Essay – Page 15 – Author Shlomi Harif

Open Mayonnaise Sandwich

shlomi on January 4, 2006

If Ariel Sharon was the crusty, stiff toast, Olmert is the oily mayo of Israeli politics. Unlike all his predecessors in the seat of power, his claim to fame in Israel lies in being placed in Israel’s Knesset, a list-based, representative parliment, at the tender age of 28 in 1973. Too young to have street creds in Israel’s War of Independence (he was born in 1945), he cut his teeth in the Israeli army so unobtrusively it doesn’t register. Between wars and demobed, he got his law degree and played politics to be placed sufficiently high on a party list that, in the elctions that brought in the incompetent leadership that sealed the fate of Israel and its entry into the Yom Kippur War in October, 1973.

Like a leech, he stuck it out, taking a break from national government, and adding to his patronage powers, by becoming mayor of Jerusalem after the departure of much beloved, and far more competent, Teddy Kollek. He was primarily responsible for the tilting of the delicate balance of powers between Jews and gentiles, and between Jewish secularists and the religious sects and groups.

He’s consistently voted against withdrawal from lands, until he was given Netanyahu’s Finance Ministry after the latter resigned to set himself up to challenge Sharon. He is under current criminal investigation for bribe-taking and lining his pockets, and defected from the Likud party, where he had invested his entire political career, to follow fellow suspect, Sharon, to the Kadima kleptocratic machine.

And now, he is the man of State. I’m starting to regret Sharon’s probable departure from politics.

Ticking Bomb

shlomi on January 4, 2006

At this writing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lies on the cusp of life and death, both literally as well as politically.

Frankly, as someone who lost a father to a brain aneurysm, I know how this can impact the power, personality and abilities of a person. For the leader of a country, it’s safe to say that this is the end of Sharon the head of state.

The bomb in his head has exploded, and every person in the Middle East has a headache, whether they know it or not. Sharon, like Arafat, has created his own orphan dynasty. Kadima is a party without history, composed of factions thrown together by the scent of money, with a goal that seems to be monomaniacally focused on disengagement and detachment while looting money for personal or private political or religious ends.

The second ticking bomb is literally the continuation of the State of Israel. Not from enemies from without: the IDF can hold its own. It’s how our undefended: the schools, the hospitals, the poor, the hungry, the disaffected can protect themselves from what surely will be a free-for-all to create a new political order in Israel.

This danger point is an opportunity for Israelis to take stock in where they are. Which parties, not people, have the good of the people in mind. This might be a time for Labor and the Likud to come together and run the government in association with whatever is left of Kadima, after it suffers its inevitable defections back to more suddenly-enticing parties.

Or Israel can continue to stumble down the path to internal social destruction in the name of national security, unity and religious oppression.

Refu’ah Shlemah to the Prime Minister.

A Refreshing Naivete

shlomi on December 31, 2005

Hats off to Kate Burton for continuing to focus her efforts, even after being kidnapped by terrorists, on working to improve the Palestinian lot. On the cynical side, I’m scratching my head (now that the hat’s doffed) for her thinking that having her parents over was even remotely a good idea, or that trying to convince ideological fanatics of the concepts of peace was an attainable goal. Cute. Kind of like trying to teach a budgie maths.

Seriously, though, Kate is pointing up something that Israel’s Peace Now and the late Faisal Hussieni thought was a goal: do things simply, directly and peacefully to bring the Palestinian people, not their evil terrorist progeny, to a place where peace has meaning. It’s a task for the ages, but without the forerunners of the spring of wisdom in the form of naive workers like Kate, it will never come to pass.

I only pray that Kate will be alive to see the fruits of her labor.

SSDY (Same Stuff, Different Year) — Almost

shlomi on December 31, 2005

First off, a happy and productive new year to all. This is year two of the blog, and, owing to feedback and posting interests, I’ve split my ‘Pulse’ blog into three:

The Pulse, discussions regarding politics and personal life,
HaDofeq, Middle Eastern-related political and personal posts, and
The Ping, technical and technological posts

I’ll be doing political, social and personal commentaries on this blog. So, without further delay, let’s start the New Year off with a list of things recently realized:

Getting out of Iraq is akin to stepping out of a crocodile’s mouth — after he’s shut it. Elections only prove that ink works on fingers in that part of the world. But don’t take my word for it…
If they’re not troops, and it’s electronic, I guess Posse Comitatus doesn’t count and we can chase after those sneaky reporters instead of worrying about the silly NSA cuties.
So long as your spouse doesn’t get paid to do nothing, a politician’s spouse can be paid any amount so long as he or she is not absolutely immobile
Indians really are givers, and the White Man hasn’t lost his touch at taking
We seem to be helping al Qaida along in its mission to extend it’s terror reach
We’re investigating the former House Majority Leader DeLay (check this out!) and current Senate Majority Leader Frist for financial improprieties, and investigators will be working in 2006 in a target-rich environment as they try and tabulate just how much bribery and graft has gone on since our nation’s checks and balances were thrown off kilter.
The laws enacted by an outraged Congress after Watergate have been broken by a President who can’t be bothered follow the laws (after all, we’re trying to catch terrorist law-breakers!). Watch the US ignore the protests from the judicial bench!
The Average American, with crushing credit card debt and no appreciable rise in their standard of living is no better off now than before Bush and his criminal cronies took power. We are sinking into debt at a rate that boggles the imagination; check out these graphs:

To the left is a graph of the US national debt (up-to-date).

The chart to the right is a drilldown of the national debt for the year 2000, the year the Bush administration stole into office.

I have a cure for any despondency this entry may have caused you: talk to your neighbors, co-workers and friends about the issues. Don’t let this administration turn away yet another fiasco into more looting opportunities. Refute, respond and admonish people spreading falsehoods. And most of all, don’t give up; the mid-term elections are coming, and many current “peoples’ representatives” in Washington are going to need to file change-of-address forms before the year is out.

This is a year of action, and of change. Don’t lose hope.

An important footnote: I’m honored to be able to provide an occasional cartoon commentary as drawn by the incomparable Richard Bartholomew, whose rendition of the NSA appears in this blog. He has a web site with additional cartoons, and a blog.