Israeli Cabinet Resignation.

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, November 15th, 2018 - 13 comments
Categories: boycott, International, israel - Tags: ,

Avigdor Lieberman has resigned his position as Israeli Defense Minister because he can’t endorse the government’s “surrender to terrorism”. He said that in relation to a ceasefire being announced by Hamas and the Israeli government.

A few days back, Israeli armed forces executed a raid in Gaza. Both Palestinians and Israeli soldiers were killed in the raid.  Hamas launched rockets into Israel in response. Israel launched air strikes on Gaza.

Mainstream reporting has tended to be of the usual one eyed variety. For example, The Guardian reported that Israeli’s had been killed while noting that Palestinians had died. It’s a subtle type of propaganda that effectively constructs a barrier of barbs and vines to be hacked away before meaningful discussion on Gaza/Israel/Palestinians can be had.

The Associated Press is reporting that Netanyahu’s government might not last until the next scheduled elections. Here’s their report as published at Truth Dig, and here’s a piece reporting on the ceasefire published by The Electronic Intifada.

I wouldn’t know what the prospects are if early elections are called in Israel, but I sense that something has to give in relation to Israel and the approach and actions of the government domestically, in the region and across the world. Between revelations of Israeli interference in the domestic politics of the UK and US, their lamentable reactions to  The Great March of Return (that’s entering public awareness in spite of massive under-reporting), plus the persistence of the BDS movement, I think it’s reasonable to suggest that Israel is suffering from a steady drip of “bad press”.

Maybe welcome change isn’t too far away.

13 comments on “Israeli Cabinet Resignation. ”

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  1. Adrian Thornton 1
    15 November 2018 at 10:38 am

    ‘Maybe welcome change isn’t too far away.’ I really wish I could share your even reserved optimism…

    ‘74% of Israelis dissatisfied with Netanyahu on security matters: survey’

    “64% think that Israel should have continued to expand the attacks in Gaza after rockets were fired from the Hamas run enclave from Sunday into Tuesday.The same survey revealed that 49% think Hamas won the recent fight against Israel, while 14% think Israel came out as the winner.”

    https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/188681-181114-74-of-israelis-dissatisfied-with-netanyahu-on-security-matters-survey

    ‘ISRAELIS FIND GOVERNMENT’S GAZA POLICY NOT FORCEFUL ENOUGH, POLL FINDS’

    “Nearly 60% of Jewish Israelis said they “think” or “are sure” that Israel should not provide relief measures to improve the lives of the Gaza residents.”

    https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israelis-find-governments-Gaza-policy-not-forceful-enough-poll-finds-570092

    Although to be fair the same poll above did point to this ray of hope…

    “The survey revealed that the Israeli public would like to see long-term calm on the border with Gaza, with 64% and 80% of Jewish and Arab Israelis respectively supporting signing a long-term cease-fire agreement under international supervision with the Hamas leadership.”

    I can’t see any Israeli political party ever letting any other country than the USA ( except maybe Australia ha!) getting seriously involved in any meaningful way in resolving this issue..so unfortunately that part of the poll is interesting, but meaningless.

    Still maybe I am just being to cynical..

    • Bill 1.1
      15 November 2018 at 2:22 pm

      As far as I can gather, Israel sits right up there as a nation with a heavily propagandised citizenry.

      But a lot of Israel’s posturing, and a lot of what it does and gets away with depends on having a favourable international audience or environment.

      The reputation that Israel relies so heavily on is being shredded at the level of ordinary people’s perceptions in a number of countries, despite the decreasing but still potent power of that victim card it keeps playing, and despite the shared apologist slant that’s pushed by all major western media outlets.

      I guess in the end, change will be forced on Israel in much the same way as change was forced on South Africa – via citizens signalling to their own governments that the relationships they foster at the government and business level aren’t acceptable.

      • Morrissey 1.1.1
        15 November 2018 at 5:39 pm

        “In Israel there is a broad coalition of opinion, which says ‘We don’t want to know.’ No other society anywhere lives in such willed ignorance, abetted and amplified by the Israeli media and the Jewish establishment in New Zealand and Australia. Israel is becoming increasingly militaristic, nationalistic, and religious.”

        —GIDEON LEVY, speaking in Auckland, Dec. 3, 2017

        https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16-12-2017/#comment-1426789

      • Adrian Thornton 1.1.2
        15 November 2018 at 8:06 pm

        A good unpacking of Avigdor Lieberman’s resignation, from The Real News of course…

        • Bill 1.1.2.1
          15 November 2018 at 8:35 pm

          German made submarines by a company with a track record of bribery (Greece and Portugal)…and now Israel.

