Sleight of Hand
I haven't written in a while. It is easy to be angry and comment on stupidity but lately things are getting too real to rant on or make fun of. So many people here are upset with the government and there is nothing anyone can do. There used to be a time when the leaders of Israel's main concern was the Jewish People.
Now I am not so sure ( more on that in a min.)
and just when you thought that perhaps even Bibi's supporters have grown tired of him, he does it again
The great Bibini pulled another rabbit out of his hat and announced full normalization with a Gulf state. The U.A.E. will be the first non-boardering Arab state to have full diplomatic relations with Israel. With this one move Bibi has shown that he is still the master of the game.
The news in Israel, that is in English, is not gushing about this and I don't understand the Hebrew but I can tell you it is a big deal in the UK and France ( I watch their English news channels). Everyone recognizes that both the American President and Bibi will both get a lot of brownie points for this.
For Trump, he was able to pull off what no other American President has been able to, which is to facilitate peace between Israel and a nonboardering Arab State.
The UAE said they entered into this deal on the condition that Israel forgo its plans of annexation of parts of the west bank. They claim they saved the two state solution and helped the Palestinians big time. What they really got was the jump on all the other gulf states for being able to partner , in the open, on all the things that are beneficial to both parties such as agriculture , hi-tech and energy.
The Palestinians are not happy . They immediately rejected it ( surprise). That is because they understand what this really means Their main bargaining chip, normalization with the Arab world in exchange for peace, is now gone
This also shows Bibi's diplomatic genius. This is what he gets out this deal.
He delivered a major diplomatic victory, in the midst of a meltdown of the government that he instigated and ongoing criminal prosecution, reminding people why he has been Prime Minister for the last 20+ years
He got out of having to go through with the promised annexation which he realized was not really supported by most citizens, military leaders and the intelligence organizations
He has once again shown the Palestinians that history is moving on with out them. I saw the foreign minister of the UAE say, on Sky TV, that the Palestinians, will never get what they were offered 20 years ago. Time is passing them by.
Even Thomas Friedman, not a fan of Trump, acknowledged the great accomplishment that the Trump administration and specifically Jared Kushner, pulled off in his column in the NYT today.
Besides the Palestinians , there are other people who are not happy.
The Iranians and Turks have condemned the deal as an abandonment of the Palestinians and Jerusalem. The settlers are upset ( some of them) that the annexation they were promised , is on hold and some on the left here are upset as they believe that this will make a peace treaty with the Palestinians more unlikely. They may be right.
I also like how some in the USA are saying that the foundations for all of this were laid during the Obama/Biden administration.
Please
This was announced now precisly because neither Bibi or the Gulf Arabs want Biden to win. They remember what it was like the last time around and would prefer to pass on seeing Iran getting back into Washington's good graces, which Biden has promised to do.
It was interesting watching Biden praise the deal while not acknowledging who pulled it off. I love watching political speak.
Of course only time will tell what the actual outcome of this will be. I am waiting to see the reaction on the "Arab Street". If it is simaler to when the USA moved it's embassy to Jerusalem , expect Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to sign up next and perhaps some of them before the american election.
I want to end where I started this post. I have written most of my blogs yelling at the stupidity and selfishness of the different segments of Israeli society and particularly the Haredim. So it was nice to see that even they are now saying that Bibi is pulling the country down. The truth is I am not against anyone as much as I am disappointed with how we treat each other here and i stongly believe that if you talk the talk you should walk the walk.
I am not a naive person and did not expect paradise but as I have said before, if there is no war with an exterior enemy, we have no problem killing our selves.
I have been told that people enjoy reading this blog. When I don't write for a while people ask me to and that makes me think that I am a good and interesting writer. Today I read an article that reminded me that I am not. It was about a freshman Knesset member, Tehila Freidman from Blue and White, who gave her introductory speech int the Knesset yesterday.
It brought tears to my eyes
The YouTube , which is in Hebrew, has been viewed by over 1 million people. She has said everything that I feel , and that I want to believe many Israeli's feel, in a way that I never could. I am looking forward to the day when she is running the country. You can read an English translation of what she said in the times of Israel (https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-is-fragile-flammable-freshman-mk-warns-in-speech-watched-by-millions/) It is a must read.
Although I will never be as articulate as Ms. Friedman , I will continue to write this blog.
It is one of the things keeping me sane