person:moshe kahlon

  • In Israel, there’s no left. There’s only a right in different forms - Opinion
    Gideon Levy – Jan 03, 2019 4:17 AM
    https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/in-israel-there-s-no-left-there-s-only-a-right-in-different-forms-1.6805651

    Two days ago, there was another rift in the Israeli right: The Zionist Union faction split apart. The two main right-wingers, Tzipi Livni and Avi Gabbay, Likud traitors both, dissolved their partnership.

    The sad and unbelievable joke: Israel fancies this a rift on the left; as if there are seriously two camps in Israel, left and right, locked in fierce battle over the face of the nation. There is no left, not even half a left. There is only a right, in different forms.

    What is going on in our political system ahead of the upcoming election can be described like this: Right A versus Right B, a split in Right C, a possible merger in Right D, and a new glimmer of hope in Right E.

    Meretz and the Joint List, the only Israeli left there is, one small and fading and the other ostracized and excluded, and both without any influence, look on from the other side of the fence. And still people say that Israel is “polarized,” that we’re this close to civil war breaking out. It’s hard to think of anything more ridiculous.

    Most leaders of Israeli political parties are former Likudniks: Livni, Gabbay, Avigdor Lieberman, Ayelet Shaked, Naftali Bennett, Moshe Ya’alon and Moshe Kahlon. Orly Levy-Abekasis also grew up in a Likud household. Right, center, supposed left – they all came out of the Likud. And that’s no surprise – the right was their home and it remains their home.

    This is the Likud’s real victory since the 1977 upheaval – its amazing takeover of the entire map, the way it continues to spread its tentacles in every direction. (...)

  • Israeli Druze commander quits army over nation-state law in open letter to Netanyahu

    In a Facebook post, Capt. Amir Jmall calls on leaders of his community to work toward putting an end to the compulsory conscription of Israeli Druze

    Yaniv Kubovich
    Jul 30, 2018 5:36 PM

    https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israeli-druze-quits-idf-over-nation-state-law-in-letter-to-netanya

    In the letter, Jmall also called on leaders of his community to work toward putting an end to the compulsory conscription of Israel’s Druze. The Facebook post has since been removed.
    “This morning, when I woke up to drive to the [army] base, I asked myself, why? Why do I have to serve the State of Israel, a state that my two brothers, my father and I have served with dedication, a sense of mission and a love of the homeland, and, in the end, what do we get? To be second-class citizens,” Jmall wrote.
    >> ’When we’re in uniform they treat us well’: Israel’s Druze no longer feel like blood brothers
    Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter
    Email* Sign up

    "Continue serving the country? I do not want to continue and I am sure that hundreds more people will stop serving and will be discharged from the army following your decision, Netanyahu, that of you and your government,” he continued.
    "After many thoughts ran through my head, I decided to let go and to discontinue serving the country, a country that has a government that takes and does not give back.”
    In conclusion, Jmall wrote: “I ask everyone who is against the nation-state law to share and share my proposal to community leaders to stop the conscription law for members of the Druze community.”
    The Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, also known as the nation-state law, approved by the Knesset on July 19, affirmed that only Jews have the right to self-determination in Israel. It also downgraded Arabic to a language with “special status,” among several other controversial measures that affect the Israeli Druze.
    The nation-state law is designed to alter the application of the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty in court rulings, and permits judges to give priority to Israel’s Jewish character in their rulings.

    Last week, Druze lawmakers were the first to file a High Court of Justice petition against the legislation. A hundred Druze Israel Defense Forces reserve officers added their voices to that effort on Wednesday, prompting Education Minister Naftali Bennett to speak out in support of “our blood brothers” on Twitter.
    Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon echoed similar sentiments on Thursday, telling Israeli Army Radio, “The enactment of the nation-state law was done hastily,” and adding: “We were wrong and we need to fix it.”
    On Saturday, Israeli Arab lawmaker Zouheir Bahloul (Zionist Union) announced his intention to resign from the Knesset in protest of the law. "The law oppresses me and oppresses the population that sent me to the Knesset,’’ he said.

    • Haaretz, 1er août
      Nation-state Law Backlash: Druze Leaders Say Netanyahu’s Offer May Set ’Historical Precedent’

      https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-nation-state-law-backlash-netanyahu-offers-druze-new-legislation-1

      Representatives of the Druze community said Thursday night that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to pass a law to strengthen the status of the Druze and Circassian communities is “a window of opportunity to set a historical precedent for the advancement of the Druze community and its status in the State of Israel.”
      Representatives, headed by Sheikh Muwafak Tarif, will continue talks with Netanyahu’s team, which has been appointed to make an agreement on both sides.
      Netanyahu’s proposed law follows the protest sparked by the nation-state law. The plan outlines a Basic Law and a regular law that will recognize the contribution of minorities who defend the country by “enshrining eligibility for the benefits of minority members of all religions and communities who serve in the security forces, for the purpose of closing gaps and promoting social equality.”
      Benjamin Netanyahu and the Druze representatives, August 1, 2018.
      Benjamin Netanyahu and the Druze representatives, August 1, 2018.
      >> Israeli Druze in Golan welcome end of Syrian war but fear future in Jewish nation-state
      Another demonstration against the nation-state law is slated for Saturday evening in Tel Aviv.
      Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter
      Email* Sign up