          With the only way out for Netanyahu being an early election so the State Attorney won’t/can’t issue an indictment “because election year”.

          And to get the possibility of an early election he sets Liberman up with the aim of bringing down the coalition he leads.

          That about the size of it?

          I mean, what Shir Hever is saying makes sense, but at the same time, it’s hell of a convoluted and incredibly fragile as far as the execution of it goes.

          And I’m not quite seeing how Netanyahu could use an election win as leverage to kill off the prospects of being prosecuted for his role in what amounts to major state corruption.

          • Adrian Thornton 1.1.2.1.1
            15 November 2018 at 10:15 pm

            I would say that Netanyahu’s logic is that the more power he has when/if that prosecution goes ahead the more leverage/protection would in theory be available to him, so staying head of state could be in his mind a matter of pure survival.
            Also cynically, slightly conspiratorially and very hypothetically speaking here, if he is still in power when the prosecution really gets underway, the inevitable war with Hamas in Gaza could be brought on line at exactly the right moment to either delay or derail the prosecution…just sayin’

  2. Tiger Mountain 2
    15 November 2018 at 10:48 am

    if the governments of the world will not pull Israel into some sort of line, that involves not slaughtering and collectively punishing Palestinians, then the people of the world must do it with solidarity action in any way we can

    BDS, including embarrassing cultural boycotts, do have an effect, they do not like being referred to as an Apartheid State one little bit!

    • Adrian Thornton 2.1
      15 November 2018 at 11:15 am

      @Tiger Mountain, “they do not like being referred to as an Apartheid State one little bit!”..True that.

  3. Adrian 3
    15 November 2018 at 11:05 am

    There are Palestinian dates available in shops at the moment, they are expensive but go and buy some, its about the only thing the poor buggers can export. P.s they’re delicious.

    • Cinny 3.1
      15 November 2018 at 1:58 pm

      Adrian have you ever tried Cardamom infused coffee from over that way, it’s so yummy and smells so very good.

      Will keep an eye out for the dates, sounds like a nice treat.

  4. Cinny 4
    15 November 2018 at 1:53 pm

    Cheers for the post Bill.

    I watched part of his live presser last night, apparently lieberman and bibi have been butting heads for some time.

    I don’t trust bibi or his government one little bit, however I don’t believe a new PM would make much difference over there.

    What is bibi’s end game with his new change of tune, does it include another power point presentation?

    A dear friend of mine lives in Tel Aviv, he refuses to get involved with politics because of the Israel v’s Palestine conflicts, people are brainwashed from a young age over there, and the hate is then nurtured when they do their compulsory military training.

    Ed posted a link to a really interesting four part doco last night, made me reflect on when whale blubber went to Israel paid in part by the Israeli government, it was just when Dirty Politics came out. Things that make you go hmmmmmm

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10391846/Blogging-money-and-blurred-lines

    ‘Al Jazeera Investigations exposes how the Israel lobby influences British politics. A six-month undercover investigation reveals how Israel penetrates different levels of British democracy.’

    https://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/thelobby/

    This may interest some, from last weeks episode of The Listening Post, how Israel suppresses the real history of the current situation
    https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2018/11/history-suppressed-censorship-israel-archives-181110122100217.html

  5. OnceWasTim 5
    15 November 2018 at 2:30 pm

    Pardon a comment from a cynic @ BIll, but here’s a thread not many want to touch
    It’s 14.26 and you posted at 09:51. 7 so far.
    All I could think when I watched his announcement on CNN was ‘thank Christ’.

  6. SPC 6
    15 November 2018 at 7:06 pm

    It takes the coalition government they have down to 61 of the 120 seat “Knesset”.

    It’s a play for an increased vote share, when the next election is held. An early one if Jewish Home also exit (both parties seeking to win votes off Likud and take the next ruling coalition further to the right) and if not, outflank Jewish Home and win votes off them in 2020.

    Likud might however seek a coalition with the opposition Zionist Union until 2020, but that might risk both losing votes in 2020 to the extremists – and being left with no alternative but to continue down that path after the election.

    The idea of Netanyahu being part of a centrist coalition is sort of shocking, and reminds one of Sharon forming Kadima, but this is what happens when a society moves this far along path to victory by exercise of nationalist force – restraint is seen as “centrist” weakness.