Rachel Neuwirth
Rachel Neuwirth is an internationally recognized political commentator and analyst. She specializes in Middle Eastern Affairs with particular emphasis on Militant Islam and Israeli foreign policy.Just who is Ehud Olmert, the ex-mayor of Jerusalem? In June 2005, he actually made the following statement to the Israel Policy Forum in New York:
We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies, we want to be able to live in an entirely different environment of relations with our enemies.Imagine the encouragement given to Israel's implacable enemies!
His own family members are all politically on the far-left. His wife joined with Israeli leftists to harass Israeli soldiers guarding their country at border checkpoints. His daughter accused the Israeli Chief of Staff of being a murderer. One son is a draft dodger and the other son, after serving, now discourages other Israelis from serving. In a family interview on PBS's Frontline program, Olmert said that his family had influenced him to alter his views to be closer to theirs.
Ariel Sharon pledged no more withdrawals after the Gaza expulsion until there is a genuine change in Arab attitudes. Olmert claimed that Sharon, now comatose, wanted to proceed with unilateral withdrawals and that he, Olmert, intends to expel up to 80,000 Jews from the West Bank in return for nothing. Astonishingly Olmert even said he wanted to "give a lot and receive a little."
The new Kadima party was formed because many members of Sharon's Likud party opposed the insanity of undertaking withdrawals-for-nothing. Kadima comprised a coalition of the bribed and the coerced who could only muster 29 seats out of 120 in the Knesset. However, this was more than the next largest party and allowed Olmert to form a government coalition with a slender majority of 67 seats.
Olmert quickly moved to intimidate the opposition by demonstrating his dominance, with brutality towards fellow Jews who were people of faith. He ordered the attack on the small community of Amona, sending in Russian-speaking troops mounted on large, intimidating horses. The residents were not allowed to leave peacefully. Instead, the troops were instructed to beat them with clubs, causing many to be injured. Was Olmert even aware of the bitter irony of re-enacting the anti-Semitic brutality of Russian Kossaks towards Jews in Czarist times?
An Arutz Sheva report from August 10, 2006, during the Lebanon war, further illustrates both the insanity and the utter heartlessness of the Olmert regime and what it is capable of doing against fellow Jews.
IDF and Police Destroy Jewish Home in SamariaDuring the Lebanon war, Olmert said that one goal of the war was to prepare the way for a unilateral mass expulsion of Israelis from the West Bank. This pronouncement caused so much resentment that some Israeli soldiers refused to fight. Even after the disastrous consequences of the withdrawals from Gaza and southern Lebanon were evident, Olmert remained intent on repeating the same insanity in the West Bank, but on a far larger scale and despite widespread opposition.
by Ezra HaLevi
Despite the ongoing war in the north and call-up of reserves, 30 IDF soldiers, police officers and riot policemen were dispatched to destroy the foundations of a Jewish home in Samaria on Wednesday....
His proposed West Bank withdrawal would inflict immense suffering and costs in expelling some 80,000 Jews, and it would require a huge military effort. This would then expose Tel Aviv and the major population centers to rocket attack from only 10 miles away, making defense impossible and mass casualties certain. The densely populated coastal plain would be highly vulnerable to saturation attack by Katyusha rockets from the West Bank; such weapons are easy to launch, impossible to intercept and hard to defend against. Every sane observer, inside and outside of Israel, called this proposal suicidal. And yet, Olmert remained adamant on pursuing it.
Olmert rushed to accept a lopsided United Nations cease-fire resolution, harmful to Israel, in order to extricate himself from his failing war effort. The resolution failed to obtain the release of the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers, failed to assure the disarmament and removal of Hizbullah terrorists, and failed to assure the prompt insertion of outside troops with the ability and mission to disarm Hizbullah by force, if necessary.
At this writing, Hizbullah is rapidly rearming and reconstituting itself, in violation of the UN cease-fire resolution. After only one such Israeli action, Olmert then refused to order his air force to continue bombing these illegal arms shipments, despite a green light from the Bush Administration. This additional Olmert insanity, combined with the feeble UN Resolution 1701, ensures that the next war will begin sooner rather than later.
The UN is moving to obtain relief from many nations to assist and rebuild Lebanon. But there is no mention of any outside aid for Israeli victims of Hizbullah. George Bush is sending $230 million in US grant aid for Lebanon relief, but only loan guarantees for the Jewish victims. Israel will have to bear the full cost alone. (Past experience also raises the danger that US aid to Lebanon might also end up in the pockets of Hizbullah.)
Even before the war with Hizbullah, Olmert's public approval rating was only about 35% as a result of his poor reputation and his plans for massive expulsions of Israelis from the West Bank. During the war, his rating rose to about 70%, in part, because Israelis united behind a wartime leader to repel Islamic aggression. But with the cessation of fighting, Olmert's approval rating quickly fell to about 40%.
Olmert's conduct of the war showed that he was an incompetent amateur given to unsubstantiated boasting, which revealed his lack of honesty and credibility. His choice of defense minister was also a disaster. Amir Peretz, has no defense experience and even admitted knowing nothing about Hizbullah's fortifications. Olmert is trying to avoid an independent investigation of his conduct of the war - anything to retain power and evade responsibility.
Israel has always been America's strong and reliable ally, and the only reliable ally in the entire region. Anything that weakens Israel undermines American security, as well. In Israel's entire history, no prime minister has been as incompetent and posed so great a danger to his country as does Ehud Olmert.
We obviously need to dethrone Hizbullah's terrorist leader, Hassan Nasrallah, but there is also an urgent need to replace Ehud Olmert before he does any more damage to Israel and to American security. Perhaps, American Jewish leaders should lead the call for America to exert pressure on Israel to replace Olmert with someone more qualified and responsible.