30 july 2015
Knesset committees hold discussion on 8,000 people waiting to join their families in Israel; former Supreme Court president: 'These are Jews who pray every day'; interior minister implies racism influences decision-making.
The Knesset's Immigration and Absorption Committee and Internal Affairs Committee held a discussion earlier this week on allowing the immigration for the remainder of Ethiopia's Jews.
Representatives of government ministries, social activists, and Israelis whose relatives remain in Ethiopia, participated in the discussion.
Chen Asemamo has been waiting 15 years for her grandmother to also be permitted to move to Israel and join the family, which arrived nearly in its entirety in the 1990s. "Every time they tell her 'soon, soon', that's the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption's code," she said. "My grandmother has six children and more than 30 grandchildren here, and she was simply left alone in Ethiopia. I do not understand how it could happen that we devote our lives to this country and this is the situation we have to deal with. The answer is always, 'we'll take care of it later'."
Among those present was former Supreme Court president Meir Shamgar, who serves as the president of the Public Council for Ethiopian Jews. Shamgar and activists claimed they had presented Interior Minister Silvan Shalom with lists of 7,500-9,000 people who were left in Ethiopia and whose requests for immigration have been denied.
Two years ago, then-internal minister Gideon Sa'ar formed a committee to discuss the cases of the thousands of Jews whose immigration requests were declined, following a buildup of requests by Ethiopian Israelis to allow their relatives to join them.
Six thousand families living in Israel contacted the committee, but after a year it became clear that it had not approved even one immigration visa for any relatives. About a year ago, Sa'ar asked to expand the mandate given to the committee and extend the length of its activity, but last year it again approved no cases brought before it.
In Monday's discussion, Minister Shalom said he would update the Knesset about the possibility of a government resolution to allow thousands of Jews from Ethiopia to immigrate. Shalom declared that he supports immigration by the remainder of Ethiopia's Jews and relatives of soldiers serving in the IDF, but made no promises because of opposition from other government ministries.
Rabbi Elmo Yefet said at the discussion that his relatives have been waiting in Ethiopia for 20 years. "They shut the door on us for 20 years," he said. "It's racism. There needs to be an investigative committee in the Interior Ministry. There was someone there who fought the court to prevent them from immigrating."
Shalom said that the committee recently approved immigration of 300 Ethiopians: "My desire to bring the Jews of Ethiopia is very high. That requires both the Finance Ministry and the Immigration and Absorption Ministry, but first and foremost the prime minister. Unfortunately, and I said this in the internal meetings as well, the three aforementioned ministries have not exactly loved the idea over the years.
"The Finance Ministry because of financial costs, the Interior Ministry because of the need for registrations and examinations, and the Immigration Ministry because of the requirement of staying in touch with them for a long time. And I don't want to say there are additional reasons."
Regarding the numbers claimed by Shamgar and activists, Shalom said: "Of course 6,000-7,000 people is a number that Israel can not only contain, but must contain."
MK Avraham Naguis, chairman of the Knesset Immigration Committee, said that despite government decisions over the past decade, "our brothers have remained there. Children were separated from their parents and brothers from their sisters. The families are in harsh conditions in Ethiopia and have no assistance. We demand that the Israeli government make a decision to allow everyone to immigrate immediately."
Shamgar concluded that "the time has come to comprehensively solve the problem of the remainder that is concentrated in Gondar and Addis Ababa."
On the committee, he said: "It didn't do a thing. No one immigrated to Israel thanks to the committee. We have precise lists and we know that every one of these people is a Jew who prays every day."
The Knesset's Immigration and Absorption Committee and Internal Affairs Committee held a discussion earlier this week on allowing the immigration for the remainder of Ethiopia's Jews.
Representatives of government ministries, social activists, and Israelis whose relatives remain in Ethiopia, participated in the discussion.
Chen Asemamo has been waiting 15 years for her grandmother to also be permitted to move to Israel and join the family, which arrived nearly in its entirety in the 1990s. "Every time they tell her 'soon, soon', that's the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption's code," she said. "My grandmother has six children and more than 30 grandchildren here, and she was simply left alone in Ethiopia. I do not understand how it could happen that we devote our lives to this country and this is the situation we have to deal with. The answer is always, 'we'll take care of it later'."
