Netanyahu needs to save Israel, not just its image

The International Geographical Union Commission on Geographical Information Systems agrees that the name "Palestine" be placed on maps and web-sites in context with the name "Israel" thereby granting official recognition.

Up to recently Israel's Might seemed to make things right in the Israelis eyes ! This is and will no longer works !! Might no matter how you spin it DOES NOT MAKE ISRAEL"S ACTIONS RIGHT ! Time to wake up and smell the creeping disaster !!

In 2002, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he was “very deeply distressed” by what he observed in his recent visit to the Holy Land, adding, “It reminded me so much of what happened in South Africa...the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about." Referring to Americans, he added, “People are scared in this country to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful—very powerful. Well, so what? The apartheid government was very powerful, but today it no longer exists.”

Posters on Talkback call Obama a Nazi/Islamo-fascist sympathizer for implicitly threatening not to use the U.S. veto to stop a resolution condemning continued settlement expansion. Amazing. What happened to the perspective of the average Israeli? And if you elect "leaders" like Bibi who don't care if Israel can at least try to attain a true peace if it means they lose the next election, where will Israel be in 50 years? Like the U.S., you deserve the leaders you elect. Even Begin would have had a better perspective on the situation than the current circus running Israel.

Haaretz should stop blaming Israel and instead let Israel win. There will not be peace as long as Palestinian terror groups continue to murder Israelis with backing from the terror regimes in Iran and Syria. Palestinian terror groups must be defeated for peace to come! Regime change is also needed in Iran and Syria. Creating a Palestinian terror state in Judea and Samaria will not solve any of Israel's problems. It will only make the situation worse. Just look at Lebanon and Gaza. This is why most Israelis support right wing parties like Likud. Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria are not the cause of the conflict. The Arabs tried to destroy Israel before 1967. Go to camera.org for more information.

My impression, after many years in Israel, is that every now and then, things become very, very bleak - and dark (and I´m not talking about wartime or when terror strikes). Lieberman is a disaster, an aggressive danger to Israel. He is the opposite to the great, creative, pioneering, hardworking och decent people who wants a civilized, tolerant and modern society. But eventually, the pendulum will swing and kick him out of office. And other israelis will com forward. Don´t stare yourself blind at everything that is a mess in Israel. You have to remember the basic parameters: It´s a democracy where we adhere to the rule of law. The people of Israel will rise again, in order to preserve everything that is great about this country. It´s not the elected leaders that keeps this country going forward - it´s the people. The workers, the students, the families - decent and well educated people. Straight and gay, men and women, old and young, religious and secular - let´s reclaim the streets of the modern, liberal, tolerant and progressive Israel. Did we come here in order to fight and shoot, or do we shoot and fight in order to built a modern democracy? Forget for a moment about our leaders. This country is loaded with great and fascinating people and stories. We will not only prevail - we, the people, will carry Israel to a golden age, despite our horrible politicians..........

These people should be fired for the damage they have caused Israel.

It's an imaginary fabrication invented by Netanyahu and company to discredit and dismiss the international criticism generated by the actions, and inactions, of he and his coalition. And ironically, the only tangible manifestations of anything that can even remotely be identified with the term are those same actions/inactions they attempt to minimize with its use.

The US is now run by a weak President, one who would not even apply enough pressure on Israel to get a trivial result like freezing construction in the West Bank for THREE miserable months. Obama has good intentions, but is not inclined to use pressure. To move ahead, the Palestinians can decide not to accept Obama's mediator any longer, certainly if the US stupidly vetoes their proposed resolution against settlements in the West Bank (thereby removing this minimal pressure on Israel). The Palestinians should announce their intent and say publicly that they will only deal with a Quartet (European) mediator. The Europeans are not in the pocket of a pro-Israeli Lobby, unlike the US Congress, and are more even-handed. Of course, they exert less influence on Israel, but potentially, they are very influential because of trade and proximity. The problem so far has been that when the US takes responsibility, the Europeans stay on the sidelines. The Palestinians should get them to be more heavily involved, and in fact can do that. A mediator cannot mediate if one side rejects him.

Having been identified as a racist in his attitude towards Arab citizens of Israel, the West tends to shun Lieberman. Not willing to sit around out of work, Lieberman developed for himself a mission: Improve Israel's relations with South America, and Russia with its old friends in the East. Fine, that could have been of use. But as we have seen lately, South America is falling for the Palestinians like domino pieces. Now Russia is going to start another domino cascade. To the unblind it may look like Lieberman is bringing no benefits, only damages to Israel.