Helpless feeling setting in.....

Why the helpless feeling with Tzippy Livni on the job? Here's her latest pronouncement:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1188392536047&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

I should mention: She's delusionary.

Tzipi Livni's grasp of reality, is, at best, tenuous. Let's see, Gaza is a terrorist state, so what's the next step: Establish an even bigger, better financed terrorist state.

Israel has two enemies:

1. The Arab/Muslim Jihadists.

2. The current Israeli government.

"Legal ramifications" - arrgh!!!!

There was an article in the LA Jewish Journal that quoted an analyst who said that Israel probably won't stage a Gaza invasion until there is a "...Qassam that will fall on a synagogue in Sderot and kill 10... Or the Qassam that will fall on a kindergarten and kill, I hope not, God hopes not, 10 children. Or the Qassam that will fall here and kill 10 students. That will be the igniting point."

I once got a city official to admit that they wouldn't put a stop sign at the end of my block until after someone had been seriously hurt or killed (I'd reported a number of near-misses at the intersection). With that admission in hand, my wife hounded them until they put one up.

The lesson here is that my wife needs to start hounding the Israeli government.

I can tell you from living in Israel, having made aliyah in Dec '06, that the dire situation in S'derot is just ho hum for everyone.

Oh, don't get me wrong.....
you are aware of the situation....
unless you live in a hole....
But, no one gets worked up by it......

The government is pathetic....as Robert has correctly pointed out many times.....
And what bothers me most is that I really doubt the capability of the current government to protect its citizens....or the desire.....

I think for Olmert and company that if a few hundred......or even thousand Jews got wiped out(Heaven Forbid) they would make excuses and rub their hands.....as long as they can hold power.

I don't have that feeling here in America....
the people would be outraged and demand action.....the government wouldnt roll over if its citizens were being terrorized daily....


It is very disheartening for me.....I took a lot grief for coming back to the US...for personal and professional reasons....

Many called me a traitor......or just another greedy American....or other unflattering terms of endearment...

Believe it or not there is much America bashing from new immigrants.

I may still go back....
I want too....
I love Israel...
There are many, many positives.

The economy for one....it is a sheer miracle that it is one of the shining lights in technology and other innovations....especially with a socialist based economy.

But, the societal problems are many and it makes me pause.

Israel needs a wake up call...
I hope it doesn't come through tragedy.

Ralphie:

Israel is waiting for a Casus belli to take strong measures against the terrorist state of Gaza. Unfortunately, this is how state craft proceeds. Operation Defensive Shield was only launched by Ariel Sharon after the terrible Passover slaughter. There is an invasion plan for Gaza, but it will only take place after much innocent blood is shed, probably in Sderot.

BTW, Gaza is a narrow North-West salient, so any military observer will tell you that the invasion will entail cutting the salient in half, and proceeding to root out terrorist cells once the country has been divided.

Seems that the "humanitarian" thing to do is to cut off the electricity, water, etc. - as opposed to what the Lebanese Army did to the Nahr El-Bared refugee camp - which of course attracted no world attention (http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=26916_Lebanon_Kills_Hundreds_Destroys_Camp_World_Yawns&only&headlin), but which, in turn reminds of the Seinfeld line - "not that there's anything wrong with that..." - I really believe that one has to play very hard with the terrorists and cut off their civilian support/tolerance.

Lance:

Thanks so much for your valuable insights. Yes, unfortunately Israelis who don't live in Sderot, or the Gaza belt are quite, big yawn, about the terror shelling.

I wonder if the fashionable Hellenized residents of Tel Aviv, so anxious to appease the genocidal Arabs, will be quite so ho-hum when Hizbullah targets Dizengoff Street with their new and improved missiles, and they can no longer run out and get their afternoon Latte fix.

You think they might favor, oh I dunno, military action? Or will they just hand over Tel Aviv to Hamas. After all, Jews in Tel Aviv are a terrible provocation to fragile Muslim sensibilities.

Just asking.

