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Weekend Profile: Like Moshe Dayan and Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak thinks in terms that locate him somewhere between Sparta and Athens, between Masada and Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai (Ha'aretz)
"He has a world view anchored in a perception of history which can be summed up as follows: 'The entire story of Jewish sovereignty is the story of the struggle between fanaticism or extremism and pragmatism. The constant impetus for the political debate was whether we should fight, against all odds, the superpowers of the old world - Babylon and Egypt and the like - or find the golden mean, the practical and pragmatic path.' "
Hands On: Barak says he will hold defense portfolio for first two years (Ha'aretz)
"Among the experts Barak met with yesterday at his temporary headquarters at the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv was former Labor Party MK and minister Moshe Shahal, who was instrumental in creating the machinery of the national unity governments of 1984 and 1988."
How Barak Beat Bibi: Top Likud pol leaked secrets to Barak (Ha'aretz)
"Labor MK Dalia Itzik served as One Israel's 'handler' for a senior Likud politician who leaked information almost nightly during the three-week TV advertising campaign about how the Likud planned to attack One Israel leader Ehud Barak in the next day's ads."
Doves to Lie with Wounded Hawks? One Israel prefers Likud to Shas (Ha'aretz)
"One Israel sources cite four reasons to keep Shas out: The Shas leadership's scorn for the court system; Drying up the government funding that enabled Shas to expand to nearly 20 percent of the electorate; Co-opting the Likud would make it difficult for the smaller party to run against One Israel in the future; Barak voters won't accept a government that includes Shas but not Meretz, if Meretz decides to stay out of the government because of Shas."
Sephardi Peace Guardians? Shas wants revival of Rabin gov't (Ha'aretz)
"Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of Shas, hopes to see his party serving as a senior partner in Ehud Barak's coalition for peace. 'Thine own friend and thy father's friend forsake not,' he quoted yesterday from the Book of Proverbs (27.10). 'Barak sees himself as the ideological son and heir of the late Yitzhak Rabin. We in Shas were Rabin's friends and partners.'Despite this stress on moderation, Rabbi Yosef insists that Deri was indeed "innocent," according to the halacha because his conviction rested mainly on the evidence of one state's witness."
Shas Analysis: Shahar Ilan on the prospect of Shas in the coalition (Ha'aretz)
"Shas leaders have already managed to completely repress the fact that, just two days ago, they were waging a fervent battle against Barak under the slogan "Shas-Netanyahu, Netanyahu-Shas." Now they are practically throwing themselves at Barak, making a point of repeatedly emphasizing that 'We are the most reasonable and convenient partner. Unlike the Likud, we won't keep thrusting sticks into the wheels of the peace process.'...It ought to be remembered that, to this day, Aryeh Deri asks himself whether his court conviction is a divine punishment meted out to him as a penalty for having entered into the government in 1992 against the express instructions of Degel Ha'Torah mentor Rabbi Eliezer Menachem Schach...
...If Shas were to run both the Labor and Housing Ministries, that would mean that nearly the entire system of social benefits in Israel would be in its hands. It's hard to see how that meshes with Barak's declared intention to reapportion the country's financial resources... "
Opining for Shas (1): Go ahead, bring Shas in from the cold (Ha'aretz)
"Bringing Shas into power while simultaneously changing the social fabric that allows it to be a cyclical intermediary between government and its voters is a complicated move. If somebody can do it, it is Ehud Barak"
Opining Against Shas: Six tips for the new prime minister (Ha'aretz)
"If your choice is between Likud without Bibi and Shas without Deri, Likud is better. If your aim is to rebuild norms of government which have gone to rack and ruin, you cannot link up with a party whose greatest victory was achieved through slogans proclaiming its refusal to recognize the rule of law. Shas must be taken off the government's teats and be shown, for the first time, what life is like on the outside. There is nothing like being in the opposition for purifying the soul."
Opining for Shas (2): Time for One-and-a-half Israel (Ha'aretz)
"Does Meretz want to punish those who voted for Shas because they sent their children to Shas schools after the state failed to give them similar support? Wouldn't it be better to supply Shas voters with good state-run services, and only afterward break their connection with the party?"
Dropping Shoes (1) Deri to quit Knesset (JPost)
"Convicted in March of taking bribes during his tenure as Interior Ministry director-general and then as interior minister, Deri has been under intense pressure to leave politics."
Dropping Shoes (2) Begin quits political life
"Declaring that he was a "public emissary without a public," MK Benny Begin, who led the far-right National Union to a very disappointing showing in this week's election, announced yesterday that he was leaving the Knesset and public life altogether.Ironically, Begin's resignation was lamented by his ideological foes and welcomed by his political allies. "
Dropping Shoes (3) Hanegbi: I'm sorry about Barak remark
"Justice Minister Tzahi Hanegbi yesterday apologized for his use of the phrase Ehud barah (Ehud fled) to attack One Israel leader and former chief of General Staff Ehud Barak from the Knesset podium some two years ago. Hanegbi said that, if the Likud joins the Barak government, he would not serve as a minister. "I don't think it is appropriate after the harm I caused him to serve under him in a government," Hanegbi said."
