The worst thing for the State of Israel and the world would be "that a radical regime obtains nuclear weapons."
"You don't want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.
"...Iran is a composite leadership, but in that composite leadership there are elements of wide-eyed fanaticism that do not exist right now in any other would-be nuclear power in the world. That's what makes them so dangerous. Since the dawn of the nuclear age, we have not had a fanatic regime that might put its zealotry above its self-interest."
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He is correct, and what I'm seeing is that he is telling it straight. Talking tough to America, actually: saying they have a job to do and they must be on notice that we will do it if they do not.
No tone of submission to the US, no attempt to be conciliatory and "reach out a hand" to the world.
This is encouraging.
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And so I found myself thinking that Netanyahu is entitled to some modicum of trust from the Israeli people -- some space that allows him to demonstrate what he can do and the directions in which he can take us.
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There's another reason why I think this, another problem of huge dimensions that he must confront, but that he didn't mention explicitly.
The world is at us. As never before, there are international attempts to delegitimize us and weaken us and challenge our rights. This is part of what keeps me awake at night.
And I'm convinced that we here inside of Israel must not be part of that chorus that would weaken the new government. The world hears every word, and turns it on us. This has been demonstrated time and time again.
I don't want to see Binyamin Netanyahu on the defensive now. I want to take stances that will stiffen his spine and let him know that we want him to stand strong against the world. And that we are with him as he does so.
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The new government was presented to the Knesset last night, which passed it 69 to 45, with five abstentions (a protest from Labor MKs Shelly Yacimovich, Eitan Cabel, Yuli Tamir, Amir Peretz and Ophir Pines-Paz).
The only member of the Knesset absent was Ahmad Tibi, of United Arab List-Ta'al. And where was he, precisely? At the Arab League meeting in Qatar. Hopefully, we have not heard the last on this.
The list of members of the government is at the bottom of this posting.
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And this is a sampling of what we must cope with:
According to Khaled Abu Toameh, senior Hamas officials in Gaza reported yesterday that Switzerland and Norway are spearheading European efforts to engage Hamas.
Ahmed Yussef, a political advisor in Hamas's Foreign Ministry, said the two countries were "leading the change in Europe's position vis-à-vis the Islamic movement." While another Hamas official said that Hamas sensed a "real change" in the attitude of some EU countries.
Of course, the Europeans at this point are urging that Hamas renounce violence, accept the two-state solution and recognize Israel's right to exist. But mark my words, now that the shift in thinking has begun, these demands will not hold. Hamas, said Yussef, responded by expressing its readiness to reach a long-term truce with Israel. Eventually, some permutation of this will be seen as sufficient. A long-term truce? Hey, implicitly then, Hamas is recognizing Israel and renouncing violence, no?
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Understand that at the same time that the Europeans are inching towards recognition of Hamas, they are jumping on the bandwagon to criticize the new Israeli administration for refusing to overtly embrace that "two state solution."
It's perverse and upside down and we must cope with it.
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Abbas, of course, is milking this for all he can. At the Arab summit, he declared:
"The Palestinians must tell the world that Netanyahu does not believe in peace, so how can we cooperate with him? We must push the ball to the international court so that the countries of the world put pressure on him."
The world will be happy to oblige, while turning a blind eye to the fact that the PA textbooks still teach jihad and that Abbas has refused to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.
This last, by the way, was right before Annapolis began. Olmert said he wouldn't negotiate if Abbas wouldn't recognize this, but then, under pressure from the US, he did so anyway.
This would be a good place for Netanyahu to start.
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Our new (32nd) government:
Gila Gamliel (Likud) – PM’s Office
Leah Ness (Likud) – Pensioners Affairs
Ayoub Kara (Likud) Development of the Negev and Galil
Danny Ayalon (Yisrael Beiteinu) - Foreign Ministry
Matan Vilnai (Labor) – Defense
Orit Noked (Labor) – Industry and Trade
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