Among those present was former Supreme Court president Meir Shamgar, who serves as the president of the Public Council for Ethiopian Jews. Shamgar and activists claimed they had presented Interior Minister Silvan Shalom with lists of 7,500-9,000 people who were left in Ethiopia and whose requests for immigration have been denied.
Two years ago, then-internal minister Gideon Sa'ar formed a committee to discuss the cases of the thousands of Jews whose immigration requests were declined, following a buildup of requests by Ethiopian Israelis to allow their relatives to join them.
Six thousand families living in Israel contacted the committee, but after a year it became clear that it had not approved even one immigration visa for any relatives. About a year ago, Sa'ar asked to expand the mandate given to the committee and extend the length of its activity, but last year it again approved no cases brought before it.
In Monday's discussion, Minister Shalom said he would update the Knesset about the possibility of a government resolution to allow thousands of Jews from Ethiopia to immigrate. Shalom declared that he supports immigration by the remainder of Ethiopia's Jews and relatives of soldiers serving in the IDF, but made no promises because of opposition from other government ministries.
Rabbi Elmo Yefet said at the discussion that his relatives have been waiting in Ethiopia for 20 years. "They shut the door on us for 20 years," he said. "It's racism. There needs to be an investigative committee in the Interior Ministry. There was someone there who fought the court to prevent them from immigrating."
Shalom said that the committee recently approved immigration of 300 Ethiopians: "My desire to bring the Jews of Ethiopia is very high. That requires both the Finance Ministry and the Immigration and Absorption Ministry, but first and foremost the prime minister. Unfortunately, and I said this in the internal meetings as well, the three aforementioned ministries have not exactly loved the idea over the years.
"The Finance Ministry because of financial costs, the Interior Ministry because of the need for registrations and examinations, and the Immigration Ministry because of the requirement of staying in touch with them for a long time. And I don't want to say there are additional reasons."
Regarding the numbers claimed by Shamgar and activists, Shalom said: "Of course 6,000-7,000 people is a number that Israel can not only contain, but must contain."
MK Avraham Naguis, chairman of the Knesset Immigration Committee, said that despite government decisions over the past decade, "our brothers have remained there. Children were separated from their parents and brothers from their sisters. The families are in harsh conditions in Ethiopia and have no assistance. We demand that the Israeli government make a decision to allow everyone to immigrate immediately."
Shamgar concluded that "the time has come to comprehensively solve the problem of the remainder that is concentrated in Gondar and Addis Ababa."
On the committee, he said: "It didn't do a thing. No one immigrated to Israel thanks to the committee. We have precise lists and we know that every one of these people is a Jew who prays every day."
Two-hundred French Jewish immigrants have arrived in Israel, according to a Tuesday statement issued by The Jewish Agency for Israel.
The newcomers – half of whom are children – were brought to the self-proclaimed Jewish state on a flight jointly organized by the agency and Israel’s Immigration Ministry, the statement noted.
Immigration Minister Zeev Elkin said his ministry hoped to receive between 30,000 and 35,000 additional Jewish immigrants from around the world, the statement added, according to Press TV/Al Ray.
Over the past five years, Israel has taken in more than 20,000 French Jewish immigrants, including 7,500 in 2014 and 4,260 in 2015.
The newcomers – half of whom are children – were brought to the self-proclaimed Jewish state on a flight jointly organized by the agency and Israel’s Immigration Ministry, the statement noted.
Immigration Minister Zeev Elkin said his ministry hoped to receive between 30,000 and 35,000 additional Jewish immigrants from around the world, the statement added, according to Press TV/Al Ray.
Over the past five years, Israel has taken in more than 20,000 French Jewish immigrants, including 7,500 in 2014 and 4,260 in 2015.
27 july 2015
Saeb Erekat, left, and Silvan Shalom
Silvan Shalom and Saeb Erekat meet in Amman to 'break the ice' in attempt to restart peace talks; Netanyahu, Abbas okayed meeting.
Minister Silvan Shalom, who was appointed Israel's negotiator with the Palestinians, met in secret with his counterpart in the Palestinian Authority, Saeb Erekat, in Jordan on Thursday.
Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were aware of the meeting, which was held in Amman, and approved it. The meeting was held in an attempt to once again restart the halted peace process. Israeli officials said "the meeting was meant to break the ice and see how we could move forward."
