52.   @ Terry 17:18  |  René Fries 08/03/07
  53.   Miriam Davidowitz:Humour causes many to die laughing 17:23  |  Ronnie Wolman 08/03/07
  54.   42miriam... 17:24  |  shades of a charade 08/03/07
  55.   For Jonathan S. 17:40  |  Klaudia 08/03/07
  56.   Bat Yam #40 18:18  |  Gabe1 08/03/07
  57.   Sullivan, I am still waiting for an answer. The longer I wait, .. 18:25  |  Nadav 08/03/07
  58.   Feiglin NOW for PRIME MINISTER 18:39  |  Herbert Kaine 08/03/07
  59.   nadav, #57 You do? 18:39  |  Yaakov Sullivan 08/03/07
  60.   Yaakov Sullivan, I really exist. But this is not the question, .. 18:54  |  Nadav 08/03/07
  61.   Wrong Diagnosis: The Problem is Philosophical 19:03  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 08/03/07
  62.   Nadav 19:08  |  ODP 08/03/07
  63.   Wrong Diagnosis: The Problem is Philosophical 19:09  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 08/03/07
  64.   nadav #60 I am? Really? 19:12  |  Yaakov Sullivan 08/03/07
  65.   Yaakov Sullivan - Nadav`s understanding 19:17  |  Dr. Yair Eilat 08/03/07
  66.   Ovadiah ben Avraham: Clouds and Clarity 19:17  |  Ronnie Wolman 08/03/07
  67.   #11 Avi, most people aren`t interested in watching reruns 19:20  |  Smadar 08/03/07
  68.   ODP, indeed, Haaretz is a Zionist news organization, if you know 19:26  |  Nadav 08/03/07
  69.   #15 Jonathan S - Really? Haaretz is at the forefront of leading 19:27  |  Smadar 08/03/07
  70.   the doctor from vancouver #65 19:44  |  Yaakov Sullivan 08/03/07
  71.   The Future of Israel 19:53  |  Tit for Tat 08/03/07
  72.   Future of Israel cont. 20:55  |  Tit for Tat 08/03/07
  73.   Tit For Tat: Brilliant!!!!!! 21:26  |  Ronnie Wolman 08/03/07
  74.   A man, no plan! a cock-up, Olmert! 22:55  |  Bruno 08/03/07
  75.   Nadav 23:18  |  Polybios 08/03/07
  76.   Yaakov Sullivan 23:51  |  Esau Sullivan 08/03/07
  77.   Smadar, please give me a hint #69 00:05  |  Jonathan S 09/03/07
  78.   73Polybios."I`ve begun ignoring him." - BRAVO for you! 00:25  |  shades of a charade 09/03/07
  79.   A question for Nadav 00:25  |  Jonathan S 09/03/07
  80.   A question for Esau Sullivan 00:28  |  Jonathan S 09/03/07
  81.   Nadav re: "Yaakov" Sullivan 00:48  |  CHGODMK