In praise of new policy

Despite criticism, Lieberman says precisely what his voters want him to say

Hanoch Daum
Israel Opinion

You must have noticed that media outlets in Israel have already decided that Avigdor Lieberman is a disaster for the State of Israel. This is a decisive verdict, whereby Lieberman will be causing us irreversible damage across the globe. The moment this verdict has been handed down, every development becomes commensurate with it. Every statement made by the foreign minister prompts huge headlines: “Lieberman is firing in all directions again,” “Lieberman is embarrassing Israel again,” or “The Americans are in shock.”


The fact that there is a huge constituency that voted for Lieberman precisely so that he will proceed to express his views, and the fact that the policy adopted by the previous government brought us nothing with the exception of two failed wars, is of no interest to the media. They decided that Lieberman is a disaster, and they start every day with a new declaration that appears to reinforce the prophecy: This disaster is indeed here.


So let’s get things straight here: Israel, for the first time in a very long time, is standing up for what it believes in. Israel, for the first time in a very long time, is also talking about the things that are important to it, and not only about the things that the world finds important.


The Netanyahu government has been in place for less than a month now, and we can already feel that the declarations against Iran have been stepped up a notch.


What did Livni achieve?
So indeed, the Israeli government did not rush to announce that it will be giving the Palestinians everything they want. And indeed, officials in the Obama administration may not like it too much – so what? Where exactly did former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s policy, which was flattering and obsequious, bring us? Did we fail to notice that some kind of peace broke out around here?


The Israeli media fans the flames of the self-righteous and concerned agenda, which is obsessively preoccupied with the question of what others think about us. However, the Israeli media fails to note that the Israeli public elected a new government and now expects this new government to present a new policy.


Or in other words: Why do we need to hold elections around here if every government that is ever formed will have to present the same political doctrine?
Thank you YNET News