      According to the plan submitted by the prime minister’s representatives, “the law will recognize the contribution of the Druze community to the security of the state, and will include support for community institutions (religion, education and culture), will strengthen Druze residential settlements, and establish new towns if needed. It will also preserve and cultivate Druze heritage.”
      Tourism Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) congratulated “the agreement we have reached with the Druze leadership. Recognizing the rights of those who serve in the security forces is an achievement.” Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) said in response: “The Prime Minister ranks Israel’s citizens, and he divides and rules the minorities from whom he has stolen equality in his Basic Law. He got scared after the fact. Netanyahu’s government has torn apart the Declaration of Independence and the values of equality on which the state was founded. Now they’re making laws in honor of the Druze community, as if equality is a prize and not a right that all of us have.”
      The proposal drew mixed reactions from the Druze community, MK Hamad Amar (Yisrael Beiteinu), one of the two Druze MKs who petitioned the Supreme Court against the nation-state law, congratulated the plan. MK Saleh Saad (Zionist Union) said he will continue with the petition and said: “I am sad that my friends have succumbed to pressures and withdrew from the petition.”
      The negotiating team of the Druze community, which includes their spiritual leader, Sheikh Muwafak Tarif, former security officials and civil servants, has had strong disagreements over the proposal. One of the team members told Haaretz that the representatives who have security backgrounds tend to accept the spirit of the plan, while others – including local council heads – oppose it.
      The source added that some of the representatives accused the prime minister of trying to implement a policy of “divide and conquer.” They said that they would settle only for annulling the nation-state law or adding to it the value of equality. The source added that the Prime Minister’s Office is concerned about the protest rally scheduled for Saturday night, and therefore is exerting heavy pressure on the representatives of the community to accept the plan and cancel the rally.

      >> ’When we’re in uniform they treat us well’: Israel’s Druze no longer feel like blood brothers
      The plan was drafted by a team formed by the prime minister on the issue of the Druze, headed by the acting Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Bureau, Yoav Horowitz, and including Sheikh Tarif, ministers Ayoub Kara and Yariv Levin, MK Hamad Amar (Yisrael Beiteinu), former MK Shakib Shenan, heads of the Druze local authorities and the forum of reservist senior officers.
      The prime minister’s office called the plan “historic” in a press release, saying it “represents a revolution in the legal status of minority group members who serve in the security forces, and members of the Druze community in particular.” Sheikh Tarif welcomed the work of the team and thanked the prime minister for his quick and serious activity. The plan will be presented to the Druze community’s dignitaries.
      The plan offers to enshrine a Basic Law - Israeli constitutional equivalent - for the status of the Druze and Circassian communities, “paying respect to the contribution of the Druze community to the State of Israel in building the land, strengthening security and shaping the face of Israeli society as an egalitarian and diverse society.”
      The plan also suggests enshrining in law that members of minority groups, from all religions and ethnic groups will be eligible for benefits if they serve in the security forces. The law will also recognize their contribution if they serve.
      >> Analysis: Druze nation-state crisis: Israeli army chief forced to put out fire Netanyahu started
      Several Druze officers have left the Israeli military in recent days over the nation-state law.
      The Basic Law on Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, also known as the nation-state law, approved by the Knesset on July 19, affirmed that only Jews have the right to self-determination in Israel. It also downgraded Arabic to a language with “special status,” among several other controversial measures that affect the Israeli Druze.
      The nation-state law is designed to alter the application of the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty in court rulings, and permits judges to give priority to Israel’s Jewish character in their rulings.
      Earlier this month, Druze lawmakers were the first to file a High Court of Justice petition against the legislation. A hundred Druze Israel Defense Forces reserve officers added their voices to that effort on Wednesday, prompting Education Minister Naftali Bennett to speak out in support of “our blood brothers” on Twitter.
      Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon echoed similar sentiments, telling Israeli Army Radio, “The enactment of the nation-state law was done hastily,” and adding: “We were wrong and we need to fix it.”
      The acting Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Bureau announced the formation of a ministerial committee to deal with the issue of the Druze community, to be headed by the prime minister, which will work to promote the plan and to supervise its implementation - among other things.
      Details of the plan will be formulated and worded within 45 days, in the context of a joint team of the cabinet and representatives of the community, all subject to the instructions of the law and the approval of the attorney general. Legislative activities will begin immediately with the convening of the coming winter session of the Knesset and will be concluded within 45 days from the start of the session.
      Jonathan Lis

