America, you’ve had your vote for change. Now it’s our turn.
I was never a Likud partisan. In fact, from what I saw and heard, the party seemed like a haven for loudmouths and louts, ditching Robert’s Rules of Order whenever possible. But I went to a Likud rally last week because I believe that our next government has to be right-of-center, a coalition held together by a strong nationalist party which has many more seats than its closest rival. Today, this can only be the Likud. The other right-wing parties can be building blocks in this coalition, but their tendency to bicker and fractionalize makes them ineligible for leadership. Only a strong Likud can hold them together. The rally itself was a surprise. The attendees represented the full spectrum of Israeli society: secular and observant (even the ultra-orthodox!), white and black, ashkenazi and sephardi, and, perhaps most importantly, young and old. (Years ago, I was at a rally in Tel Aviv for the then-leader of the Labor party, Amram Mitzne, attended almost exclusively by well-dressed, elderly ashkenazim. I knew immediately it was a lost cause. Mitzne went on to suffer the worst political defeat in Israeli history.) As far as I could see, the unrulyness factor seems to have been eliminated. There was applause and shouting, of course, but no attempts to drown out any speaker, pull the plug or take over the microphone. I guess that’s progress. The Likud under Natanyahu will bring change by shifting the focus of how the public has been viewing our conflict with Fatah and Hamas. The current Labor-Kadima coalition has been pursuing policies which have enabled Hamas to continue waging a long “war of attrition,” setting the terms of how we fight back and maintaining a balance of terror. Leaving aside Ehud Olmert’s alleged corruption, this coalition has been unable to provide security to the citizens of the north and the south. (Those in the center have been spared only due to the limitations of our enemies’ technology.) The coalition’s mismanagement of the Second Lebanese War resulted in many personal tragedies and a conclusion which only sets the groundwork for a more violent clash in the future. The three-week Gaza War also ended unsatisfactorily. For the cities and towns within 40 kilometers of Gaza, nothing has changed. The IDF was stopped in its tracks before it could deal a fatal blow to the Hamas leadership. Maybe diplomacy can still turn this into a partial victory — but going by the incumbents’ record, this too is doubtful. Contrary to some political rhetoric, a strong nationalist government will not clash with the new Obama administration. It will work with it to put forward Israel’s national interests in a clear and forceful manner. Since coming to office, President Obama has demonstrated that there will not be any “revolutions” in U.S. policy towards Israel and the Palestinians. A stronger Israeli stand against Arab and Palestinian aggression will be internalized and utilized by the U.S. for its own interests. Wait and see. In any case, get out to vote on February 10. Can we bring change to Israel? “Yes, we can!” Let’s send President Obama’s message to those who seek our destruction: “You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you!”
