Coalition talks are well under way and a new Israeli government is expected to be formed in the coming weeks. If initial predictions prove correct, then the next Israeli government is likely to look a lot like the Oslo Accords government of a decade ago. Then, too, extremist parties from both ends of the political spectrum bypassed their more moderate brethren and joined forces to surrender parts of the land of Israel. In the Oslo government, the ultra-religious Shas party and the ultra-secular Labor party united to pass the Oslo Accords and legitimize the Arab occupation.
At that time, the public was told that surrendering land would "bring peace". Those who opposed the plan were dismissed as "crazy" and pilloried in the press. Shas party spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, patiently explained that in order to "save lives" (and receive government funding) it was permissible to surrender parts of the land of Israel.
After Arab terror increased 1,000% and two thousand innocent Jewish lives were lost to the Oslo illusion, many people naturally expected things to change. No such luck. The failure of their policies has not dampened the spirits of the Left. Just the opposite. Instead of demanding peace for surrendering parts of the Jewish homeland, the Left today has gone even further, willing to surrender to the Hamas outright, without anything in return. Security experts, like former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevey, note that rewarding terrorism only increases it. But the politicians of Kadima know better than the experts.
The new government will look surprisingly like the old. The left-wing Kadima and far-left Labor party appear ready to form a government with the right-wing Shas and Agudat Israel parties. With post-Zionist and non-Zionist parties joining forces, what chance do the Zionist parties have? Not much. The centrist Likud and National Union parties are likely to remain outside the government, powerless.
Why do extremist parties prefer each other to their more moderate brothers who partially share their values? Perhaps it is because extremists ultimately need each other to survive. Without one side, the justification for the other side ceases to exits.
This time, however, the beneficiaries of Israeli weakness will not be the secular PLO, which was willing to pretend to support peace, but the fundamentalist Hamas, which has publicly sworn to destroy the Jewish State. Days after Israel retreated from Gaza, a Hamas government rose to power and terror rockets began to fall on Ashkelon - home to 100,000 residents and a large gas depot. Security experts say it is only a matter of time before a major tragedy occurs.
Kadima, however, is not worried about creating a Hamas terror state in the heart of Israel. All warnings of the danger of such moves are dismissed as "fear mongering". Sixty years ago, the leaders of European Jewry also brushed aside warnings that their world was about to collapse. Those who suggested that it was time to leave Europe for Israel were similarly dismissed as "prophets of doom".
Israeli extremist coalitions reflect partnerships between opposing extremist groups outside the country. Left-wing secular European governments continue to side with right-wing fundamentalist regimes like Iran in jointly condemning Israel in the United Nations. They also jointly fund the Hamas. World War II itself was possible only because the Fascists and Communists signed a non-aggression pact at the outset of the war, allowing the Nazis to conquer Europe without worrying about their eastern flank.
Many people ask, "How did Israel become the only country in the world willing to surrender its land? Why are the Jewish people no longer able to defend their basic rights?" The answer is the more power the extremists have, the more the country implodes on itself. The problem with moderates is, paradoxically, their moderation. The more vocal and demanding the moderates become, the more their message will be heard by the extremists. Only by strengthening the centrist parties, and taking power away from the secular and religious extremists, can Israel hope to survive and ultimately fulfill its destiny.
At that time, the public was told that surrendering land would "bring peace". Those who opposed the plan were dismissed as "crazy" and pilloried in the press. Shas party spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, patiently explained that in order to "save lives" (and receive government funding) it was permissible to surrender parts of the land of Israel.
After Arab terror increased 1,000% and two thousand innocent Jewish lives were lost to the Oslo illusion, many people naturally expected things to change. No such luck. The failure of their policies has not dampened the spirits of the Left. Just the opposite. Instead of demanding peace for surrendering parts of the Jewish homeland, the Left today has gone even further, willing to surrender to the Hamas outright, without anything in return. Security experts, like former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevey, note that rewarding terrorism only increases it. But the politicians of Kadima know better than the experts.
The new government will look surprisingly like the old. The left-wing Kadima and far-left Labor party appear ready to form a government with the right-wing Shas and Agudat Israel parties. With post-Zionist and non-Zionist parties joining forces, what chance do the Zionist parties have? Not much. The centrist Likud and National Union parties are likely to remain outside the government, powerless.
Why do extremist parties prefer each other to their more moderate brothers who partially share their values? Perhaps it is because extremists ultimately need each other to survive. Without one side, the justification for the other side ceases to exits.
This time, however, the beneficiaries of Israeli weakness will not be the secular PLO, which was willing to pretend to support peace, but the fundamentalist Hamas, which has publicly sworn to destroy the Jewish State. Days after Israel retreated from Gaza, a Hamas government rose to power and terror rockets began to fall on Ashkelon - home to 100,000 residents and a large gas depot. Security experts say it is only a matter of time before a major tragedy occurs.
Kadima, however, is not worried about creating a Hamas terror state in the heart of Israel. All warnings of the danger of such moves are dismissed as "fear mongering". Sixty years ago, the leaders of European Jewry also brushed aside warnings that their world was about to collapse. Those who suggested that it was time to leave Europe for Israel were similarly dismissed as "prophets of doom".
Israeli extremist coalitions reflect partnerships between opposing extremist groups outside the country. Left-wing secular European governments continue to side with right-wing fundamentalist regimes like Iran in jointly condemning Israel in the United Nations. They also jointly fund the Hamas. World War II itself was possible only because the Fascists and Communists signed a non-aggression pact at the outset of the war, allowing the Nazis to conquer Europe without worrying about their eastern flank.
Many people ask, "How did Israel become the only country in the world willing to surrender its land? Why are the Jewish people no longer able to defend their basic rights?" The answer is the more power the extremists have, the more the country implodes on itself. The problem with moderates is, paradoxically, their moderation. The more vocal and demanding the moderates become, the more their message will be heard by the extremists. Only by strengthening the centrist parties, and taking power away from the secular and religious extremists, can Israel hope to survive and ultimately fulfill its destiny.