    • Rare manifestation de la communauté druze contre une loi controversée définissant Israël
      https://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2018/08/05/rare-manifestation-de-la-communaute-druze-contre-une-loi-controversee-defini

      Une foule immense de Druzes israéliens et leurs sympathisants a manifesté samedi à Tel-Aviv contre une nouvelle loi controversée qui, disent-ils, fait d’eux des citoyens de seconde classe. Selon les médias israéliens, quelque 50 000 personnes ont pris part à la manifestation.
      […]
      Arborant des drapeaux druzes et israéliens, les protestataires ont défilé dans le centre de Tel-Aviv an scandant « égalité ». « Malgré notre loyauté illimitée à l’Etat, celui-ci ne nous considère pas comme des citoyens égaux », a affirmé le chef spirituel de la communauté druze, cheikh Mouafak Tarif dans un discours.

  • Church of Holy Sepulchre crisis: Israel burns its bridges with the Christian world

    Decision makers have continually ignored the political, religious and diplomatic sensitivities when trying to solve problems that concern Jerusalem’s Christian community

    Nir Hasson Feb 26, 2018

    The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem is a place that runs to the beat of the Middle Ages and according to an uncompromising series of rules set in the mid-19th century. One of the unwritten traditions is a continual dispute between the three churches that run it: Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian.
    To really understand the Middle East - subscribe to Haaretz
    Knowing all this, the incident that occurred on Sunday was a historic event. The heads of three communities, the Greek Orthodox patriarch, the Armenian patriarch and the Catholic custodian of the Holy Land, met at the entrance to the church. They cleared the place of tourists and had the heavy doors shut. Large signs, printed up ahead of time, were hung outside with images of the church’s two enemies: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Knesset member Rachel Azaria of Kulanu. At the top was written, “Enough is Enough.”
    The protest came in response to two recent major steps. One was Barkat’s decision to end the municipal tax exemption for church-owned properties in Jerusalem and to put liens on the churches’ bank accounts for the tax debts. The second was a bill sponsored by Azaria that would allow the expropriation of lands sold by churches to private buyers. It was on Sunday’s agenda for a Knesset committee that decides whether or not the governing coalition will support legislation.

    Worshippers kneel and pray in front of the closed doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City, February 25, 2018.\ AMIR COHEN/ REUTERS
    The churches’ action on Sunday shows that they are in an impossible situation, with pressure from all sides: Israel, their Palestinian faithful, church institutions, pilgrims and their sponsor countries (Jordan, Greece, Armenia and the Vatican). Decision makers continually ignore the political, religious and diplomatic sensitivities when they try to solve problems that concern the churches.
    Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter
    Email* Sign up

    According to the churches, the agreement that had allowed the churches not to pay municipal taxes existed since Ottoman times, and British, Jordanian and Israeli governments have all honored it. They say the move to collect the taxes is part of Barkat’s fight against the national government and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon over the city’s budget. Meanwhile, the mayor maintains that the agreement on taxes only applies to houses of worship and not commercial properties owned by the churches.

    Between the taxes and the legislation put forward by Azaria, it’s the latter that has church leaders worried the most. According to the proposed law, the government would be able to expropriate land that had been church-owned and was sold to private real estate companies. The law discriminates against the churches compared to other institutions or private citizens. (A relevant question is what Israel would say if such a move was taken in another country for synagogue-owned property.) Furthermore, it would be applied retroactively.
    The law would force the churches to pay for the failures of the Jewish National Fund and the Israel Lands Administration. To understand their missteps, one must look no further than the land deal in Jerusalem’s Rehavia neighborhood, which was developed in the first half of the 20th century. At the time, churches leased lands in Rehavia and other neighborhoods to the JNF for 99 years.

    A protest sign hangs outside of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem, February 25, 2018.Mahmoud Illean/AP
    In the Rehavia sale, which is rocking the lives of 1,300 families, a private company bought the lease rights to 500 dunams (125 acres) of land in the heart of Jerusalem for 200 years for only 78 million shekels ($22.3 million). If the government had acted in a smarter fashion, it could easily have bought the rights to this land for a similar amount – small change considering the size of the area and its importance. It could have made part of the money back from residents and businesses extending their leases. But those in charge didn’t act, paving the way for private developers to enter the picture.
    Once the 99-year lease is over, instead of having the JNF renew it almost automatically for a symbolic fee, the land will be transferred to the private company. Residents who live in buildings affected by the sale will need negotiate with private developers over what will happen to their homes, which have already lost as much as half of their value.
    If the law passes, no one will want to do business with the churches, because who wants to buy land that can be expropriated tomorrow?
    Anyone dealing with this law – including those who drafted it – knows very well that it has no chance of passing at the Knesset in its present form. It violates so many constitutional principles that it is a perfect case for being annulled by the Supreme Court. The law is intended to be a threat for real estate developers and speculators, so they reach a deal with the government. But in the meantime, the question is whether this is the way Israel wants to communicate with the Christian world.

