The blogsphere has been very active with comments on the elections and I'd like to share my $.02. I think Harry is onto something, the Israeli public for better or for worse feels that it's time for a dramatic change. Most of the Israeli voting population wants an end to the Settlements, a very difficult decision to be sure.
While driving to Efrat this summer with a cousin of mine whose family is entirely left wing we had a discussion about the Fence; he said "I hate the fence, but it works. It's time for change". I have to whole heartedly agree.
I hate that our land must be divided and re-divided, but it must be. The number of terrorist attacks has gone down dramatically in large part due to the wall. I don't know what the route should be, I don't know how I feel about excluding/including Ariel and other towns. All I know is that it's what Israel needs to do.
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2 comments:
Let's be clear on a few things.
Firstly, the Israeli public said nothing about the settlements in this election. As virtually every pundit has noted, the key issues of this election were social and economic in nature, not diplomatic. If the Israeli voters truly supported Olmert's plan, more than 23% of them might have voted for him.
Secondly, Harry's statistics are most curious. I'm not entirely certain what elections he thinks he's writing about, but a 2% majority does not indicate the support of 3/4 of the Israeli population.
Finally, driving to Efrat while extolling virtues of the Security Fence sends a bizarre message. In so many words, it's this: "Thank G-D we didn't go out into the wild, wild West Bank like those crazy people in Kiryat Arba' and Kochav ha-Shachar. So what if both Efrat and Kiryat Arba' are the products of Gush Emmunim? So what if we're both here for the same reasons? It's an ewey fence and it sort of ruins my view of Beit Lechem, but, you know, at least I'm not in THEIR shoes." And that, sir, is sad.
Alright Mr. Not-So-Anonymous,
I don't agree that they said nothing about the settlements. In the past year, we've had the Hitnatkut and the disgrace of Amona. And now a majority of the Israeli public is voting for parties that want some form of withdrawl.
It's not about support of Olmert, it's about support of a removal.
Most of the Israeli public voted for parties that support the disengagement. Okay you're right, it's not 75%, but it is a majority. And I happen to think that although 'tyranny of the majority' is real the majority is correct. We need to remove certain settlements while keeping others and finish the wall.
And I find the last part irrational, would it have been better if we were sitting in a cafe in Tel Aviv? No, we were driving, saw the fence and it became the topic of conversation.
The left wing in Israel, like it or not, thinks that Efrat is the wild West Bank just as much a Kirat Arba.
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