My latest on the Times of Israel. If you’re looking for laughs, you won’t find them here.
So it seems likely that Bibi will remain Prime Minister. He may be among the most surprised. In recent days, he seemed to be panicking. He reminded me of a sports team who will do whatever it takes to win even if they have to play dirty, complain to the refs, etc.. Typically the next time the teams play, there is payback (meaning, consequences). He pulled out all the stops: fear, negativity, alienating a fifth of his own country, fighting the Central Elections Committee by claiming that he and only he was being denied the right to speak on TV on election day, and choosing the interesting time of ONE DAY BEFORE ELECTIONS to make a major policy change. You won, Bibi. Now what? What consequences will there be?
I became anti-Bibi in recent years, not as much because I am against what he stands for but because I don’t even know what he stands for. I haven’t heard him tell us. We know what he doesn’t stand for….what will he stand for? We have no State of the Union address and he gave us nothing in his campaign aside from “not the left, no nuclear Iran.” Now what?
Some of his supporters are hooting and gloating as would those of any party who won but the hooting and gloating should never happen today, after any election. None of us should be betting on who will win, but who will do the best after they win. Let people hoot and gloat if he makes this a better place over the next few years. He’s had six years to tell us: what is his long-term plan? If he truly stands by his “no Palestinian state” announcement (and who can know what he really believes based on the timing of it), what plans is he making instead to avoid the next war or another uprising of violence? If this is a truly policy change, it’s a big one so he’d better be burning the midnight oil to examine every possible reaction days, weeks, months, and years before it happens. I know we are not the only ones in this small piece of land and I do not believe we hold all the cards in this Middle East game but I do represent those who think we do not have ZERO AGENCY IN OUR FATE.
Bibi has made his bed and now we all have to lie in it. I just wish he would tell us what kind of bed it was and stick by it.
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