Lieberman is helping to delegitimize Israel
By Ari Shavit Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu Israel news Avigdor LiebermanThe first year of Netanyahu's government was a preventive one. It's biggest achievement lies not in anything it did, but in what it prevented. Contrary to expectations, 2009 was not a year of diplomatic breakdown. A rift did not occur between Benjamin Netanyahu's Israel and Barack Obama's America. Contrary to expectations, 2009 was not a year of strategic breakdown. The United States, Europe, even Russia, did not put up with Iran's nuclearization.
Contrary to expectations, no defense crisis erupted in 2009. The borders remained quiet, and Netanyahu didn't embroil himself in any redundant war. Contrary to expectations, the economy did not collapse in 2009. The expected tsunami did not wash away Israel's economy. And, contrary to expectations, there was no political crisis in 2009. In his fashion, Netanyahu managed to stabilize a cumbersome government that was supposed to crumble within a few months.
As of this moment, Netanyahu has not put forth a vision, formulated an agenda or brought peace. He has not revolutionized education nor changed the system of government. But the maligned prime minister did prevent disaster on five different fronts. He blocked landslides that could have turned the public's life into hell.
But Netanyahu must not delude himself. He is still walking on thin ice. The specific successes of his strategic and political moves do not assure his future. Even after a year in office, his government is neither exciting nor leading the way. It is neither resolute nor decisive. It neither sets clear national goals nor demonstrates brilliancy. The government is not dealing with the threats facing Israel beyond the security realm. The primary such threat: delegitimization.
For about a decade, the assault on the Jewish state as such has been renewed and in the past year became an overall attack. A wide coalition of radical forces has leveraged Operation Cast Lead to speak ill of Israel and has used the occupation to delegitimize sovereign Israel as well. It has pushed Israel into a corner and turned it into a semi-pariah state. This has damaged Israeli businesses, academia and security. Israel's ability to use force to protect itself has eroded. And the two-state idea is on the verge of collapse.
A study recently published by the Reut Institute rightly states that the threat of delegitimization has become a matter of survival - requiring a comprehensive change of approach. After half a century of putting the strategic emphasis on the military, Israel must now return to state affairs.
The Foreign Ministry must be just as powerful and effective as the Defense Ministry. It must adopt the Mossad and Shin Bet work ethos and lead a complex and sophisticated diplomatic, public relations campaign, the likes of which we have not seen since 1947.
But there's a problem. The minister heading the Foreign Ministry today is exacerbating Israel's distress over legitimacy instead of alleviating it. This minister cannot solve the problem he is part of. The Arab world abhors him. Europe sees him as a Le Pen-style nationalist. The United States sees him as an embarrassing malfunction.
While Shimon Peres is perceived abroad as the attractive side of Israel, Avigdor Lieberman is seen as its ugly side. He cannot thwart the delegitimization assault while his abusive rhetoric and bullying behavior empowers it. Lieberman is playing into the hands of those who want to portray Israel as a racist, lunatic state.
Ehud Olmert paid a heavy price for one reckless mistake - appointing Amir Peretz defense minister. Netanyahu may pay a similar price for appointing Lieberman foreign minister. There are no fatalities in the legitimacy war. In the short range, it doesn't cost any blood. But in the long range, it is immeasurably more important than the Second Lebanon War.
Netanyahu must rearrange his foreign affairs alignment and adopt an innovative strategy. First, he must dismiss the delegitimization minister without delay and place at the head of the Foreign Ministry a worthy individual who will represent enlightened Israel properly.
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Israel is very nearly at the point where Lieberman and his clique of interests (both inside Israel and outside) will be necessary. Despicable as that group is, there are some things that only they can do. If Barak and Bibi continue delaying their day work, Lieberman's faction will be forced to do their night work. Either way, a Palestinian state is very close.
The majority of people now use the internet to research about persons and I wonder what difference it will make whether its Lieberman or somebody else. Everybody knows the reasons behind Zionism and the "Jewish state"?
He talks about "Transfer". In English, this means ethnic cleansing. Just like the Nazi's in WW2 considered "Transfer" of Jews, before implementing the Final Solution. and please, do not call me anti-semite. It is getting old...
What delegitimizes Israel is when its Foreign Minister gets called every name in the book and attacked nonstop by opportunist politicians simply for stating obvious facts and expecting that his country be treated with the same respect given to others. It'd be nice if certain politicians and media outlets considered whether their campaigns against the guy and attempts to undermine him at every step might hurt the nation as well.
Israel needs more Liebermans.The only way Israel can achieve peace is to start the transfer. I am 100% sure that Israel will live in apsolute peace for centuries if Baruch Marzel would become the prime minister.