Mark:

Yes, of course, Arab on Arab slaughter is perfectly acceptable. The NY Times actually puts it on its cover and seems to celebrate the Lebanese army. But if Israel had proceeded in the exact same course of action NY Times correspondent Steven Erlanger would accuse the IDF of being war criminals.

The double standard is astonishing, until you realize that you are dealing with a genuine Jew hater.

There's also the little known fact that Erlanger, and every western journalist in Israel will not write about Fatah or Hamas without yielding to strict Palestinian censorship and intimidation. Fatah and Hamas have made it quite clear what Western journalists can and cannot write about. Break the rules and they will break your kneecaps——if you're lucky. So Erlanger and the others spout Palestinian propaganda, which they agree with anyway, and they spit on their host country Israel.

This is called, ahem, mainstream journalism.

Yes, the double standard is absolutely breathtaking for anyone who is honest enough to admit it. Sadly, very few are...

Robert,

Yes, if missiles were falling on Tel Aviv I assure the elites would be screaming, as well as the Katamon latte sippers.

What non-Israeli's may not know is the incredible divide between Tel Aviv and the rest of Israel.

It really is like two different worlds.

So much so that during Passover, if you have a taste for chametz, there are many stores and restaurants in Tel Aviv that will gladly sell and serve it to you.

However, what really harms Israel today is corruption throughout the country, from the Rabbinate to the politicos. The country is rotting and suffering.

Israel needs an upheaval; it needs its citizens to say enough.

However, when the typical Israeli tells me that this is the way things are and I should just "get use to it" you know that the situation won't change for some time to come.

A government that is unwilling or incapable of defending its citizenry needs to be removed.

Jack,

You're right.

But, Olmert is a very adept politician.

He has bought the Haredim and others with money and promises.

So, unless there is an internal uprising in his party, I'm afraid things won't be changing for awhile.

Jack:

The next Prime Minister of Israel will me Binyamin Netanyahu.

The leftist appeasers now in office, Olmert, Livni and Barak, are a security risk to the State of Israel.

Robert,

Unfortunately, Benjamin Netanyahu is not far behind Ehud Barak in terms of security risks...perhaps even more so.

The proof is: If Barak wants to divide Jerusalem, and abandon the West Bank, the #1 opponent of his policies will be Nentanyahu. The right wing will unify, and a common denominator will make it extremely difficult for Barak to implement his plans.

If Netanyahu wants to partly divide Jerusalem, and abandon 93% of the West Bank, then he'll succeed.

And if you think Netanyahu won't...then you aren't reading him correctly...(unfortunately).

And no, I'm not saying "Vote Barak"

Jameel:

We have no idea exactly what Bibi will do in office, we can only assume that his policies will be better for Israel's security than the current government.

It's not as if there's a world of choices.

Thanks so much.

Shalom Robert -

Actually, we do have a clue what Bibi will do in office...

He gave away Hevron.

He had the golden opportunity to declare Oslo null and void after the Palestinians rioted (including PA and PA police) upon the opening of the Kotel tunnel in 1996...yet he continued on.

He has said in the past few months some of the following:

1. Bring back the Badr brigade from Jordan to yeshua vShomron. The Badr brigade is a militia of Palestinian "soldiers" in the Jordanian military.

2. He said he would undo any "damage" to the Supreme Court by Justice Minister Friedman. Friedman is currently enemy #1 of the Supreme Court. Bibi's pandering to the Supreme Court in Israel is shameful, considering the court serves the policies of Israel's Left.

The list goes on...and it's not pretty.

Again, I don't have an answer for you, but Bibi is dangerous for Israel as well.

Jameel:

Vote:

Olmert or Netanyahu.

Just, y'know, asking.

The bottom line is that the choices right now are slim and none and slim is winning.

Robert,

True the choice is pretty simple.....

Besides Netanyahu...there is Lieberman; but he is clown and a nutjob.

I do believe the Israeli public will vote Kadima out and that party will disintegrate into pieces.

Its members will gravitate back to either Labor or Likud....

What is probably more important is not who ends up PM....but who the eventual partners in the coalition will be....

The pandering...especially to the Haredim...must come to an end.

Then we might see some leadership.