Israel reels from rockets, riots and arm-wrestles

 

Rockets from Gaza indiscriminately targeting Israel’s civilian population and Arab riots targeting Israel’s Jewish population in the streets of Jerusalem seem to have not moved Israel’s politicians to stop engaging in arm-wrestles in pursuit of their own personal political power.

It is hard to know who is to blame for this current sorry state of affairs: the electors who have brought about — what appears on the face of it — four indecisive elections in two years — or the seemingly-intelligent politicians they have elected who have been unable to reach a compromise on setting up a Government with 61 of the Knesset’s 120 currently-elected representatives.

A vendetta continues to be pursued to remove Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu — despite the overwhelming vote of confidence he and his party received from Israeli voters on March 23, 2021 — 1,066,892 votes.

The following leaders and their respective parties are seeking to replace Netanyahu as Prime Minister or deny him the right to head a right of centre Government:

• Naftali Bennett — 273836 votes
• Avigdor Liberman — 248370 votes
• Gideon Sa’ar — 209161 votes

All three and their respective parties have similar policies and political ideologies as Netanyahu and his allies. Collectively — as Likud, Shas, Yemina, United Torah Judaism, Yisrael Beitenu, Religious Zionism and New Hope - they comprise 72 of the 120 Knesset members.

These three leaders need to fall in behind Netanyahu to end the political uncertainty steadily eroding Israel’s ability to deal with the challenges it is facing — not only from rockets and rioting — but from the continuing confrontation with Iran, Hezbollah, the International Criminal Court, a hostile United Nations and the Biden Administration.

That this appalling political stand-off could have also been avoided in the three previous elections is an indictment on the common obstructionist denominator in all four elections: Avigdor Liberman

Liberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party have managed to garner the following votes on each occasion:

• April 9, 2019: 173004 votes
• September 17, 2019: 310154 votes
• March 2, 2020: 263365 votes
• March 23, 2021: 248370 votes

Given that valid votes cast have increased over the period of these four elections from 4,309,270 votes in April 2019 to 4,410,052 votes in March 2021 — the electors have clearly indicated their loss of support for — and confidence in — Liberman and his cronies. Yet he continues to dictate and dominate the political stage in a manner that can only be considered to be inimical to Israel’s domestic and international interests — overwhelmingly rejected by Israelis voting with their feet.

Bennett has hardly fared much better. His party — Yamina — in the April 9, 2019 elections secured 138598 votes — followed successively by 260655 votes, 240689 votes and 273836 votes. He can hardly claim to be Israel’s next Prime Minister with this kind of electoral support.

Netanyahu trounced Sa’ar in the race for Likud leadership last December — winning some 72.5% of the party vote in a landslide win. Sa’ar formed his own breakaway party — New Hope — with disastrous results in the recent election.

That Netanyahu should continue to be frustrated in leading Israel’s next Government by these three political spoilers beggars belief.

Netanyahu certainly has his problems — spending an increasing amount of his time in defending three indictments brought against him by Israel’s Attorney General. However the presumption of innocence should be afforded him — as it is with any other person in Israel facing charges.

It surely is time for these three amigos — Liberman, Bennett and Sa’ar — to put the voters ahead of their own personal ambitions, swallow their pride and end their political grandstanding.

Israel — and Israelis — deserve better.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.

Two-state solution sinks as Biden tries to resurrect it

 

Postponement of the upcoming Palestinian elections on May 22nd for the 132 member Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) seems virtually assured with the report from an “unnamed US source” that Washington would not object to any such postponement.

The potential boost to Hamas’s power in winning this election at the expense of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) would spell the death knell for the creation of an independent Palestinian State located in all of Gaza, Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and East Jerusalem (“target area”).

Amazingly this failed solution still continues to be pushed by the international community 40 years after the Venice Declaration first embraced it.

President Trump’s plan to create another Arab State in about 70%—rather than 100% — of the target area — was effectively discarded by President Biden from the day he became President — rewarding the PLO for its unequivocal rejection of Trump’s proposal by resuming much of America’s financial largesse to the PLO and international organisations withdrawn by Trump.

Particularly noteworthy has been Biden’s failure to demand that the PLO end its “pay for slay policy” that rewards the killing and maiming of Jews with substantial payments to the perpetrators or their families — currently running in excess of $300 million per annum.