  • Israël décide de « pourrir la vie » d’Amnesty International
    Nissim Behar, Libération, le 12 septembre 2017
    http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2017/09/12/israel-decide-de-pourrir-la-vie-d-amnesty-international_1595757

    L’Etat hébreu va appliquer la loi « anti-boycott » votée en 2011 : il reproche à l’ONG d’appeler à ne pas consommer des produits de la « Cisjordanie occupée ».

    Jusqu’à présent, les attaques israéliennes visant les organisations hostiles à l’occupation des territoires palestiniens étaient virulentes mais restaient purement verbales. Ce mardi 12 septembre marquera donc un changement majeur puisque le gouvernement de Benyamin Nétanyahou a décidé d’appliquer pleinement la loi « anti-boycott » votée par la Knesset en juillet 2011 pour punir les ONG appelant à ne pas consommer des produits de « Judée-Samarie » (la Cisjordanie occupée).

    La première ONG visée par les sanctions sera Amnesty International, que les officiels israéliens accusent de « mener une campagne injustifiée et proche de l’antisémitisme » contre les colonies de l’Etat hébreu. A en croire l’entourage de la ministre de la Justice, Ayelet Shaked (extrême droite), et de son homologue des Finances, Moshé Kahlon (droite), de « nombreuses plaintes » visant la campagne lancée par Amnesty International à l’occasion du 50e anniversaire de la guerre des Six Jours (juin 1967) auraient en effet été enregistrées à Jérusalem. Ce qui justifierait un examen attentif et l’application de la loi.

    De fait, les plaintes existent. Mais elles émanent d’organisations d’extrême droite favorables à l’annexion des territoires palestiniens, d’associations de colons, ainsi que de chefs d’entreprise installés dans les différentes zones industrielles des territoires occupés, lesquels redoutent évidemment de perdre des commandes. En vertu de la « loi anti-boycott », les ressortissants israéliens effectuant des dons à Amnesty International ne bénéficieront plus d’un abattement fiscal et la branche locale de l’organisation perdra également tous les avantages et réductions diverses qui auraient pu lui être accordés.

    Le mouvement BDS visé

    Lors du vote de cette loi, ses promoteurs ne cachaient pas que leur objectif principal était de « pourrir la vie des organisations ennemies d’Israël » en réduisant leurs rentrées financières et en rendant plus compliqué leur fonctionnement journalier. Ce qui sera le cas pour la branche israélienne d’Amnesty, désormais marquée du sceau d’infamie.

    En mars, la Knesset a par ailleurs voté une autre loi interdisant l’entrée du territoire aux partisans déclarés du boycott des produits « made in Israël ». Essentiellement des militants du mouvement BDS (« Boycott Désinvestissement Sanctions ») et de ses satellites dûment identifiés par un département spécialisé du ministère de la Sécurité intérieure. Mais des responsables de l’ONG Human Rights Watch ont ensuite été ciblés par la même mesure et au sein du ministère de la Justice, des juristes ont été chargés d’étudier la possibilité d’ajouter ceux d’Amnesty International à la liste.

    #Israel #BDS #Amnesty_International #ONG

  • In first, Israel will penalize Amnesty International for anti-settlements campaign - Israel News - Haaretz.com

    http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.811892

    Israel plans to punish Amnesty International for its recent campaign, which encourages people to lobby companies and governments to boycott settlement products, by denying tax benefits to Israelis who donate to the human rights organization.
    It is the first time the government will apply the so-called anti-boycott law, which penalizes organizations and individuals calling for a boycott of Israel or the settlements. The controversial law was passed in 2011.
    Free daily newspaper Israel Hayom, which is widely seen as a mouthpiece of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reported in its main story Tuesday that Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon has resolved to take action against Amnesty International for its summer campaign “Israel’s Occupation: 50 Years of Dispossession," marking the 50th anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The campaign urges people to call on foreign companies and governments to end their trade ties with the settlements.
    Haaretz has confirmed that representatives of the organization will be summoned to a hearing at the Finance Ministry. At press time, a spokesman for Kahlon did not respond to a request by Haaretz for comment.
    The campaign’s website states: “We want governments to stop enabling the economy that keeps these illegal settlements growing and fuels the suffering of Palestinians: and you can help.

    #Israel #Amnesty #settlements #colonies

  • Israel’s masters of war set their sights on Gaza - again -
    Gideon Levy Feb 12, 2017 12:30 PM
    http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.771142

    Gaza cries out, but the warmongers don’t listen. For them, the Strip is just an opportunity to advance their careers.