Last weekend, Netanyahu and Abbas spoke on the phone for the first time since the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli yeshiva students over a year ago. This call eventually helped lead to the meeting. Since the fourth Netanyahu government's formation, Minister Shalom has been saying that if the Palestinians were serious and willing to hold a true negotiation without preconditions, they will find a real partner in Israel
Israel has been under pressure to take confidence-building measures towards the Palestinians. Shalom, meanwhile, asserted that confidence-building measures and eased restrictions should be based on reciprocity. He said it did not make sense for Israel to take confidence-building measures on the one hand, while the Palestinians turn to the International Criminal Court at The Hague and to FIFA on the other hand to continue making unilateral moves against Israel.
Silvan Shalom and Saeb Erekat meet in Amman to 'break the ice' in attempt to restart peace talks; Netanyahu, Abbas okayed meeting.
Minister Silvan Shalom, who was appointed Israel's negotiator with the Palestinians, met in secret with his counterpart in the Palestinian Authority, Saeb Erekat, in Jordan on Thursday.
Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were aware of the meeting, which was held in Amman, and approved it. The meeting was held in an attempt to once again restart the halted peace process. Israeli officials said "the meeting was meant to break the ice and see how we could move forward."
Last weekend, Netanyahu and Abbas spoke on the phone for the first time since the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli yeshiva students over a year ago. This call eventually helped lead to the meeting. Since the fourth Netanyahu government's formation, Minister Shalom has been saying that if the Palestinians were serious and willing to hold a true negotiation without preconditions, they will find a real partner in Israel
Israel has been under pressure to take confidence-building measures towards the Palestinians. Shalom, meanwhile, asserted that confidence-building measures and eased restrictions should be based on reciprocity. He said it did not make sense for Israel to take confidence-building measures on the one hand, while the Palestinians turn to the International Criminal Court at The Hague and to FIFA on the other hand to continue making unilateral moves against Israel.
On Monday morning, the Israeli Ministerial Committee drafted an “anti-terrorism” law.
According to Israeli Channel 7, the committee is expected to approve the bill, which amends and expands the definition of “terrorist organizations”, and stresses that sanctions must be imposed on members of so-called organizations and perpetrators of “terrorist” attacks.
Under this bill, any members of organizations which fulfill the infrastructure necessary to be considered a “terrorist” organization will be sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, said the PNN. A member who holds a senior position in the organization could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Furthermore, according to the bill, any person who offers technical support, broadcast services or money laundering to the organization can be convicted. Furthermore, the bill prevents any judicial changes and reductions to the convicted sentence of 15 years or more.
According to Israeli Channel 7, the committee is expected to approve the bill, which amends and expands the definition of “terrorist organizations”, and stresses that sanctions must be imposed on members of so-called organizations and perpetrators of “terrorist” attacks.
Under this bill, any members of organizations which fulfill the infrastructure necessary to be considered a “terrorist” organization will be sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, said the PNN. A member who holds a senior position in the organization could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Furthermore, according to the bill, any person who offers technical support, broadcast services or money laundering to the organization can be convicted. Furthermore, the bill prevents any judicial changes and reductions to the convicted sentence of 15 years or more.
25 july 2015
Avigdor Lieberman, who until recently was a foreign minister in Netanyahu's government, doesn't mince words when talking about his former ally now; 'to handle the Iranian issue, you need to be creative, determined, and know how to make difficult decisions, Netanyahu has none of this.'
"We don't need to form an committee of inquiry; we need to replace the prime minister," says MK Avigdor Lieberman, who until recently was the foreign minister in Netanyahu's government and the man that for years was the prime minister's close confidant and ally.
Lieberman, was answering the question whether he too, like Lapid, thinks there should be a committee of inquiry that would examine the agreement with Iran, responding in the same monotone, slightly drowsy voice with which he answers questions like; "how are you?" or "how do you feel sitting in the opposition?"
"Netanyahu cannot handle the Iranian issue," he says. "And I say this in the clearest way. It's too big for him, this entire issue. I could use all the clichés: 'If you want to shoot, shoot, don't talk' or 'a barking dog doesn't bite.' But the bottom line is that we talked about all of the options so much, that no one is taking us seriously anymore. And now when we start talking about this again, they just laugh at us."