In agreeing to postpone the May 22 PLC elections — Biden is trying to keep alive the failed 40 years-old “two-state solution” that realistically has never had any chance of succeeding.

The PLC first met on March 7, 1996. Under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, the powers and responsibilities of the PLC are restricted to civil matters and internal security in Area A of the West Bank and Gaza, while in Area B they are restricted to civil affairs with security matters being shared with Israel. In Area C, Israel has full control.

The 2006 election for the second PLC was the last PLC election held. Hamas and Hamas-affiliated members won 74 of the 132 seats — whilst its main rival — Fatah — the dominant faction in the PLO— won 43 of the remaining 58 seats.

There seems little prospect of Hamas being overhauled if the May elections are held.

The PLO refusal to accept the 2006 election result saw the bitter internecine Hamas–Fatah split in 2007 with the PLC ceasing to function ever since.

The logos adopted by both Hamas and Fatah for the upcoming PLC elections indicate Hamas and the PLO — and many others — are still not prepared to abandon their claims to wipe Israel off the map –Palestine Media Watch pointing out:.

“The logos that are being used by the 36 parties in the PA parliamentary elections are a window to aspects of Palestinian ideology and goals. 11 of the lists include in their logos the PA map of “Palestine” that erases all of the State of Israel and includes it in “Palestine.” The two dominant Palestinian political movements, Fatah of Mahmoud Abbas that is the major party ruling the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, that rules the Gaza Strip, include the map of “Palestine” that erases Israel. Fatah’s logo also includes two rifles and a grenade, indicating that the goal of liberation of “Palestine,” i.e., the destruction of Israel, will be through military means. The Future party of Muhammad Dahlan — a Fatah breakaway — likewise uses the map.

The following are the names of the 11 political parties and logos that include the PA map of “Palestine” that erases Israel and includes it in “Palestine.”

A picture is worth a 1000 words.

Biden’s foray into resolving the 100-years old Arab-Jewish conflict has got off to a disastrous start.


Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.

Jordan reaches 100 as its ruling Hashemite dynasty implodes

 

Jordan continues to be the stumbling block to ending the 100 years old conflict between Jews and Arabs as it celebrates its founding 100 years ago on April 11, 1921 - whilst simultaneously 100 years of unbroken rule by the Hashemite dynasty has been publicly imploding.

Initially called the Emirate of Transjordan - the Hashemites - hailing from the Hejaz - now called Saudi Arabia – were anointed as Transjordan’s future rulers by Britain at the 1921 Cairo Conference as part of the machinations between Britain and France in the carve up of the territory of the defeated Ottoman Empire in World War I.

99.99% of Ottoman-liberated territory was designated for Arab self-determination under the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon and the British Mandate for Mesopotamia - whilst the remaining 0.01% was to be set aside for the reconstitution of the Jewish National Home in the area today called Israel, Jordan, Gaza and Judea and Samaria (West Bank) pursuant to the British Mandate for Palestine.

Two and a half of the twelve tribes of Israel had settled in Transjordan: Gad, Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh:

Transjordan – 78% of the territory comprised in the Mandate - was however completely excluded as the site for any part of the future Jewish National Home - when Article 25 was inserted in the Mandate document unanimously endorsed by the League of Nations on July 24, 1922.

Transjordan’s exclusion from future Jewish settlement came after the exchange of the following telegrams between Britain’s State Secretary for the Colonies Winston Churchill and British Colonial Administrator John Schuckburgh in March 1921:

The coup de grâce was duly delivered by the Council of the League of Nations on September 16, 1922:

With impeccable Anglo-French doublespeak – the Jews were thus denied any right to reconstitute their National Home in any part of the Mandate territory east of the Jordan River. However – Jewish settlement anywhere west of the Jordan River – including Gaza and Judea and Samaria (West Bank) – has been preserved until today under Article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and Article 80 of the United Nations Charter.