    “Come you masters of war, … I can see through your masks… You lie and deceive, a world war can be won, you want me to believe, but I see through your eyes, and I see through your brain. … You’ve thrown the worst fear that can ever be hurled, fear to bring children in to the world.” (From Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War”)

    And look, they’re back, our masters of war. Here they come, those warmongers. They don’t pass up a single chance to grab a microphone and threaten to push toward another war. Yet no one asks them: Why? What for? The north is quiet, as is the south, relatively speaking.

    But it’s been two and a half years since the last war in Gaza and the Israeli DNA demands another round of bloodshed. And their current jobs – construction minister or education minister – are also boring for those with a mind for it. Encouraging high school students to take advanced math or building new public housing is deadly dull. They need another war, after which they may get the positions they covet.

    The Gaza Strip is dying. Its inhabitants have just three years to live, according to a United Nations report that predicted that in 2020, Gaza will cease to be a place fit for human life. It has long ago become a cage unfit for life. But when they’re not shooting at Israel from Gaza, no one takes an interest in its fate. Hamas is holding its fire, but it’s enough for two rebel rockets to be fired to prompt 19 (!) Israeli aerial attacks and to extract all of our warmongers from their holes.

    Construction and Housing Minister Yoav Galant’s eyes lit up and the color seemed to return to his face when he talked about Gaza. “I believe we should be prepared by spring,” determines this master of war, who dreams of returning to Gaza and killing more, as he did so well in Operation Cast Lead eight year ago. Why in the spring? Don’t ask. There’s a reason you don’t know. Maybe it’s because Charles Aznavour sang about returning in the spring.

    Last week, Galant didn’t pass up a single media opportunity anywhere but on the Kol Hamusica classical music station to fan the flames and push for a war. And who would bother interviewing this failing, boring construction minister whose party colleague Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon also detests him if it were not about Gaza? Since he has not chalked up accomplishments in building, Galant, a former military man is trying to get back to destroying. The Likud party is waiting for him.

    The Defense Ministry is also coveted by Education Minister Naftali Bennett. Getting there, however, requires fanning the flames. No official report about the failure to deal with Hamas tunnels in Gaza will suffice, so Bennett is also dreaming about another war. “The next round of war is approaching,” he said, making a prediction that always comes true in Israel. He hasn’t concealed the extent to which he is in a hurry to return to the killing fields of Shujaiyeh and the confidential briefings with army officers.

    And then, of course, there is the current defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who even in his new temporary role as a moderate, also won’t pass up a chance. “Until the other side cries gevalt, we’re not stopping,” said the minister of arrogance. Again came the hollow promises of decisive victory that will never come about and yet again everyone is willing to buy the argument. Again everyone is waiting for the next war, as if it were fate handed down by the almighty when it isn’t even handed down from Gaza.

    Gaza actually is crying gevalt, but none of the warmongers are listening. Gaza for them is an opportunity to advance their careers, to get the forces moving and to conceptualize a war against an enemy that is nothing but an army of hooligans, nothing but an assault on the powerless. Gaza would bring the warmongers back into the headlines, back into their glory, the return of the good old days of combat jackets. Otherwise, there would be no reason to embark on another attack on Gaza.

    The deterioration could be quick. Just another few declarations of war, another few disproportionate responses by the Israel Defense Forces for every cap gun or kite fired from Gaza and we’re there. Israel also pushed for the wars in Gaza in 2008 and 2014 more than Gaza did. Before you can say “cigars and champagne,” the IDF is in Gaza.

    And there is no one to yell “stop,” no one to say that those who don’t want war in Gaza should open it rather than destroy it a third, fourth and fifth time. But saying so requires courage, which is the quality most lacking among our masters of war, whom, as Dylan’s lyrics state, will never be forgiven.

    #GAZA

  • Haaretz : interview d’un ancien chef du Mossad
    par Dalia Karpel | 29 septembre 2016 – Haaretz – Traduction par BM du Comité solidarité Palestine de la région nazairienne
    http://chroniquepalestine.com/interview-haaretz-ancien-chef-mossad

    (...) Qu’est-ce qui vous irrite ces jours-ci ?

    « Nous vivons la plus grande crise depuis que l’Etat a été créé. Je ne me souviens d’aucune période où nous ayons été à ce point dépourvus d’une colonne vertébrale digne de ce nom en matière de gouvernement. Quand je regarde le paysage politique en Israël, disons les 15 [ plus hauts] personnages, certains membres du gouvernement et certains dans l’opposition – je ne vois pas un réservoir d’individus qui soient les supports de l’Etat. La façon dont les partis naissent autour d’une personne qui décide de tout, est problématique. Le Premier ministre Netanyahu, qui exerce le pouvoir le plus important, ne contrôle pas son parti comme Yair Lapid ou Naftali Bennett ou Moshe Kahlon contrôlent leurs partis. Je les regarde et j’essaie d’avoir une idée de leur valeur, mais je ne peux pas. Et je trouve difficile à comprendre un système dans lequel, à chaque fois, il faut recruter comme un sauveur un ancien chef du personnel. »

    En 2009, vous avez exprimé un soutien pour les négociations avec le Hamas, et en 2012 vous prôniez des négociations avec l’Iran et vous étiez aussi en faveur de l’accord conclu entre les puissances et l’Iran sur la question nucléaire. Qu’est-ce qui est bon pour Israël dans la situation actuelle ? Avec qui Israël devrait-il parler ? Par qui voulez-vous commencer ?

    « Israël ne peut pas choisir. Dans le passé, des tentatives ont été faites pour intervenir dans la situation palestinienne et couronner des dirigeants là-bas- parce que la haute direction de l’Autorité palestinienne est dépendante d’Israël, qui a la capacité de promouvoir et de rétrograder les gens, aussi bien en termes de leur statut public qu’en termes économiques et de sécurité, etc. Mais les tentatives passées pour déterminer le partenaire pour les négociations a échoué. Certains disent que [l’ancien chef du Fatah] Mohammed Dahlan est le partenaire – que nous pouvons créer la situation, et qu’il est quelqu’un avec qui il sera possible de parler. À mon avis, nous devons parler à des responsables que nous ne connaissons pas de fond en comble du point de vue de leurs rôles dans la sécurité. » (...)

  • Change for Peace Will Only Come From Outside Israeli Society

    The center is closer to Likud than the left, so the Paris conference is an important step if the United States and European Union treat it with the necessary gravitas.

    Zeev Sternhell Jun 03, 2016 12:33 AM

    http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.722899

    It’s hard to understand what all the commotion was about. After all, the new government is exactly what most voters wanted to see when they left the polling booths at the last election.

    To most of the public, Avigdor Lieberman, Naftali Bennett and Benjamin Netanyahu were meant for each other. All three believe that liberal democracy – with its moral and intellectual values, respect for individual rights without regard to religion or nationality, and system of checks and balances – is nothing but an infantile invention or a mere deception.

    All three are united in their belief that the system has to undergo a thorough change and that in the nation-state of the Jewish people, Jews must enjoy absolute priority. To achieve this, the “judicial revolution” of previous years must be erased, with the justice system subordinated to the executive branch.

    If the majority wishes to expel elected Knesset members whose loyalties it feels are unsatisfactory, or if the majority decides that leftist NGOs or human rights groups are foreign agents, the Supreme Court has no right to intervene. Justices weren’t elected and their guiding principles were never ratified by voters. This is what democracy means to these three.

    They also share the view that relinquishing control of the West Bank in order to end the conflict with the Palestinians is absurd. What sane country would volunteer to give up such assets? Israel is stronger than ever, so there is no need to change the status quo. The occupation and apartheid regime in the territories are legitimate and have become a permanent fixture via the settlement enterprise.

    All this leads to the conclusion that a profound change will not come from within Israeli society, only from without. This is so for the simple reason that most of the center’s leaders hold views similar to the right’s. The style is different and most centrist MKs don’t resemble Likud’s Miri Regev or Oren Hazan, but ultimately Moshe Kahlon, Yair Lapid and Isaac Herzog are closer to Likud than to Meretz.

    This is why the international conference in Paris is an important step forward if the United States and European Union treat it with the necessary gravitas. Recruiting international public opinion in the media and at universities is also important, but this effort will take several years to bear fruit.

    Indeed, if striving for a two-state solution becomes important enough to the Americans and Europeans, they have all the tools to take action. All the Israelis need to realize that the occupation has a price is for the Americans to whisper in the prime minister’s ear that if one more housing unit goes up in the West Bank beyond the 1967 borders or if one new outpost is established, American military aid will stop greasing the wheels of Israel’s arms makers.

    Let the Israeli taxpayer try paying for research and development and sustaining thousands of jobs. In addition, diplomatic assistance at the UN Security Council could be predicated on significant progress on the Palestinian front. No more free lunch. When the automatic American veto is lifted, Israel will be held responsible for its actions. Everyone knows that it takes one harsh Security Council resolution to shock us more than years of polite talk.

    The Europeans can do their part by deciding that the settlements are not part of Israel. They can support Israel’s economic and cultural prosperity while boycotting the settlements. This is the only way to help us extricate ourselves from the morass we’re mired in.

  • Netanyahu expected to appoint ministers in coming week - National - Israel News | Haaretz
    http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.651349

    Far-reaching demands by the Kulanu and Habayit Hayehudi parties had stymied talks before the Passover break, with one Likud MK saying, “Netanyahu will have to take meaningful decisions regarding ministerial appointments at the beginning of next week, or else the negotiations won’t go anywhere.”

    Netanyahu presumably would prefer to wait for the negotiations with Kulanu and Habayit Hayehudi to gel, in order to sign a coalition agreement with all the partners in the incoming government at the same time, rather than going ahead and closing the deal with the parties with which understandings have been reached on most substantive issues – namely, Shas, United Torah Judaism and Yisrael Beiteinu.

