...Israel is dealing with a right-religious-settler-Russian coalition pushing a reactionary agenda.
Well, one who claims that
this political alignment could be dominant in Israel for some time to come.
Who is the tickler?
He is Yossi Alpher, former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, and for a long time has been co-editor of bitterlemons.org.
I am acquainted with Yossi. He invited me to meet, at the beginning of the Oslo Process with Rashid Khalidi, of Columbia University and the friend of Obama and Yezid Sayegh (author of "Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993" and Professor of Middle East Studies, Department of War Studies, School of Social Science and Public Policy, King's College London) at the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel in French's Hill neighborhood. That was the last meeting. I was too "extreme".
Getting back to his piece, he continues his moaning:
The political left has virtually disappeared, discredited by failed peace gambits. At the same time, the conservative, ultra-orthodox sector is growing rapidly in numbers. So is the Israeli Arab population, which, in the shadow of a failed peace process, is becoming increasingly hostile to the idea of being a minority in a Jewish state — thereby stiffening the reaction of the Jewish majority.
But now, he moves in to defend the progressive, radical Left that has been seeking, through money, to control Israel's civic society and from there to the political echelons:
...The Israeli right perceives an international onslaught against its bastions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. It has resolved never to permit a repeat of the withdrawal from Gaza. Hence it is attacking its critics and beefing up its grip on the instruments of power. And this reaction further amplifies Israel’s international isolation, creating a vicious circle.
The most blatant aspect of this right-wing campaign is its focus on the Israeli civil-society groups that monitor government actions and decisions. A bill that has already passed a preliminary vote in the Parliament would require all Israeli NGOs that receive support from foreign governments to publicly declare themselves “foreign agents” if they seek to “influence public opinion or ... any governmental authority regarding ... domestic or foreign policy.”
Of course, he wasn't upset when the opposite of this: "The rightward shift of Israeli society is changing the shape of fundamental state institutions" was taking place, led and directed by the Left.
"Left", you know, is right, pure, humanist, etc.
And this is rich:
The Netanyahu government complains loudly about Palestinian incitement against Jews (which is, in fact, decreasing) while its policies encourage or ignore growing anti-Arab incitement in Israel.
And who promotes, funds and encourages this incitement?
The very bodies Alpher seeks to defend.
Alpher?
Omega.
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There are times (like this) when I feel like there is an infinite supply of hard-core Israeli/Jewish ideologues from the Left with full access to the MSM and oped pages, and who will stop at nothing to throw mud, distort, exaggerate, and demonize those who disagree with them.
Alpher, who is a true believer and a Zionist (albeit confused and still living in a long gone era), is just one among this crowd.
But then I realize that their campaign is one of desperation. Their dominance in the NGOs, the media, and academia, has been unchallenged for decades, and now, they are being exposed as frauds, or worse. Although the analogy is somewhat problematic (like all analogies), they are the Israeli equivalent of the communist nomenklatura, clinging to power in the 1980s, as their power began to crumble.
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