King for a day
If Netanyahu does not immediately take advantage of the hard-won credit he has been granted in order to come out with an Israeli diplomatic initiative, his situation will become desperate again.
By Ari ShavitA week ago Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's condition was nearly desperate. The Turkel committee became a committee with teeth liable to bite the prime minister, while State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss' scrutiny of the flotilla affair threatened to wound the prime minister. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman started making threats again and Defense Minister Ehud Barak continued to make trouble. Many observers are predicting that the government will start to disintegrate by September. The man who is conducting an intimate dialogue with history has realized that by next summer, he may well become an obscure and marginal historical footnote himself.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama. |
| Photo by: AFP |
There were also other troubles. In private, Netanyahu was told he was surrounded. After all, the international community is closing in on him; he lost Turkey, is losing Europe and is liable to lose the United States. If he doesn't break through the noose, his fate is sealed.
Worse than that were the words of the defense minister. Very, very quietly, without anyone knowing about it, Barak laid a pistol on the table. The man on whom Netanyahu depends - politically, diplomatically, strategically and emotionally - made it clear he will not stay with him forever. If Netanyahu does not make U.S. President Barack Obama a real offer, he will remain all alone under siege.
A week has gone by and things have turned around. Netanyahu is king. The White House is welcoming him with flowers, smiles and unprecedented affability. Blair House, Oval Office, press conference. The man who was anathema in March is given a royal reception in July. After a long period during which the president of the United States and the prime minister of Israel were adversaries, they are now falling all over each other.
And this is not just atmosphere, not just manners and politeness. Netanyahu is extracting from Obama a series of diplomatic achievements: an unambiguous commitment to Israel's unique needs, acknowledgment that Israel has to defend itself from the violent neighborhood in which it lives, a promise not to detract from Israel's defense capability. And by implication: recognition of Dimona. Recognition of the Iranian threat. Recognition that the way to Israeli-Palestinian peace is through direct talks.
After 18 wasted months during which Obama was the president who exerted pressure, he has become the president who embraces. Obama is embracing the State of Israel and the prime minister of Israel. What happened?
Three things have happened. On one level, Netanyahu waged a struggle. And the statesman who is depicted as susceptible to pressure did not succumb to the American pressure of this past spring. He fought back. The price for what Netanyahu did was felt by Obama in Chicago. The Israeli leader applied hidden pressure to the American leader, which made it perfectly clear to him: No more.
On another level, the Americans realized one-sided pressure on Israel is dangerous. It hurts them, keeps peace at bay and undermines stability in the Middle East. Even if Israel can be irritating, it is a fact. And even if Netanyahu arouses wrath, he is the only game in town. If there is peace during the Obama years, it won't be Tzipi Livni's peace. Nor will it be Yair Lapid's peace. The peace will be solely Netanyahu's.
On a third level, Israel demonstrated its seriousness. For many months, the two government engaged in an ongoing and in-depth working dialogue. The Israelis made it clear to the Americans that they are serious. In order to receive diplomatic and strategic credit, they deposited guarantees in the hands of their discussion partners - guarantees that will need to be put into effect in the coming months. That which sweetened the prime minister's visit to the White House is liable to embitter his life at home.
Thus the royal visit to Washington is not the end of the story. The Americans gave, and the Americans are expecting to get. Netanyahu must not let himself become confused. Now he is king for a day, maybe for a summer. However, if he does not immediately take advantage of the hard-won credit he has been granted in order to come out with an Israeli diplomatic initiative, his situation will become desperate again. Turkel and Lindenstrauss are still out there. So are Lieberman and Barak, as well as Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. The noose is still closing in on Netanyahu, and it is his obligation to slough it off.
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In case no one has noticed, Obama is becoming less & less popular by the day. Democrats will lose big in Nov. - a tsunami of voter disapproval. Obama has not changed - he is anti-Israel, his advisers are anti-Israel, & his leftist supporters are anti-Israel (if not outright anti-Semites). Netanyahu was not elected to make concessions, quite the contrary. He should fire Ehud Barak & wait until Nov. when Obama loses Congress. Then he should forget about ''Palestine'' & deal with our real priorities - Iran, Syria, & Hezbollah.
Correction:Assuming that there is a noose, is not our collective fate in the same noose or are columnists deemed immortal?
The facts on the ground run counter to Ari's fantasy of a noose tightening around Bibi. It's time for the frustrated left to admit that we may be looking at the most stable government this country has ever seen. The irony is that therein lies the true hopeful sign for peace.
Øbowmao is virtually a lame-duck president already. Only the blind jihad appeasing leftists at Haaretz and their marxist "pals" see Bibi as a problem. If Bibi were American he could run for president in the U.S. and win. Øbowmao is the messiah for your leftists because without him your "pals" rescind their jihad passes and you are as much targets as the rest of us Jews and Christians. PS - does anyone even read Haaretz anymore? I heard their advertisers are deserting them for low ciculation.
this was a very good article that hits the nail on the head. i hope that your pm takes advantage of the time he has. it wont be easy considering the people in his govt and the settlers. these are the things that eithere make a good pm or a great pm. for your sake israel i hope you have a great pm in office.
I am still not sure - Bibi is a moron - hard headed and foolish - He may miss this chance of a lifetime with Obama - If he plays smart with Obama - he is finished - You can't fool Obama - he is shrewd, very smart and he can sell bibi and buy him back at half price.
