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Supply and command By Ari Shavit Tags: justice To: The 19 wealthiest families From: The strategic adviser Re: Israel, Inc. Advertisement Dear families, In late March 2006, I sent you my first memo. On the eve of the election, I wrote you about the total control that my colleagues and I obtained for you over the Israeli consciousness, as well as over the government and political establishment. The objective was met: We were able to create a society that lacked an opposition. Without genuine political parties or workers unions or critical media. At that time, I viewed the 2006 elections as a decisive turning point. I expected that the government of Ehud Olmert, Esq., would enable us to get our hands on the police, the State Prosecutor's Office and the treasury. I also predicted that the court could be populated with new and friendly judges. Like Berlusconi's Italy and Putin's Russia, I wrote, Olmert's Israel will be a paradise of corporate power. The deteriorating democratic regime of the 20th century will be dismantled and replaced by a centralized oligarchic regime of unparalleled economic efficiency. While not stated explicitly, the vision I outlined was clear: a state with no alternative centers of power that could threaten our centers of power. A state in which great wealth controls the legislative, executive and judicial branches. A model state, ladies and gentlemen. A state, incorporated. A 21st-century state run for us by Rami (Caspi), Boris (Krasny) and Rani (Rahav) [referring to three well-connected local figures - an attorney, a lobbyist and a PR man, respectively] as if it were a holding company. Unfortunately, right after Kadima's victory, cracks appeared in the utopia. At first it was the threat that Amir Peretz would be appointed finance minister. I am pleased to inform those members of the families who were away during the past two years, while they were busy transferring the bulk of their business activity abroad, that this severe threat met with an appropriate reply. Our friends in the banking industry instructed our emissary in the Prime Minister's Office to foil the plot and he immediately obliged. E.O.'s loyalty to the families is beyond reproach. He has a deep understanding of the fact that our immediate interests must not be endangered at any cost. Therefore, he gave Peretz control of an insignificant ministry, where he couldn't raise the minimum wage, put off privatization or stop centralization. Granted, as a result of this, Katyushas disrupted production in our factories in the North for about a month. Sales at the big chains were down and some of the personnel took cover in shelters. But in the end, the idea of putting Avraham Hirchson at treasury and Peretz at defense turned out to be a prudent business move. It enabled us to make a bundle in both 2006 and 2007. It enabled most of the families to enjoy unprecedented profits. For a not-overly prohibitive price, the new regime was firmly established. And yet, right after the Second Lebanon War, the utopia faced another threat. Because of their shortsightedness, the masses didn't understand the war they way we did. There were smatterings of protest. Displays of anger were recorded. All kinds of weirdos and kooks were demanding that E.O. step up and take responsibility. But we found an answer to this populist threat, too. We mustered everything at our disposal to meet the challenge. Politicians who know the score were activated. Obedient media outlets played along. The iron bridge of the new Israeli capitalism was laid over the turbulent waters of a fearful and agitated Israeli public. And E.O. strode across this bridge until he reached safe harbor. Then there was the third threat. Amid the bleak post-war atmosphere, subversive talk about ethics began to spread. Deluded inciters saw a dangerous connection between the country's failure in the war and the new hegemony of the rule-of-capital. The fundamental principles of the families' regime came under attack. Standard operating procedure was suddenly called into question. Some guy by the name of Yaron (Zelekha) tried to throw a wrench in the works. Another guy by the name of Micha (Lindenstrauss) started whispering strangely. Even in the media, which are usually so well disciplined, a few sparks of rebellion appeared. My colleagues and I saw that not all the newspapers and journalists were completely in Olmert's corner. Left with no choice, we took a number of urgent steps. Zelekha was tossed out and forgotten. Micha was encircled and silenced. The rabble-rousing journalists were isolated. And so, quite elegantly, without resorting to extreme measures, we managed to restore proper order. The families grew stronger. The refineries were privatized. The banking duopoly raked it in. A series of exciting deals in the water, gas and energy industries were pushed