Don't be fooled: Lieberman thinks the deal with Iran is bad. Not just bad, terrible. Not just in the practical sense, but also in the moral sense. In his point of view, the agreement is like the Munich Agreement and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact put together.
"A country that clearly states that its ultimate goal is the annihilation of Israel, while Europe supports this - sitting with the Iranians for dinner, shaking their hands and knowing this is their official policy - that is unacceptable. And it signals all the players in the Middle East that it pays off to be aggressive and extremist, because then everyone wants to appease you. I predict a crazy arms race will start now, including the Egyptians, the Saudis and the Turks. And have no delusions: This will lead to the next conflict. Iran feels on top of the world. The agreement recognizes its special status as a regional power and its appetite and audacity will only increase."
What should we have done that we haven't?
"What should have been done? The cabinet should have made clear decisions. But everything here is blurred, undefined, unfocused. And I had quite a few rifts, some are known and some less so. I remember a conversation I had with Bibi in 2009, before he formed the previous government. I told him: ‘I know what you could do by talking compared to what you could do in practice.’
He is excellent in talking, less so in actions. "What happened when the agreement between Iran and the West was signed was beyond a failure. Netanyahu is incapable and unequipped to deal with it. Period. He knows how to survive. He knows how to talk. He's a great performer. He's a great campaigner. He knows how to make promises he has no intention of keeping. He's a great marketer, perhaps the best we have here.
But all of that is not enough to lead a country, and cannot solve the acute problems we need to deal with.” "The problem is not whether to attack or not," Lieberman says. "A national strategy cannot come down to just this. The problem is the lack of clear strategy both on the Iranian and Palestinian issues. In all of my years in the government, I could not get the cabinet to adopt a clear strategy.
"Even now Netanyahu is not acting right. It's clear there is no chance to thwart the agreement in Congress. It's all one big mistake, his entire feud with President Obama. There are arguments and disagreements, but you don't need to turn it into a public dispute and have the whole world in on it. You are only proving how isolated we are compared to the Iranians.
The United States has a right to think differently. This must not turn into a personal argument, certainly not as a prime minister. You can't keep blaming other people. The Americans are wrong, but from here on out this is our responsibility. The question is, what are we doing. But to throw the blame on them once again is a mistake."
Is Netanyahu doing the right thing by refusing to discuss a generous compensation package and security cooperation with the Americans?
"I wouldn't reject any proposal from the Americans regardless of anything," he says. "And we should already start talking about this. There are circumstances and regional developments that, even without the agreement with Iran, necessitate a reevaluation of the cooperation and military aid. What good is tying this to the attempt to thwart the agreement with Iran? Instead of getting the most cooperation and aid, after the vote in the Senate we will get the minimal amount of aid. This is the wrong attitude.
"Netanyahu wanted to succeed. He was obsessed with the nuclear issue. But it's too much for him. To handle this issue you have to be creative. Determined. To know how to make hard decisions." "And Netanyahu," Lieberman says, "has none of those things."
Severe blow to deterrence
This isn't the only critical mistake Netanyahu has made, according to Lieberman. He has harsh criticism regarding the prime minister's conduct during Operation Protective Edge as well. "How can someone who can't handle Hamas deal with Iran? No one is taking him seriously."
"I don't have delusions of grandeur," he says. "But if I were tasked with handling this issue, I'd know how to do it better than anyone in the State of Israel."
You? How? Like you wanted to deal with the Tehran-Aswan government? (In 2001, while talking to ambassadors from the former Soviet Union, Lieberman suggested blowing up the Aswan Dam and, while at it, bomb Tehran as well)
"I didn't mean to bomb the Aswan Dam," he clarifies. "When I said it, I believed Egyptian president Mubarak would not last and that the regime there would collapse, and that we needed to create deterrence. Today we are in a situation in which we lost deterrence completely. If we can't deal with Hamas, which is at a spitting distance from us, how are we going to deal with Iran?
Everyone immediately interpreted it as if I really meant to bomb Aswan and Tehran. But I was talking about issues that were developing. In 2001, I saw where Iran was heading and what was developing in Egypt and I thought we needed to be ready for it. "When Netanyahu stood in front of the residents of Ashkelon in 2009 and said that if he were elected prime minister, he would bring down the Hamas regime, and when he could have he didn't - that was a fatal blow to deterrence.