Netanyahu will blow his new found favor quickly. The arrogance and intransigence of the Israeli PM will once again rub Obama the wrong way. Netanyahu will not renew the settlement freeze, continue to blockade Gaza, antagonize the Turks and the rest of the world, and continue to be the rogue state that Israel is. Obama is cautious now because of politics, but he is as strong-willed as Natanyahu is arrogant and it will come back to bite Bibi. This meeting was staged to please the electorate. It is a sham and the reality of dislike for Netanyahu will be center stage soon.
Pluto, perhaps? It's obvious you suffer from oxygen deprivation. Your little 'spin' on the present situation is an out-and-out joke. Allow me to clue you in: Netanyahu got his... um... 'hat' handed to him. I believe the only reason that Obama didn't punch him right in the face was the November elections. Let me make a little prediction. Soon after the said elections, Obama is going to come down on Israel like the hand of you-know-who. His reelection is already a virtual certainty in 2012. But this will earn him the adulation of the American people and assure his place on Mt. Rushmore.
Abbas to Arabs: We'd Support a War Against Israel.
as a great triumph whilst waving a peace of paper with proposals (he says) for peace in our time. When the reality is Obama is placing everything on the backburner, whilst he handles an oil slick, closer ties with Russia, mid term elections, the economy and Iran, North Korea, China. Israel has had the choke collar replaced with an ordinary collar until November. Netanyahu's coalition will implode before then especially when the nightclub bouncer is charged (finally) with corruption.
...then trying carrots is reasonable. Specially if the perceived rift between the USA and Israel was indirectly bringing a backlash in other important scenarios. I don't think Netanyahu got a blank check for settlements or for dragging his feet indefinitely. He got a friendly PR in order to get serious. In the surface, this seems a farce. If you look at it from a broader perspective, it may be much tougher for Netanyahu. He was deprived of the hostile White House excuse. So he and Abbas will have to deliver. I wouldn't be surprised if Obama takes away some of Abbas' excuses also. Both are pampered in public and driven by their ears to the negotiating table. That's how I see this.
There will be no peace for Israel until Bibi is gone. Obama probably knows that, but has to play along with the farce so AIPAC don't make trouble for him in US politics.
There was no peace with Rabin, Peres, Barak, Netanyahu, Sharon, Olmert, Livni. So what is new there that there will be nopeace with Netanyahu? Why demonizing Netanyahu? Maybe PEACE depends also on the good will of the second side?
You think I'm demonizing Bibi. OK, you pretend you're Bibi and then come up with a peace plan which you, Shas, Leiberman, Ayalon etc. will accept and which has a snowball's chance in hell of being accepted by the Pals. Now you correctly point out that peace also relies on the Pals. That's obvious. But remember Israel holds all the cards, all the land, all the military superiority, all the US support. So inevitably, peace reliies rather more heavily on Israeli attitudes than on Pal. All the Pals have to give is peace, which currently they're sort of giving anyway. So I'm afraid it's going to have to be Israel doing most of the giving, and with this government it's a non-starter. But I'm always open to persuasion, so feel free to try.
..realise there is good will already on both sides.And ditto the malevolence.The trick is to defuse the malevolence.We have a laboratory in Ulster.So far, so good.Tricky.
What "sort of peace" are the "Palestinians" giving anyway?The rocket attacks?Your "argument" that it is only Israel that has to make concessions and peace moves does not hold.When one party tells the other "we don't recognize your right to exist",the no matter how might or how many land the other party has,it doesn't have any other choice than to remain in the defensive.And when you say that "it's going to have to be Israel doing most of the giving",may I remind you that Israel did the giving of Gaza to the "Palestinians" and got rockets and suicide attacks in return?May I remind you that in Camp David,Israel offered to do the giving of most of what the "Palestinians" wanted but Arafat rejected it and started his pre-planned intifada?Enough with all of you claiming that it's only Israel that must "do the giving" when even in these talkbacks there are "proud Arabs" saying that Israel is "an enclave in the Arab world"-therefore something that must be removed from it.....
He does have a bit on his hands right now. Bibi hasn't won anything except a summer reprieve, he really is on his last life .
Please make sure don't push Turkey more into the Iranian & Shiat Arab arms. Best wishes.
infos about turkish policy will dig ur fears. there was no gov like this, givin borders to their military. and i guess the sacular aspect of turkey couldnt be only an idol to israel.
He never listens to anything or anybody except his old man and his inner fears. Which, of course, are one and the same.....
He will dubiously be "king for a day" and then he will again manipulate his way to continue sitting on the fence on each and every issue Israel needs a choice. It might indeed be the endin september, and then Tzipi Livni's or Yair Lapid's peace.
You people are very negative towards the PM. If you check his background you will know. He is well educated, very good military background & he knows what he is doing, not exactly to your liking because he cannot satisfy each & every individual. This is Israel. Even during the 1967 6-day war and while the battle is in progress, the IDF chief of staff was giving heck to Ariel Sharon because he & his special forces crossed the Suez canal before schedule. Now, can you believe it?? That is how they operate. Each & everyone has to get his two bits in or the person is condemed. So dont run down your PM because you dont know what is happening behind the scenes.
With these two players, there will be no peace. Obama cannot 'split the difference' with Netanyahu. He blinked and took the pressure off Neyanyahu, which in the Middle east is interpreted as weakness and capitulation, not a gesture of good will needing to be reciprocated. Absent tangible progress, these two leaders will flame out.