Dropping Shoes (4) Shoval quits as envoy to US (JPost)
" Ambassador Zalman Shoval announced his resignation yesterday, a mere 10 months after arriving here for his second term."
Dropping Shoes (5)Likud mired in debt
Final Knesset Election Results | ||
| Party |
New Knesset |
Outgoing Knesset |
| One Israel | 26 | 34 |
| Meretz | 10 | 9 |
| Shinui | 6 | 0 |
| One People | 2 | 0 |
| Secular Left | 44 | 43 |
| Center Party | 6 | 0 |
| Israel BAliyah | 6 | 7 |
| Pnina Rosenblum | 0 | 0 |
| Pensioners | 0 | 0 |
| Secular Center | 12 | 7 |
| Secular center-left | 55 | 50 |
| Likud | 19 | 32 |
| National Union (Benny Begin) |
4 | 2 |
| National Religious Party | 5 | 9 |
| Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beteinu | 4 | |
| Right | 32 | 53 |
| Shas | 17 | 10 |
| United Torah Judaism | 5 | 4 |
| Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) | 22 | 14 |
| Daraushe | 5 | 4 |
| Hadash | 3 | 5 |
| Balad | 2 | 2 |
| Arab parties | 10 | 11 |
| Total | 120 | |
Back to Pluralism: Wall-to-wall Judaism - will it run into a brick wall? (Ha'aretz)
In secret, two months ago, the first class of the Joint Conversion Institute was launched, to facilitate the process for converts. High hopes - but how will it work out in reality?
Agribusiness Strikes Again: Pollen From Genetically Altered Corn Threatens Monarch Butterfly, Study Finds (NYTimes)
"This season the new pest-resistant corn, introduced by seed companies just three years ago, is being planted on an estimated 10 million to 20 million acres out of an 80-million-acre corn crop nationwide. Known as Bt corn, it carries a gene derived from a bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, that produces the Bt toxin, killing corn borer pests that try to eat the plant. "
Big Brother is Listening Report: U.S. Uses Key Escrow To Steal Secrets (TechWeb)
"European plans for controlling encryption software are nothing to do with law enforcement and everything to do with U.S. industrial espionage, according to a report released by the European Parliament on Friday.The report offered evidence that a leading U.S. Internet and telecommunications company had contracted with the NSA to develop software to capture Internet data of interest, and that deals had been struck with Microsoft, Lotus, and Netscape to alter their products for foreign use. "
Or maybe he isn't? The National Security Agency has its ear to the world, but doesn't listen to everyone at once. (Wired News)
One Russian at a Time: One town's shift shows why Israelis voted for change. (Salon)
"Monday was a big day for Jacob Zigelboim. After working as a vacuum-cleaner salesman for several years, he was busily preparing to open his own state-of-the-art video shop. And after supporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for three years, he decided to vote for his opponent, Ehud Barak."
Russian Big Time: How Natan Sharansky Made a Difference (Ha'aretz)
Ephraim Sneh, who ran the campaign for One Israel in the Russian community, says, "Aryeh Deri did for the Russians what Zionism did for the Palestinians. It focused their self-definition and the need to decide where they belong. They had to decide what kind of country they want - and what kind they don't want."
Bad Boy Bibi: PM scolded for pirate radio show interviews (Ha'aretz)
"The chair of the Central Election Committee (CEC) threatened to issue an injunction against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday to prevent him from making additional campaign interviews on pirate radio stations. Election law prohibits such radio or television appearances on election day."
Who is Ehud Barak? The day Barak learned to listen (Ha'aretz)
"However, as Election Day drew near, he rebuilt his self-confidence and, overcoming his instinctive reactions, learned how to listen....The critical moment in this election campaign - after Barak abandoned the illusion that he could win thousands of ultra-Orthodox votes - was his declaration that he would not negotiate with Aryeh Deri after the elections.
His professional advisers told him to identify the broadest target population he could hope to reach and to give up on the ultra-Orthodox. He learned that many religious-Zionist Jews shared the secular abhorrence of ultra-Orthodox blackmail tactics and believed he would keep Beit El and Ofra within the context of the final settlement agreement. "
Hezbullah Blasts for Barak: Lebanese guerrillas fire into Israel
The New Math: What will be the shape of Israel's next Knesset?
The secular left and center, which under Rabin was unable to command a Knesset majority, now seems posed to form a governing coalition. If the Likud or the religious parties seek to join a national unity government, Barak will be able to set the terms.
A New Era? The tie that was broken (JPost)
"The Right's collective flop carries with it immediate, far-reaching ideological and policy implications. It brought Netanyahu down over Wye, but it ended up cutting its nose to spite its face."