through, unhindered. The dogs were tamed, fattened and anesthetized, thus enabling the convoy to carry on. The road was paved to molding Israel into a state whose citizens drink water provided by the families, eat food provided by the families and live off the credit provided by the families. A state whose citizens are fed information that's been processed by the families have processed and the marketing content supplied by the families. A state in which even the light-green electric vehicles in which it will soon transport its citizens are family cars. Aldous Huxley and George Orwell couldn't have engineered it any better. Absolute rule. Total rule. And nice-looking, too. Not oppressive, but seductive. Not restrictive, but enticing. Golden as a calf. Dear families: As you know, in the beginning we had several options. Some advocated a Putin-style administration. Others preferred a Berlusconi-style administration. Yet in the end, the governmental structure that was chosen was modeled after the inspiring precedent of the United Fruit Company. The one that would install and then take down governments as it pleased in every Central American banana republic. That old Latin model was adapted to the contemporary Israeli reality and in the past two years has been applied with much success. Unlike Putin-style control, control-via-Olmert is aesthetically pleasing. Unlike Berlusconi-style control, control-via-Olmert serves all of the families and doesn't favor one over another. After all, we all know Ehud. For a generation now, Ehud has been our man in the administration and in politics. There's hardly a family that hasn't benefited from his services. There's hardly a family whom he's refused to serve. And since Ehud is our kind of a guy, he listens to all of us and wins our approval across the board. He's our mover and shaker. He's the go-to man. Ehud is the hyphens in "rule-of-capital." Rule via Olmert and the executive authority is a strategic achievement. Rule via Kadima in the legislative authority is also a very valuable tool. However, a professional systems analysis that we conducted revealed that, without control over the judicial authority, it will be impossible to realize the inherent potential of the new regime. To maximize the power of the families and to ensure that no obstacle stands in their way, another aggressive step needed to have been taken. The rule of law too needed to be subjugated to the rule-of-capital, the courts uprooted, the state prosecutor reined in and the mindset of the police changed. This challenging assignment was put in the hands of D. Friedmann. Unlike E.O., D. Friedmann is not one of us. He is honest and filled with crusading zeal and propelled by non-business motives that aren't clear to us. However, the operatives who are handling the justice minister for us have discovered that he can be played like a fool who doesn't know which powers he is serving. Allow me to say that the opportunity presented by the professor is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. If handled properly, D. Friedmann will ensure our triumph in the justice system. Haim Ramon did it for us in the Histadrut. The sky's the limit: From the whitewashing of white-collar crime to genuine penetration of the Supreme Court; from giving a seal of approval to bribery and to breach of trust, to direct access to judges and rulings. Just as we opened up politics and the media to market forces, we are now also opening up the closed world of law to market forces. The objective is to turn justice into a commodity. To make indictments and verdicts a part of the futures trade. Only thus can we ensure that the justice system will become more efficient and also serve the good of the (leaders of the) economy. The idea of judges in Jerusalem should be viewed as an outdated concept that no longer suits the new age and its needs. If E.O. continues to serve as prime minister and D. Friedmann continues to serve as justice minister, we expect that it will be possible, within a few years, to see to it that there are no more judges in Jerusalem. The structural changes will be such that Israel will no longer have an independent, separate, subversive and uncontrolled judicial authority. The final obstacle will be removed. The one alternate center of power that is still capable of blocking and counterbalancing the families' rule will thus be uprooted. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Devil's weed New campaign equates smoking pot with terrorism. Bad company A BBC poll says Israel world's most hated country after Iran.   1.   Media Inc. 14:37  |  Buzaglow 28/03/08   2.   Take Them On 15:22  |  Dav 28/03/08   3.   It sounds like the "Protocols of the Elders of Tel Aviv" 17:25  |  David 28/03/08   4.   Israel Inc. 01:46  |  Joseph 29/03/08   5.   Yashar Koach! 11:36  |  Susan Ahyed 31/03/08

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