Look Who Had His Letter Published in the NYTimes

To the Editor:

Re “The Wrong Partner in Israel” (editorial, Oct. 25), about my party, Israel Beiteinu, which has been invited into the governing coalition:

Your editorial got it wrong.

The Middle East peace process has failed miserably, and trying to breathe new life into an already defunct process is not the way to go.

Israel needs a new direction. I suggest that we redefine our goals and focus on bringing security and stability to the Middle East instead of setting our sights on an unrealistic, unattainable fantasy.

The declared missions of Hamas and Hezbollah are not to expel Israel from Lebanon or Gaza but to eradicate all Jews from Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem, and until they achieve that goal, they will not lay down their arms.

Israel is where the war on terror started. Sadly, we have had to stand alone for many decades in the face of unrelenting attacks on our Western ideas and values of freedom and democracy.

After the terror attacks of 9/11, Madrid in 2004, London in 2005 (and the list goes on), the world knows better.

That’s why old thinking, regardless of how well intentioned, simply won’t work.

Thirteen years is long enough to determine that the peace process has failed.

It is time to go back to the drawing board, re-evaluate the goals of the peace process and start anew.

Avigdor Lieberman
Minister of Strategic Affairs