Former American President Jimmy Carter summed up Jordan’s founding in Time Magazine on October 11, 1982:

“[Jordan’s King] Hussein is personally courageous but an extremely timid man in political matters. That timidity derives almost inevitably from the inherent weakness of Jordan. As a nation it is a contrivance, arbitrarily devised by a few strokes of the pen”

Transjordan remained part of the Mandate for Palestine until Britain granted it independence on 25 May 1946 when it was renamed “The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan”. A further name change to Jordan only came in 1950 after Transjordan had conquered Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem in 1948 – expelling all the Jews living there and uniting those areas with Transjordan to form a single territorial unit until their loss to Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.

Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994 which remains in force today despite many events that could have derailed it.

The two-state solution first contemplated in 1922 for Palestine:

• one for the Jews within 22% of the Mandate territory
• one for the Arabs exclusively in the remaining 78%

still remains the only realistic and politically-achievable basis for any two-state solution in 2021.

Subdividing Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza – 5% of the Mandate territory where sovereignty still remains unallocated – between Israel and Jordan – the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine exercising sovereignty in the other 95% – remains the key to ending the Arab-Jewish conflict.

After 100 years - Jordan’s ruling Hashemite dynasty finally needs to end its timidity.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.

Israel's voting system needs urgent reform

 

A million or more Israelis did not vote in each of the four indecisive elections held in the last two years – costing Israel an estimated $4.24 billion - whilst causing political upheaval and electoral instability as a result.

The Central Elections Committee (CEC) sets out how Israel’s electoral system works:

“Israel has an electoral system based on nation-wide proportional representation. In other words, the number of seats that each list receives in the Knesset - the House of Representatives - is proportional to the number of votes it received…

... the only limitation placed on a list which participated in the elections that can keep it from being elected is that it must pass the qualifying threshold, which is currently 3.25%.”

The CEC explains the historical background for this unique voting system:

“The State of Israel inherited the rigid system of proportional representation from the political system of the yishuv (the organized Jewish community) in mandatory times. This system was based on the zeal with which the various political parties - in which ideology and personalities played a major role - fought to preserve their independence. The justification given for the large number of parties resulting from the system was, that in a period in which major, far-reaching and rapid changes were still taking place in the population make-up as a result of immigration, it was important to enable maximal representation for various groups and opinions.”

What was appropriate during the Mandate for Palestine (1920 – 1948) is clearly not working now.

The following Table highlights why Israel’s electoral system needs urgent reform:

Date of Election           04/09/2019     09/17/2019    03/02/2020    03/23/2021

Eligible Voters               6,339,729       6,394,030      6,453,255      6,578,084      

Valid Votes cast              4,309,270       4,436,806      4,553, 161       4,436,365

Qualifying 

threshold before 

any list can gain 

at least one seat 

(3.25% x Valid 

Votes Cast)                        140005          144197         147978          144182

Votes per seat 

(Valid Votes 

Cast/120 seats)                 32860             35917           37943           36969

1. The threshold of 3.25% has enabled 13 lists securing more than 144182 votes each to be allocated the 120 seats in this current election. 
2. If the threshold had been 5% - 221818 votes - 9 lists only would have passed the threshold and been allocated the 22 seats awarded to those 4 extra lists.
3. Non-voter turnout this election will be less than the difference of 2,141,719 shown between Eligible Voters and Valid Votes Cast - since Eligible Voters living abroad or temporarily overseas on business or vacation cannot vote.
4. Non-voters this election who also voted in March 2020 are considerably greater than the 116796 decrease in Valid Votes Cast in this election given:
• Eligible Voters increased by 124819
• The Arab Lists vote collapsed from 581507 votes in March 2020 to 379647 this election – a difference of 201860 votes

The large number of Israelis who failed to vote in the last four elections should sound alarm bells for Israel.

The threats to Israel’s very existence posed by Iran, the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Hamas and Hezbollah – and overtly-hostile international organisations such as the United Nations, the United Nations Human Rights Council, UNESCO and the International Criminal Court – makes it essential that Israel has a politically-stable and unified Government not beholden to kingmakers from small parties who end up exercising inordinate power in deciding the format and composition of the next Government – including the allocation of ministerial portfolios.

Electoral reform could include:

• Allowing absentee voting outside Israel
• Raising the qualifying threshold from 3.25%
• Making voting compulsory
• Adopting school programs emphasising the importance of voting in Knesset elections

Israel’s election train needs to be righted before it completely runs off the rails.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog