Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has taken yet another step to the left - arousing calls for his resignation in the process. In an interview with Yediot Acharonot today, Olmert all but agreed that the only differences between his approach and that of the left-wing are that it would "sear his heart" to give up parts of the Land of Israel, and that he would not give up the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem. In short, the senior Likud government minister is calling for a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from almost of all of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
Olmert, who served as mayor of Jerusalem for nearly a decade until earlier this year, explained his concern that the Palestinian Authority will never reach an agreement with Israel, and that the end result will be more terrorism and increasing demands for a bi-national state - "which will mean that we have lost everything." He said he prefers a Jewish state - i.e., one with a population that is 80% Jewish - on less land, and that this would mean uprooting almost all of the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Olmert proposes that Israel unilaterally determine its borders, build a wall there, and withdraw its forces and population to the other side. He acknowledges that a Palestinian state will eventually arise on the other side of his wall, "but we will not allow it to harm our security. We won't allow it to have tanks, for instance." He admitted that without an agreement, the Arabs will continue to dream of returning to Haifa and Jaffa, "but in this way we make it harder for that dream to be fulfilled."
Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin, who, like Olmert, grew up in an atmosphere of love for the entire Land of Israel, was disgusted when he heard Olmert say similar things earlier this week at the memorial ceremony for David Ben-Gurion. Rivlin said afterwards that Olmert reminds him of the absolute turnabout of his hareidi-turned-secular cousins: "When they became not religious, they went all the way - not only driving on the Sabbath, but also eating pig."
Rivlin said that Olmert is scheming to win the leadership of the Likud Party against Binyamin Netanyahu: "Olmert will tell the party members that he knows that his positions are not acceptable to them, but that most of the public agrees with him. Therefore, he'll say, 'if you want 19 Knesset seats [as they received in the 1999 elections under Netanyahu], go with Bibi. But if you want 38 [as they received in the last election with Sharon running for PM], then choose me.'" Olmert, for his part, dismissed such conjectures, saying that the issue was too heart-rending for him to turn it into mere political machinations.
The Yesha Council [of Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza] called this morning for Prime Minister Sharon to immediately fire Olmert, saying his words are dangerous. Such a dismissal is unlikely to happen, however, as not only is Olmert Sharon's political ally, but Sharon himself has spoken of "painful concessions" and a Palestinian state on many occasions. Council spokesmen say that Olmert's concern for increasing terrorism is admirable, but "his actions and words themselves lead, unintentionally, to increased terrorism."
Olmert, who served as mayor of Jerusalem for nearly a decade until earlier this year, explained his concern that the Palestinian Authority will never reach an agreement with Israel, and that the end result will be more terrorism and increasing demands for a bi-national state - "which will mean that we have lost everything." He said he prefers a Jewish state - i.e., one with a population that is 80% Jewish - on less land, and that this would mean uprooting almost all of the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Olmert proposes that Israel unilaterally determine its borders, build a wall there, and withdraw its forces and population to the other side. He acknowledges that a Palestinian state will eventually arise on the other side of his wall, "but we will not allow it to harm our security. We won't allow it to have tanks, for instance." He admitted that without an agreement, the Arabs will continue to dream of returning to Haifa and Jaffa, "but in this way we make it harder for that dream to be fulfilled."
Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin, who, like Olmert, grew up in an atmosphere of love for the entire Land of Israel, was disgusted when he heard Olmert say similar things earlier this week at the memorial ceremony for David Ben-Gurion. Rivlin said afterwards that Olmert reminds him of the absolute turnabout of his hareidi-turned-secular cousins: "When they became not religious, they went all the way - not only driving on the Sabbath, but also eating pig."
Rivlin said that Olmert is scheming to win the leadership of the Likud Party against Binyamin Netanyahu: "Olmert will tell the party members that he knows that his positions are not acceptable to them, but that most of the public agrees with him. Therefore, he'll say, 'if you want 19 Knesset seats [as they received in the 1999 elections under Netanyahu], go with Bibi. But if you want 38 [as they received in the last election with Sharon running for PM], then choose me.'" Olmert, for his part, dismissed such conjectures, saying that the issue was too heart-rending for him to turn it into mere political machinations.
The Yesha Council [of Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza] called this morning for Prime Minister Sharon to immediately fire Olmert, saying his words are dangerous. Such a dismissal is unlikely to happen, however, as not only is Olmert Sharon's political ally, but Sharon himself has spoken of "painful concessions" and a Palestinian state on many occasions. Council spokesmen say that Olmert's concern for increasing terrorism is admirable, but "his actions and words themselves lead, unintentionally, to increased terrorism."