I told Bibi before Protective Edge: 'Either you don’t start this at all, or you go all the way.' But this is one of his biggest problems: He says one thing, and does the opposite. Before the elections he said: 'No Palestinian state on my watch.' After the elections, he ran to foreign media to say he didn't mean it. During the elections he was talking about Arabs going in droves to the polls, and after the elections he invited (head of the Joint Arab List) Ayman Odeh to his office."
And why do you think that you could deal with the Iranian issue better than him?
"I know the issue well. I've been dealing with it for many years. But it's not just about being familiar with the issue and understanding it. It's also a matter of personality. You need a person here that has the ability to make decisions with determination and creativity."
And you are the only person who has this?
"There are in Israel other people with quite the potential to lead the country. Good and talented people who are much better than Netanyahu and some of them are better than me in other things. But on the Iranian issue, I'm the most knowledgeable and know best how to deal with it."
How?
"Of course I don't mean to talk about it in public. But I assure you, I have a detailed plan of what needs to be done. I talked about it in the appropriate forums and will continue talking about it at the Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services, which I am a member of."
Needless to say that you agree with Meir Dagan about Netanyahu's personality, but not on the way he thinks Israel needs to deal with Iran?
"Netanyahu is wrong on everything that has to do with handling Iran, but I don't agree with what Dagan said." I reminded him that until recently, he was sitting in Netanyahu's government.
That he participated in cabinet meetings. And furthermore, that he almost joined the current government. "I have a commitment to my voters. My responsibility is first of all to them. And we need to think about what is best for this country, and what's best for Israel is that there is a stable government.
But it's clear to me that we're on a flight going nowhere, that Netanyahu is leading us nowhere. I mean, I was on the inside for six years. I know what's going on in there. I tried to fight from within. It reached a new high during Protective Edge, when I said what I thought during the war. Then we went to elections. What happened, happened. I'm not perfect.
It’s possible I should have left long before that. But the fact of the matter is that I made a difficult decision and in the choice between my principles and a seat in the government, I chose to stay out." When I asked how come he was not able to influence from the inside, Lieberman says Netanyahu excluded everyone from these issues and chose to deal with them on his own.
"I tried to influence. I spoke my mind. But Bibi wouldn't let anyone come near. He made it his exclusive business. Even when he let Livni deal with the Palestinian issue, he paired her up with a Commissar named Yitzhak Molho. That is why I place the responsibility for the failure squarely on his shoulders."
"We don't need to form an committee of inquiry; we need to replace the prime minister," says MK Avigdor Lieberman, who until recently was the foreign minister in Netanyahu's government and the man that for years was the prime minister's close confidant and ally.
Lieberman, was answering the question whether he too, like Lapid, thinks there should be a committee of inquiry that would examine the agreement with Iran, responding in the same monotone, slightly drowsy voice with which he answers questions like; "how are you?" or "how do you feel sitting in the opposition?"
"Netanyahu cannot handle the Iranian issue," he says. "And I say this in the clearest way. It's too big for him, this entire issue. I could use all the clichés: 'If you want to shoot, shoot, don't talk' or 'a barking dog doesn't bite.' But the bottom line is that we talked about all of the options so much, that no one is taking us seriously anymore. And now when we start talking about this again, they just laugh at us."
Don't be fooled: Lieberman thinks the deal with Iran is bad. Not just bad, terrible. Not just in the practical sense, but also in the moral sense. In his point of view, the agreement is like the Munich Agreement and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact put together.
"A country that clearly states that its ultimate goal is the annihilation of Israel, while Europe supports this - sitting with the Iranians for dinner, shaking their hands and knowing this is their official policy - that is unacceptable. And it signals all the players in the Middle East that it pays off to be aggressive and extremist, because then everyone wants to appease you. I predict a crazy arms race will start now, including the Egyptians, the Saudis and the Turks. And have no delusions: This will lead to the next conflict. Iran feels on top of the world. The agreement recognizes its special status as a regional power and its appetite and audacity will only increase."
What should we have done that we haven't?
"What should have been done? The cabinet should have made clear decisions. But everything here is blurred, undefined, unfocused. And I had quite a few rifts, some are known and some less so. I remember a conversation I had with Bibi in 2009, before he formed the previous government. I told him: ‘I know what you could do by talking compared to what you could do in practice.’