    Last Thursday, Netanyahu held a meeting with senior figures in his party over the coalition negotiations. The discussion centered around the demands of Kulanu and Habayit Hayehudi. Likud’s position is that the parties headed by Moshe Kahlon and Naftali Bennett, respectively, are holding firm because they believe Netanyahu cannot form a coalition without them.

    Kulanu and Habayit Hayehudi would appear to be correct in their assessment. Despite loud pronouncements about the possibility of turning to other potential coalition partners, Likud has made it clear that it has no intention of approaching Zionist Union about forming a unity government. One Likud lawmaker said any such claims were a red herring that was part of the negotiating strategy.

    Netanyahu met with Shas chairman Arye Dery last Thursday in an attempt to solve one of the key obstacles to the coalition – the demand by both Shas and Kulanu for authority over the state’s planning and zoning agencies.

    While Dery is expected to serve as interior minister, Kahlon is demanding the transfer of the Israel Land Authority from the Interior Ministry into the hands of his party.

    Likud sources said that since MK Yitzhak Cohen (Shas) is expected to be named deputy finance minister, the ILA could be moved without upsetting either Shas or Kulanu.

    Estimates are that Kahlon’s demands for ministerial portfolios in the coalition negotiations will not derail the finalizing of an agreement with him, and that he is ultimately likely to receive the finance, housing and environmental protection ministries as he demands.

    Sources within Kulanu have recently mentioned the party’s No. 2, MK Yoav Galant, as a surefire candidate for a cabinet position, and No. 3, Eli Alaluf, or Kahlon crony and former Bezeq CEO Avi Gabay (who was not a Knesset candidate) as possible candidates for the party’s third cabinet spot.

    Beyond the issue of the Israel Land Authority, there are a number of outstanding disagreements between the various parties that are making the finalizing of the coalition agreement difficult.

    For example, there is a great deal of daylight between the positions of Habayit Hayehudi and Yisrael Beiteinu on the issue of abolishing reforms to the Jewish conversion process. Likud is not a party to this dispute.

    Meanwhile, Likud has yet to rule on the demands by both Shas and Habayit Hayehudi for the Religious Affairs Ministry, and those of both Habayit Hayehudi and Yisrael Beiteinu for the Foreign Ministry. Likud figures say the latter portfolio will remain with Yisrael Beiteinu, but Habayit Hayehudi still insists that its chairman, Naftali Bennett, must be the next foreign minister.

    The issue of who heads the powerful Knesset Finance Committee has also not been resolved, but sources in Likud said they expected that Kahlon will eventually agree that MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) should retain the position.

    Members of both the Habayit Hayehudi and Kulanu negotiating teams agreed that the ball is in Netanyahu’s court. “We have submitted most of our demands, and the Likud team said they’d give us an answer soon. We’re waiting,” said one negotiator.

    Netanyahu and Likud received an initial 28 days to form a coalition, with that deadline set to expire on April 22.

  • Kahlon trop gourmand parce que décidé à infléchir la politique sociale en Israël ? Si je ne m’abuse, le Likoud ne peut pas faire sans Kahlon. Les tractations en vue de former une coalition en Israël empêchent toute réforme

    Likud threatens coalition deal with ultra-Orthodox first if Kulanu isn’t flexible - National - Israel News | Haaretz
    http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.650140

    Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party has stiffened its demands in the coalition negotiations with Likud and its unwillingness to be show flexibility could well lead Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign coalition agreements with other parties first.

    “We wanted Kulanu to be the first party with which we signed,” said a senior Likud official. “It is only natural that Moshe Kahlon, who is expected to be Finance Minister, would be involved in our economic agreements with other parties. But Kulanu’s negotiating team does not understand this and is not being flexible in its demands.

    "In such a situation, we certainly do not intend to wait for them and will sign agreements with the Haredi parties and Yisrael Beiteinu. That means Kahlon will discover only after the fact what financial commitments we are making [to the other parties] — and they are numerous.”

  • Il est très probable que Kahlon rejoigne la coalition droite-extrême droite qui arrive au pouvoir en Israël. Son ralliement donnerait une majorité écrasante au nouveau gouvernement qui pourra mettre en œuvre tous ses projets diaboliques (une guerre à Gaza, au Liban et qui sait encore quoi…)

    Kahlon, Israel’s likely future finance minister, expected to focus on housing, bank reform - Business - Israel News | Haaretz
    http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.647712

    In the aftermath of Tuesday’s election, the leader of the Kulanu party, Moshe Kahlon, appears to be the leading candidate, if not a shoo-in, for the job of finance minister. Even before Election Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered him the post, while Kahlon demurred until the results of the balloting were in. Now, however, the accepted wisdom is that he will take the job, and he is likely to make changes in the banking and real estate sector top priorities.

