The doves’ dilemmas
Now that Israeli President Shimon Peres has tapped Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next government, Jewish liberals are going to have to start asking themselves some tough questions.
In the 10 days since the election, two parallel -- and contradictory -- views have emerged side-by-side among doves. Especially in the United States, Jewish liberals have been speaking out against the idea of allowing Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beteinu into the government -- and they’ll start making the same argument about National Union when they realize that one if its top members describes himself as a disciple and heir to Meir Kahane.
Check out Rabbi Eric Yoffie's Op-Ed in the Forward:
Much of the debate until now has focused on whether or not Lieberman can be accurately classified as a racist or a fascist. But this debate is largely beside the point. A far-right politician on the European model, he has risen to prominence at a time of uncertainty and fear by alleging that Israel faces a threat from within. Like other demagogues of this type, he has been sly in his rhetoric so that allegations of racism cannot be established with certainty.
But over in Israel, plenty of those on the left and center-left have been arguing that the best thing for Kadima and Labor to do would be to stay out of any government led by Netanyahu, using their time in opposition to gain strength and build support for a robust peace process. Livni said as much to her followers on Thursday:
"Today, the foundations of a right-wing extremist government under Netanyahu were set," Livni wrote in a cellular phone text message sent to some 80,000 Kadima members Thursday. "The path of such a government is not our own and we have nothing to look for there. You didn't vote for us in order to provide a kosher certificate for a right-wing government, and we need to provide an alternative of hope from the opposition."
So which is it? Either you think Tzipi Livni and/or Ehud Barak should join a Bibi-led government, even at the risk of ending up as cover for Netanyahu to sit on his hands diplomatically, or you force Bibi to join forces with the likes of Yisrael Beteinu and National Union, despite concerns over an unabashedly nationalist government's approach to the peace process and the rights of Israeli Arabs.
Oh, and here’s another wrinkle… there’s some buzz out there suggesting that Lieberman would like a Likud-Kadima-Yisrael Beiteinu coalition that left out any religious parties, paving the way for civil marriage and other church-state reforms. So you could end up seeing an interesting debate between those who focus on Israeli Arab rights and those who are dedicated to ending the Orthodox monopoly over religion in Israel.
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Regardless who will be in the government coalition, there is a need for a new approach. I believe that instead of following the point of view perpetuated by Palestinians and their supporters, Jewish one including, that the presence of settlers in West Bank is the greatest obstacle to the creation of Palestinian state, we need to advocate a Palestinian state without removing the settlers. The settlers for whom it is important to live next to historical biblical places, should have right to do so, regardless what state will be there. The Israeli Arabs do live inside of Israel without anyone there thinking that their presence there is desecrating the Jewish Israelis. The same should be allowed to the Jewish settlers as long as they obey reasonable laws of a future Palestinian state located there. The yanking out people from their homes to satisfy Palestinians need for purity of isolation should stop. Instead, the Jewish settlers should create economical ventures together with their Palestinian neighbors trying to create better relationship and democracy which usually thrives in multiple societies, not in monolithic ones.
Another scare for the Israeli that supposedly Palestinians will produce more children, will also loose its power, because with better economy, Palestinian women will be able to limit level of their birth to replace it with professional enterpizes. This is a well known resultat in every country where economic life improves.
I believe that under the present possible lineups of those who would sit together in a government, while certainly not my ideal, I would go for the Kadima-Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu coalition. I believe that it should concentrate on providing civil marriage for all and any Israelis wishing that type of marriage, even if one is registered as a Jew, and one, like many of the Russian immigrants, cannot marry as a Jew under the rabbis’ rulings.
While I believe that the very presence of Lieberman in the government will be provocative for the Israeli Arabs, I do not believe it will past legal muster, so in reality, it is hypothetical and ugly. If after passing civil marriage, Lieberman’s party insists on voting for a racist law, Kadima can leave the government and leave Netanyahu’s government in extreme jeopardy. But at least one longstanding problem will be solved, marriage for those people not recognized as communicants of any of the respective state relligious authorities.
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Arthur Waskoiw
02/20/09 07:54 PM
The Israelis will do what they do. Now is the moment for American Jews to focus on US policy, strongly urging the Obama Administration to insist on a region-wide peace settlement based on full peace treaties among Israel, all the Arab states, Iran, and a viable Palestinian state along the lines laid out by the “Geneva Initiative” several years ago.
When I say the US ‘insist,” that means using all the carrots and sticks necessary to get all parties to agree, even a Netanyahu govt of Israel and even a national-unity govt of Palestine with Hamas as a major player.
That settlement would fulfill the legitimate century-old dreams of the Zionist movement for a peaceful and secure Jewish state. Any other future will mean disaster for that vision. So American Jews shoud be pushing the only power capable of achieving that settlement—the US—to do so.
Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, The Shalom Center .