Anti-Semites and enemies of the Jewish State of Israel do not need any "reason" to deligitimate it. Their venomous hate for Jews and Israel is a function of their state of mental condition, not who is a FM of Israel. The Jewish State of Israel does not need any approval for its legitimacy from islamo-facists, left-wing social-facists and others. The ligitimacy of Israel is approved and confirmed by the 3500 years of Jewish history in the Land of Israel. It is approved and confirmed by the international law (League of Nations and UN), to the opposite of many illegal Arab dictatorships. Ari Shavit shows himself as an incompetent person, or something worse...
Dear Ari Shavit, I entirely agree with you ! Definitely, Liberman is " delegitimizing " Israel...! Antoine GED
The damage to Israeli from the indelicate Mr. Lieberman is inestimable. Maybe the reason things have been so quiet is because Israels opponents and distractors are better served to sit back and let this twisted coalion with zero diplomatic finesse blow off all of their allies. It's a waiting game with a potentially big payoff.
Lieberman as "embarrassing malfunction"- my sentiments exactly. how this man came to hold such an important post is the problem - Israel needs a new voting system.
Mr Shavit: it is not the a "wide coalition of radical forces" has turned Israel into a semi-pariah state. Israel has done this to herself by her choices and her policies. lieberman simply reflects those policies in a more than crude, vulgar way. Israel at one point had a great deal of credibility and respect in the international community. It now has none. Not because of simmering plots of radicals to see its demise, but because of a revulsion at its policies and its hypocaracy and arrogance in the international community. lieberman is not a cause but a symptom and no amount of public relations. Expansionism in the occupied territories, along with governmental coddling of the violent colonists, the excesses of Operation Cast Lead, its lies and subtrafuges are the agents that have contibuted to moves to delegitimise Israel. Naomi Chazan was n enlightened worthy individual who represented the best in Israel and look what they have done to her.
Congrats - you found the correct comparison ! David
..in part the craziness of F.M. Lieberman. He's not liked for his statements like loyality oaths. The European countries and America sees his actions as being non-productive towards the Israeli cause. Israel must starting actiing like a modern state/country, which means having sensitiveties about "what the world leaders" think about Israel. Start to act in a regional fashion which would be to unite with Arab States agaisnt the joint threat of Iran to not only Israel but also Israel's Arab neighbors. Also, its time to sign the NPT treaty and allow inspections of the nuclear arsenal. Lieberman puts the country into limbo instead of moving it forward.
keep begging and kneeling and continue explaining its existence to any miserable neophyte out there. Thank you Mr. Lieberman for standing up for the State of Israel and Jewish people. You are , Mr. Lieberman, making me very Proud of Israel and Jewish people for their the most humane army in the world. Recall any wars be that Vietnam, Korea, Phillipines, Africa or any of arab regimes and you see the difference. In all of the above thousands of civilians were slaughtered, poisoned and simply decapitated. Compare that with Israel fighting urban war with untrelenting hiding behind women and children palestinian terror structure. It would of been much easier for Israel just to bomb a hell out of whole pa entity but Israel sacrificed the safety of their own soldiers went house to house avoiding multiple bomb-traps and back-shootings. Proud of you Israel!!
Lieberman has been first rate at destroying any credibility that Israel has left in the world. Barak and Peres run around the world after him repairing the damage he causes, in the few countries in which he is welcomed, and Israel has a foreign minister who has not stepped inside The White House. Your right from where I sit Lieberman is doing a fantastic job.
What is meant by delegitimization? Is Israel going to be dismantled? Is Israel going to be taken apart brick by brick? Maybe Israel will be forced by the ICJ to attend legitimization school. Or maybe there will be sanctions? Not as long as the US supports Israel all the way up the river. Maybe the IMF will kick Israel out? That won't happen. Will Israel be forced to pull out of the Occupied territories? By whom? There's a Land of Israel Caucus in the Knesset advocating a greater presence in the West Bank supported by almost all of Likud and other right wing parties? Did you hear the deafening silence uttered by world leaders about that idea? Delegitimization is nonsense idea devoid of any substance. The UN will debate what Israel does, pass a critical resolution, so what, how many such resolutions have been passed against Israel, nothing happened, Israel is still there and it's still holding on the WB, with or without Lieberman, delegitimization talk is talk about imminent sodall.
I am in the UK so trying to tar me with being from the Middle East as you are doesn't work. However I refer to Lieberman being a former nightclub from Moldova first to show that he does not have the qualifications to be a Foreign Minister and I refer to him being Moldovan because that is where he was born. Besides calling him the Nighclub Bouncer from Moldova because it has a nice ring to it. As does naughty chair diplomacy, which he is so fond of So what are your feelings about whether Lieberman should be sacked by Netanyahu and replaced with Tzipi Livni? Or is your next step to brand me an anti semite?