He is excellent in talking, less so in actions. "What happened when the agreement between Iran and the West was signed was beyond a failure. Netanyahu is incapable and unequipped to deal with it. Period. He knows how to survive. He knows how to talk. He's a great performer. He's a great campaigner. He knows how to make promises he has no intention of keeping. He's a great marketer, perhaps the best we have here.
But all of that is not enough to lead a country, and cannot solve the acute problems we need to deal with.” "The problem is not whether to attack or not," Lieberman says. "A national strategy cannot come down to just this. The problem is the lack of clear strategy both on the Iranian and Palestinian issues. In all of my years in the government, I could not get the cabinet to adopt a clear strategy.
"Even now Netanyahu is not acting right. It's clear there is no chance to thwart the agreement in Congress. It's all one big mistake, his entire feud with President Obama. There are arguments and disagreements, but you don't need to turn it into a public dispute and have the whole world in on it. You are only proving how isolated we are compared to the Iranians.
The United States has a right to think differently. This must not turn into a personal argument, certainly not as a prime minister. You can't keep blaming other people. The Americans are wrong, but from here on out this is our responsibility. The question is, what are we doing. But to throw the blame on them once again is a mistake."
Is Netanyahu doing the right thing by refusing to discuss a generous compensation package and security cooperation with the Americans?
"I wouldn't reject any proposal from the Americans regardless of anything," he says. "And we should already start talking about this. There are circumstances and regional developments that, even without the agreement with Iran, necessitate a reevaluation of the cooperation and military aid. What good is tying this to the attempt to thwart the agreement with Iran? Instead of getting the most cooperation and aid, after the vote in the Senate we will get the minimal amount of aid. This is the wrong attitude.
"Netanyahu wanted to succeed. He was obsessed with the nuclear issue. But it's too much for him. To handle this issue you have to be creative. Determined. To know how to make hard decisions." "And Netanyahu," Lieberman says, "has none of those things."
Severe blow to deterrence
This isn't the only critical mistake Netanyahu has made, according to Lieberman. He has harsh criticism regarding the prime minister's conduct during Operation Protective Edge as well. "How can someone who can't handle Hamas deal with Iran? No one is taking him seriously."
"I don't have delusions of grandeur," he says. "But if I were tasked with handling this issue, I'd know how to do it better than anyone in the State of Israel."
You? How? Like you wanted to deal with the Tehran-Aswan government? (In 2001, while talking to ambassadors from the former Soviet Union, Lieberman suggested blowing up the Aswan Dam and, while at it, bomb Tehran as well)
"I didn't mean to bomb the Aswan Dam," he clarifies. "When I said it, I believed Egyptian president Mubarak would not last and that the regime there would collapse, and that we needed to create deterrence. Today we are in a situation in which we lost deterrence completely. If we can't deal with Hamas, which is at a spitting distance from us, how are we going to deal with Iran?
Everyone immediately interpreted it as if I really meant to bomb Aswan and Tehran. But I was talking about issues that were developing. In 2001, I saw where Iran was heading and what was developing in Egypt and I thought we needed to be ready for it. "When Netanyahu stood in front of the residents of Ashkelon in 2009 and said that if he were elected prime minister, he would bring down the Hamas regime, and when he could have he didn't - that was a fatal blow to deterrence.
I told Bibi before Protective Edge: 'Either you don’t start this at all, or you go all the way.' But this is one of his biggest problems: He says one thing, and does the opposite. Before the elections he said: 'No Palestinian state on my watch.' After the elections, he ran to foreign media to say he didn't mean it. During the elections he was talking about Arabs going in droves to the polls, and after the elections he invited (head of the Joint Arab List) Ayman Odeh to his office."
And why do you think that you could deal with the Iranian issue better than him?
"I know the issue well. I've been dealing with it for many years. But it's not just about being familiar with the issue and understanding it. It's also a matter of personality. You need a person here that has the ability to make decisions with determination and creativity."
And you are the only person who has this?
"There are in Israel other people with quite the potential to lead the country. Good and talented people who are much better than Netanyahu and some of them are better than me in other things. But on the Iranian issue, I'm the most knowledgeable and know best how to deal with it."
How?
"Of course I don't mean to talk about it in public. But I assure you, I have a detailed plan of what needs to be done. I talked about it in the appropriate forums and will continue talking about it at the Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services, which I am a member of."
