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by Batya Medad
Batya Medad made aliya from New York to Israel in 1970 and has been living in Shiloh since 1981. Recently she began organizing women's visits to Tel Shiloh for Psalms and prayers. (For more information, please email her.) Batya is a newspaper and magazine columnist, a veteran jblogger and recently stopped EFL teaching. She's also a wife, mother, grandmother, photographer and HolyLand hitchhiker, always seeing things from her own very unique perspective. For more of Batya's writings and photos, check out:
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Shevat 21, 5769, 2/15/2009
Two Dimentional, Too Inaccurate
As much as I love the Jerusalem Post's Ruthie Blum Leibowitz, she missed the biggest mistake in the media coverage of last week's Israeli elections. All the talk in the media has been of Right and Left, even though the two largest parties, Kadima and Likud consider themselves Centrist.
The tragic irony of it all is that the public is mostly Left or Right. Center is a cop-out. In simple math that means: Bibi + Tsippi = no principles other than holding onto their seats At the recent Jerusalem Conference, we heard Left wing Ofer-Peenes complaining about the "sixty year olds" going into politics after retiring from their careers. He insisted that politics is a career in itself, and that just because someone is a specialist in another field doesn't mean that he should parachute into high office at the expense of career-politicians. Politicians who specialize in knowing how to get elected don't know bubkes about the real world. Too bad that Bibi who does know history and economics has traded in that knowledge for election platitudes. Pleasing the media and the world will only backfire. The world doesn't care what happens to Israel, just like the world didn't care when the Nazis were murdering the six million Jews in Europe. Look at how the UN votes. We have to think of ourselves first, and that's it. The Israeli Centrist politicians will only make things worse. They don't provide leadership. They just follow dangerous agendas. |
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Shevat 19, 5769, 2/13/2009
Chess or Poker?It's almost Shabbat and I don't have much time. It seems like the entire world is in suspense, wondering which Israeli party leader will succeed in forming a coalition. Bibi, Tsippi or Lieberman? Lieberman is playing a straight forward chess game. He made his move, spoke to the other two, heard their offers and stated his conditions. Then he went on vacation, hoping they would stew and come back with bigger and better offers. Everyone can see that.
But maybe Bibi and Tsippi are playing a different game. They don't seem to be panicky, not at all.
Maybe they're playing poker, and maybe they have a plan of their own. Rumors are flying that they did the math I did. If they make a deal, they don't need all that much help to form a government. Labor and NRP are ripe for the taking. Both veteran Israeli parties are struggling to survive. NRP's numbers are so borderline that they probably won't make it into the next election's Knesset unless it unites with a strong party. Just some food for thought... Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach May you have a peaceful and blessed Shabbat. |
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Shevat 17, 5769, 2/11/2009
If Only Bibi Had Listened To Me...... Bibi would have won. I wasn't really surprised by Bibi's failure to win big. Honestly, how many people like raw, unflavored tofu? How much satisfaction does one get from eating the bagel's hole? Bibi ran circles rather than giving the public solutions to our many problems. Avigdor Lieberman read the polls correctly. The people want the Right answers, not diplomatic plattitudes. The Israeli media electioneered consistently for Tsippi, trying to show her as fun, human and the person "everyone" really wanted. So the confirmed conformists voted for her instead of putting the Retirees back to work in the Knesset. Many of us who wanted straight, clear answers and principles voted for Ichud Le'umi. Of course, it didn't get the publicity, nor have a leader with the power and charisma of Lieberman. Election Day was stormy. We braved the weather and voted, thankful for every drop of rain.
Now we must pray that those elected will be gifted with wisdom, G-d willing. |
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Shevat 15, 5769, 2/9/2009
In Just Twenty-Four Hours...In twenty-four hours, polls, the real thing, will open in Israel, and our elections will begin. I don't remember where, but recently I saw a statement that every Israeli Prime Minister has left either in disgrace or unwillingly or with his/her reputation in tatters. I don't know if it's totally true, but it's pretty close. What's most amazing is the short memory of the Israeli Public. I can't comprehend how Ehud Barak could be back in the running as head of the Labor Party. His "reign of terror" was totally unprecedented. Bibi left because the press hounded him, and he was "too green" as party leader (not ecology/reefer green) and didn't have his party under his control. Eshkol was too "grey" and boring, though he did a good job with the Six Days War. I had been wondering how I'd describe my state of mind, when I came across an interesting meme on The Jewish Side. I have to finish sentences, and that's how I'll pre-election post on the blog.
If you're willing, please link back to this post and do the meme. Thanks G-d willing, the Israeli electorate will be gifted with wisdom. |
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Shevat 14, 5769, 2/8/2009
If Law is Law...What If We Announced We Wouldn't Let Arabs Or Left Wing Observe Our Voting?Israel's Attorney General Mazzuz, Israel's head legal honcho, has been trying to prevent Baruch Marzel from heading the polling station in Umm el-Fahm. Bauch Hashem, he failed. G-d willing, more honest Jews from strong Zionists parties, like the National Union, Ichud Le'umi, will take the challenge, our civil responsibility and go to the more difficult polling stations. Any polling station, which refuses them admittance, must be closed by the police, and the citizens shouldn't be able to vote. Mazzuz should have made an announcement like that, instead of trying to keep Marzel out. Law is Law, and fair is fair. Can you imagine if we dared keep out those we don't like? We be condemned. Our polling station would be closed and we'd be disenfranchised. It's that simple. |