Hey, You give Livni and Lieberman a long life expecting them to be here in 2032. But your vision is true and I expect it way before 2032.
we have a foreign minister that calls a spade a spade.not good for the PC culture here on haaretz or in europe? too bad... lieberman may be slightly less "diplomatic" than some would want in his position, but it's not for europe or obama or emmanuel or erdogan, or anyone to tell israel how or what a foreign minister should say or represent. Israel is well served by this man speaking truths to some of the weasels out there...I think its high time israel start to say what it wants...and NOT be hamstrung by OTHER peoples wants..nothing israel does is good enough for anyone anyhow, so we may as well have someone that says things exactly as they are...political correctness is garbage.
Voices like yours make the big difference and I wonder how many of you are in Israel. But a the end of the day if your voices are not heard and no peace is achieved, the future conditions on how they will be achieved will a big loss to Israel. At the end of the day, you would have seeing right and regrets won't change! Give them their land and their freedom!
# 5 Chris, You're the only one on these talkbacks,who constantly dotes on the fact that Liberman was a 'bouncer' from Moldova. There were American Presidents who used to sell newspapers in their youth. Not sure that they were also,'shoe-shine-boys' ? Does anyone hold that against them,or remind thel of those past years ? Only Mr.Chris has this Liberman stuck in his veins. He doesn't even tell us from what country he hails. Can it be from the country of El-Jazira ?
My very best to you. Salaam/Shalom
Not being born in Israel and speaking Hebrew with an accent, plays a much bigger part in too many Israeli's lives. And usually this is to the detriment of long term Jewish interests. Yishar koach Avigdor.
He is the true face of Israel. WYSIWYG. At least no one can call him a bullshitter like the rest of the nutjobs. Salaam/Shalom
I am so optimistic that I feel it will be 2022 not 2032:)
Not Lieberman but "progressives" and human rights activists are trying delegitimizing Israel. But does Lieberman help them? Operation Cast Lead, for example, helped them. Betselim helps them. Leaders of Israeli Arabs help them. There are many people, besides Lieberman, who help them. And if defending dignity and respect for his people deligitimizes their right of self-determination then it is fault of those who delegitimizes it, not who is trying to protect it.
Lieberman will surge ahead after the next election. There is a possibility of his party someday leading this country. Boy- does that scare some folks.
I love Lieberman...he restores to me a Jewish pride stripped away long ago by the feeble, faithless leftists. I am going to vote for him as PM the next time around.
At this point there is not any legitimacy left for Lieberman to effect. That's why the international outcry is muted regarding Lieberman. The world has come to expect this behavior from Israel.
it is not because you use the word peace three times in every sentence that your name is peace pigeon perez
... he cannot infer any 'glik' upon us...
of Israel was today dissolved and the New Bi National state of "Palisrael" was accepted into the community of nations at the UN. The UN passed Resolution 1156 granting statehood to the nascent State. Meanwhile a suicide bomber blew up a bus in the city " Greater Jaffa", (formerly Tel aviv) killing twenty people. The recently reformed terrorist group "Irgun" claimed responsibility. Irgun has a long history of terrorist acts going back to the early days of the former Zionist state. Israel was offerred many opportunities to make peace but responded by attempting to ethnically cleanse 4 million Palestinians by forcing them onto railways cars to ship them out of the so called Greater Israel. United nations troops intervened and were met by violence and terrorist acts. The architects of this war crime are presently on trial in the Hague among them are two former Israeli FM,s -Avigdor Liberman and Tipzi Livni whose Father was a leader in the original terrorist group Irgun. Reuters
towards a golden future. Netanyahu is merely ensuring that his name is on the door of the Prime Minister's Office. Which is why a former nightclub bouncer from Moldovia got to be Foreign Minister, whose best idea for Israeli foreign policy is naughty chair diplomacy whilst Tzipi Livni who is well respected within the good and the great in the international community is sat on the opposition benches. So while this article rightly points out that the worse case scenario during Netanyahu's tenure has not happened. His tenure as Prime Minister with a Foreign Minister declared persona non gratis in many capitals of the world with Presidents and Prime Ministers openly telling Netanyahu to replace Lieberman, is leading to disaster for Israel. Israel is becoming increasingly irrelevant within the international community, virtually ignored in all the big decisions even those including Iran. With Netanyahu reduced to having what he declares as secret meetings with the Russians.
Jealous?
More as Milosevic.
Well, that will make the cabinet fall and will mean new elections, won't it? Am I so dumb to miss something here or is mr. Shavit just very very naive?
For the first time in a long time, I agree with Ari Shavit (who has become increasingly rightwing in recent years). Avigdor Lieberman is a national embarrassment, and should be dispatched immediately back to his settlement. Ironically, it is a mercy that he is not welcome in so many capitals, thereby minimising his impact on the world stage. Be brave for once Bibi, and do what is right for the country, and not just for your political survival.