Needless to say that you agree with Meir Dagan about Netanyahu's personality, but not on the way he thinks Israel needs to deal with Iran?
"Netanyahu is wrong on everything that has to do with handling Iran, but I don't agree with what Dagan said." I reminded him that until recently, he was sitting in Netanyahu's government.
That he participated in cabinet meetings. And furthermore, that he almost joined the current government. "I have a commitment to my voters. My responsibility is first of all to them. And we need to think about what is best for this country, and what's best for Israel is that there is a stable government.
But it's clear to me that we're on a flight going nowhere, that Netanyahu is leading us nowhere. I mean, I was on the inside for six years. I know what's going on in there. I tried to fight from within. It reached a new high during Protective Edge, when I said what I thought during the war. Then we went to elections. What happened, happened. I'm not perfect.
It’s possible I should have left long before that. But the fact of the matter is that I made a difficult decision and in the choice between my principles and a seat in the government, I chose to stay out." When I asked how come he was not able to influence from the inside, Lieberman says Netanyahu excluded everyone from these issues and chose to deal with them on his own.
"I tried to influence. I spoke my mind. But Bibi wouldn't let anyone come near. He made it his exclusive business. Even when he let Livni deal with the Palestinian issue, he paired her up with a Commissar named Yitzhak Molho. That is why I place the responsibility for the failure squarely on his shoulders."
24 july 2015
Defense Ministry erases writing that criticized prime minister and defense minister, which family created to protest government's refusal to include brothers' names on headstone; soldier's parents outraged, while ministry claims other bereaved families requested the removal.
Defense Ministry staff on Thursday night removed writing criticizing Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the grave site of Staff Sgt. Li Mat.
The erased message had read: "Lilik was killed under the watch of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Bibi – and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon – Bogi".
A memorial service was held on Thursday at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to mark a year since Mat, 19, was killed in Operation Protective Edge. Mat's resting place still has no headstone, thanks to a conflict between the fallen soldier's family and government bureaucracy. The Mat family insists on including his brother's names on the headstone – and the Defense Ministry refuses.
Li's father, Motti, spoke against Ya'alon and Netanyahu at the service, saying they were impervious and had marked the family as the enemy. Alongside the temporary headstone bearing the writing, the family placed a guitar, a surfboard, and a white note with the names of Mat's parents and siblings.
Following the erection of the makeshift headstone, the Public Council for Commemorating Soldiers held a telephone survey of bereaved parents, widows, and orphans, which led to the decision to remove the writing.
"The cemetery is a sacred place," Yad Lebanim Chairman Eli Ben Shem, who backed the decision, told Ynet. "We must not detract from the site's dignity, from the fallen soldiers and their memory. The disagreement must be kept outside the cemetery. Bereaved parents can and are allowed to express criticism and protest, but not use the grave and headstone for criticism."
Mat's mother, Smadar, called the removal of the message by people who "came like thieves in the night" disgraceful.
Her husband also said he was appalled, and accused others of politicizing the issue. "They should be ashamed," he said. "Disgusting behavior."
The Defense Ministry said the message was removed following requests by other bereaved families whose loved ones are buried at the Mount Herzl military cemetery.
The Ministry said earlier this week that the family's request to add the brothers' names on the headstone was rejected based on policy approved by the Supreme Court, but that it was given the option of including the names on the inscription at the foot of the grave.
Defense Ministry staff on Thursday night removed writing criticizing Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the grave site of Staff Sgt. Li Mat.
The erased message had read: "Lilik was killed under the watch of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Bibi – and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon – Bogi".
A memorial service was held on Thursday at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to mark a year since Mat, 19, was killed in Operation Protective Edge. Mat's resting place still has no headstone, thanks to a conflict between the fallen soldier's family and government bureaucracy. The Mat family insists on including his brother's names on the headstone – and the Defense Ministry refuses.
Li's father, Motti, spoke against Ya'alon and Netanyahu at the service, saying they were impervious and had marked the family as the enemy. Alongside the temporary headstone bearing the writing, the family placed a guitar, a surfboard, and a white note with the names of Mat's parents and siblings.
Following the erection of the makeshift headstone, the Public Council for Commemorating Soldiers held a telephone survey of bereaved parents, widows, and orphans, which led to the decision to remove the writing.