Shas? (A Ha'aretz trilogy)
Ends of Odds: The Green Leaf party failed to make the 2% cutoff required to enter the Knesset -- but still registered 1% of the Israeli electorate behind its platform of marijuana Legalization.
Yo, Minister? Meet the slew of new MKs in the 15th Knesset
Left Hand Watches Right: Kibbutz observers prevent sleight of hand in Bnei Brak - and vice-versa
Ori Levy from Kibbutz Ruhama was surprised by the polite reception he received in Bnei Brak yesterday. "I thought we'd encounter much more hostility," he said. "The guys were really all right - there was a sporting atmosphere."
D'Amato vs. Schumer Redux? Who won in front of the cameras? (Calev Ben-David, JPost)
Last Night's TV Barak's final appeal trumps Bibi (Calev Ben-David, JPost)
" The Baba Sali's grandson, Rabbi Yehiye Turgeman, was again seen in a heart-to-heart chant with the tomb containing his late grandfather's remains for the benefit of UTJ.Shas countered with a new ad that featured several of the Baba Sali's offspring, including son and presumed heir Baba Baruch, gathered around the same tomb insisting that the late, great Moroccan-born rabbinical sage would in fact be a Shas supporter if he were alive today.
(The Baba Sali himself, it should be noted, has so far failed to issue a statement himself on the matter from beyond the grave.)"
My Son, the Spin Doctor: Sound Bites Over Jerusalem The New York Times Magazine on the Arthur Finkelstein vs. James Carville competition; the AP concisely checks in with U.S. Campaign Tactics Helping Barak
Yudel's Line: No question who wins the battle of the Web sites: The Likud offers animated stickers, Real Audio jingles, and 20 campaign videos. Barak's Labor Party offers none of that. How on earth does Barak expect to win the vote of us Yuppie Internet professionals abroad?
Black Hat Backlash? A quickie YudeLine analysis
For years, Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin would inaugurate Labor's election season by paying obeisance to the Hasidic courts, kipahs perched awkwardly on their heads. This year, Barak is standing back and may win on that account.Yes, Netanyahu will surely get 105% of the Orthodox vote, but their embrace threatens his support among the Russian immigrants who make up at least 10% of the electorate. Nathan Sharansky's Yisrael b'Aliyah party has made its top issue wresting control of the Interior Ministry from the Orthodox Sephardi Torah Guardians (Shas) Party. At stake is control of who is an immigrant and who is a citizen. Shas has used its power to keep the Jewish population "pure" and Orthodox (and perhaps, see below, increase their voter turnout.) Loathe to alienate Shas, Netanyahu has been hemorrhaging Russians.
But's that's not all the damage Shas has wrought: Shas leader Aryeh Deri's ongoing campaign against the Israeli court system, which recently convicted him of bribery, has been hurting Bibi among the secular Likud voters. So even as Barak has been gaining in the polls, so has been the renewed Shinui Party, which recruited the Israeli John McLaughlin, talk-show host Tommy Lapid, to head its slate and help it wave the anti-haredi flag.
It seems that Netanyahu's efforts to polarize the country against the Ashkenazi "elites" has failed; instead, he's polarized the country against the haredim. And for him, that just might be a losing game.
Shinui: A Government without haredim - the secular movement
Not One, Not Two Shas representative arrested in fake ID scam
Here's the skinny, since the Post doesn't do too great a job of summarizing Friday's Yedioth scoop: The Shas representative in Holon was caught on camera offering to provide a "replacement" id card, no questions asked, for a reporter posing as a would-be Shas voter. Shas -- which controls the Interior Ministry -- claims this was purely a local initiative.Yudel's Line:When G. K. Chesterton proudly defined orthodoxy as the religion that gives the dead a vote, do you think this is what he had in mind?
What's Thine is Mine: Court tells Shas to stop the music
"The Tel Aviv District Court issued an injunction on Friday prohibiting Shas from using two songs composed by the Ethnix rock band and another song written by Aris San. The request for the court order was submitted by Ze'ev Nehama and Tamir Kalisky of Ethnix, in conjunction with the Israeli association of music composers and publishers. They claimed that the unauthorized use of their music by Shas during the election campaign had caused them irreparable damage."
Barak will give -- Likud will guard
Bibi Bash (1) : A new, strained relationship (Ze'ev Schiff, Ha'aretz)
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done one thing that is unforgivable: He has undermined our relationship with the United States. "
Bibi Bash (2) : As past and present prove, this prime minister has neither the judgment nor the conscience that guides leaders in crucial issues. (Yoel Marcus, Ha'aretz)
Bibi Bash (3) : PM's office caught fibbing about his helicopter trips (Ha'aretz)
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau gave false information to Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein and Central Elections Commission officials about the Shin Bet requiring the premier to use army helicopters throughout his re-election campaign."
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