    His party’s political platform speaks of narrowing socioeconomic disparities, and during the campaign itself he said his priorities were improving the lot of people earning no more than 10,000 shekels ($2,500) gross per month and the reduction of poverty. His political roots are in Netanyahu’s own Likud party. He garnered tremendous political credit as communications minister - before quitting government and forming his own party - for injecting competition in the cellular telephone service sector, which in turn drove prices down by huge margins.

  • As an Israeli, I am ashamed that my prime minister is a racist - A Special Place in Hell - Israel News | Haaretz
    http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/.premium-1.647564

    This week, push came to shove.

    This week, we saw how things really work. How our prime minister really thinks. What he’s willing to do, how far he’s willing to go, how many of us he’s willing to sell out, slander, abuse, for the sake of hanging on to the thing that matters to him more than anything: his job.

    After this week, we can never again say that we didn’t quite know who Benjamin Netanyahu is.

    As an Israeli, I am ashamed that my prime minister is a racist.

    On Election Day, knowing that the whole country would see it or hear about it, he warned on a range of social media, “The rule of the Right is in danger. The Arab voters are moving in droves toward the polling places. The NGOs of the Left are bringing them in buses.”

    How should Jews respond to the threat of Arab hordes advancing on ballot boxes? The posts were explicit: Rush to the polling places, grab your loved ones and get them there as well, to vote Likud.

    “With your help, and with God’s help, we will put up a nationalist government which will safeguard the state of Israel,” my prime minister wrote.

    Lest there be any question of how we should view this, when he took the stage for his victory speech lateTuesdaynight, Netanyahu invited singer Amir Benayoun to come up and join him. The prime minister’s message was clear: If you are religious and write a racist song ("Ahmed Loves Israel," which refers to Arabs as scum and murderers), a song so incendiary that President Reuven Rivlin feels he must revoke your invitation to the President’s Residence, your place is right here, right now, by my side.

    I am ashamed to know that the prime minister of Israel is either a racist, which is a horrible thought, or that he incites racism in others for the sake of votes - which is worse.

    I am ashamed that my prime minister is a cheat. I am angry that in order to win, on the eve of the election, his campaign defied a judge’s ruling and knowingly defrauded thousands of Israelis into thinking that rival Kulanu party leader Moshe Kahlon was messaging them to switch their vote to Netanyahu.

    I am ashamed that my prime minister can humiliate and exploit Moshe Kahlon, an earnest and honorable man, and get away with it.

    As an Israeli, I am ashamed that my prime minister is a liar, a huckster, a calculating, desperate coward, a schmaltz merchant.

    Now we finally know what he meant, just last October, when he told President Obama that he remained “committed to the vision of peace of two states for two peoples.”

    He explained it allon Mondaynight, when, standing behind bulletproof glass in the square where Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, he addressed a rally of thousands of right wing Jews, many of them bused in from the West Bank at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer.

    Just after telling the crowd that they should avoid incitement, that he was prime minister even of Israelis who don’t agree with him, and that “We pride ourselves on upholding the unity of Israel,” he made it all clear:

    There are already two states for two peoples. There are the People of Us - that is Zionists, which is to say Jews who are right-wing, who prize settlements above all else, and who resist all compromise, forswear any concession, oppose all negotiation, and who will vote for Benjamin Netanyahu when he declares that there will be not one settler uprooted, even from outposts which Israel itself has declared illegal.

    And then there are the People of Them. All of the rest of us. People he calls anti-Zionist. People whom he describes as haters of Israel. Dark forces, treacherous, in league with foreigners.

    “Yes,” the uber-secular prime minister told the crowd, suddenly putting himself forward as the pious, commandment-keeping, mezuzah-kissing SuperJew, explaining who “We” are: “We keep the traditions of Israel.”

    Then the man who is bought and paid for by a gambling billionaire took it up a notch. "They have V 15, but we have the People." They have the money, but we have something more important, he concluded.

    “It won’t be money that decides this. Rather, it will be heart, soul, belief.”

    We’re all going to need it.

    I am ashamed that my prime minister believes - and is quietly pleased - that many young people who love their country, have served their country, have endangered their lives for our sake, but who are not part of Us - not settlers, not ultra-Orthodox, not right-wing, and in many cases, not Jewish - will solve their own problems of housing and providing for a new family, by leaving Israel.

    I am ashamed that my prime minister perceives, and accepts, that many people who are indigent, elderly, chronically ill, will meet the challenges of a neglected and failing health care system, by dying.

    I am ashamed that my prime minister is declaring that millions of Palestinians are unentitled to rights, beginning with the right to have a say as to the kind of government and country they want to live in.

    Most of all, I am ashamed that what my prime minister does, works. I am ashamed that racism works here, with my people. As a Jew, I believe that if all we are left with, is bigotry and fear, it will be the end of us.

    All this week, Benjamin Netanyahu made us one consistent promise: In his coming term as prime minister, there will be no hope.

    It is one promise that we have all come to believe he can keep.