"The cemetery is a sacred place," Yad Lebanim Chairman Eli Ben Shem, who backed the decision, told Ynet. "We must not detract from the site's dignity, from the fallen soldiers and their memory. The disagreement must be kept outside the cemetery. Bereaved parents can and are allowed to express criticism and protest, but not use the grave and headstone for criticism."
Mat's mother, Smadar, called the removal of the message by people who "came like thieves in the night" disgraceful.
Her husband also said he was appalled, and accused others of politicizing the issue. "They should be ashamed," he said. "Disgusting behavior."
The Defense Ministry said the message was removed following requests by other bereaved families whose loved ones are buried at the Mount Herzl military cemetery.
The Ministry said earlier this week that the family's request to add the brothers' names on the headstone was rejected based on policy approved by the Supreme Court, but that it was given the option of including the names on the inscription at the foot of the grave.
22 july 2015
MKs Banned at Knesset
A delegation from the European parliament, including ambassadors to Israel from European Union countries, was not allowed to enter the Knesset, Tuesday morning, for a meeting with members of the Joint Arab List.
The Knesset claimed, according to Haaretz, that the meeting breached protocol and was thus barred from taking place within the legislature.
Furthermore, MKs Yousef Jabareen and Aida Touma-Suliman were forced to hold their discussion with the delegation outside the Knesset building after the parliament's speaker, Yuli Edelstein, conditioned the meeting on the presence of the Knesset’s diplomatic adviser.
The MKs refused to accept this demand and the speaker said the delegation would not be allowed entry.
During their meeting, MK Touma-Suliman reportedly briefed the delegation about the political situation of Israel's Arab community and blasted what she dubbed unbridled racist legislation by the current government, stressing that such actions highlight the undemocratic nature of the government.
A delegation from the European parliament, including ambassadors to Israel from European Union countries, was not allowed to enter the Knesset, Tuesday morning, for a meeting with members of the Joint Arab List.
The Knesset claimed, according to Haaretz, that the meeting breached protocol and was thus barred from taking place within the legislature.
Furthermore, MKs Yousef Jabareen and Aida Touma-Suliman were forced to hold their discussion with the delegation outside the Knesset building after the parliament's speaker, Yuli Edelstein, conditioned the meeting on the presence of the Knesset’s diplomatic adviser.
The MKs refused to accept this demand and the speaker said the delegation would not be allowed entry.
During their meeting, MK Touma-Suliman reportedly briefed the delegation about the political situation of Israel's Arab community and blasted what she dubbed unbridled racist legislation by the current government, stressing that such actions highlight the undemocratic nature of the government.
Israeli municipality in Jerusalem has refused to serve Arab neighbourhoods lying beyond the Israeli Separation Wall in the north of the holy city, Al-Quds newspaper reported on Tuesday. Arab residents in Jerusalem neighbourhoods lying beyond the Wall, mainly in Al-Salam Neighbourhood, are suffering from an infestation of rodents.
Last week, an Arab citizen applied to the municipality for help in fighting rodents in the area, but was told that the municipality officers do not enter areas beyond the Wall.
Later on, the same man received a call from the municipality telling him that his application was refused and the complaint was closed because it was a personal, not a public issue.
Meanwhile, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel sent a strong letter to the municipality, calling it to immediately find a solution for the rodent problem in neighbourhoods behind the Wall.
The Association reiterated that the neighbourhoods such as Al-Salam are still affiliated to the city's municipality, despite lying behind the Wall.
According to the Association, the municipality also does not collect garbage, does not offer running water or sewage services for any neighbourhoods beyond the Wall.
Last week, an Arab citizen applied to the municipality for help in fighting rodents in the area, but was told that the municipality officers do not enter areas beyond the Wall.
Later on, the same man received a call from the municipality telling him that his application was refused and the complaint was closed because it was a personal, not a public issue.
Meanwhile, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel sent a strong letter to the municipality, calling it to immediately find a solution for the rodent problem in neighbourhoods behind the Wall.
The Association reiterated that the neighbourhoods such as Al-Salam are still affiliated to the city's municipality, despite lying behind the Wall.
According to the Association, the municipality also does not collect garbage, does not offer running water or sewage services for any neighbourhoods beyond the Wall.