Time to Move Along
It has been a while. I hope you did not forget about me. I started out the year thinking I would try to post twice a month. I ended up posting only twice this year. Part of the reason was I was busy but mostly because I was depressed due to some stuff I am dealing with. Good news is I am ok on the health front. Bad news is on the business side. I am optimistic that things will improve and I know that the majority of the world would trade places with me in a second with all my "problems" . That helps for perspective but not always for reality.
Someone wrote to me recently asking me to comment on the current political situation here in Israel.
Short answer is I am bummed out. For the first time since I have been here, I had a government whom I felt was representing me and the things I would like to see done. There was a lot of compromising between the coalition partners but with all their differences, they accomplished more in the year they were in power than the previous government did in the 5 years since I made Aliyah.
In the end, only 35% of the country supported the coalition.
I was in that 35%.
I guess coming from the USA, which is now so dysfunctional, I was proud of the fact that Israel was able to form a government that was the most inclusive since its founding. I don't consider myself a leftist, and most of the members of this government were definitely on the right, but it was nice to see Avigdor Lieberman ( my guy) working with an Islamist to try to get the country working again.
So we are headed for new elections, the 5th since we got here. I am really getting my money’s worth.
I am actually not sure who I will be voting for this time around. I think the person who showed the most dedication to our country was Yair Lapid.
Here is a guy that, although he was asked to form the government, let someone else be prime minster. He put his ego away for a minute and put the country first. Bibi could have formed a government if he was willing to do the same, but for Bibi, it is now all about staying out of jail.
Don't get me wrong. For most of his tenure, he was great.
That was then and this is now. He is willing to do anything so he can lead again and stay out of prison.
For Example
Israel has been trying to get on the USA visa waiver program for a long time. This will allow Israelis to travel freely to the USA without the need for a visa, which is getting harder to get. Everything is in place. Israel has to pass three laws to qualify. They concern the transferring of information on the Israelis who wish to go to the USA. All the other participants of this program provide this information.
When Bibi was prime minister, he pushed his US counterparts for Israel's inclusion.
This should be a done deal.
It is not
Bibi, is now refusing to vote in favor of the needed legal changes. He does not want to give the "opposition" a win before the election.
It doesn't matter that this would benefit all Israelis.
It does not benefit him. It may actually work against him.
So who comes first, Bibi, or the rest of the country?
Asked and answered.
Even the ambassador from the USA implored Bibi to put politics to the side for a moment ( which is a very unusual occurrence to begin with) and finalize the deal.
Nope. Not happening.
I think this is enough for today. I need to ease back into this.
Thank you for your patience
Shabbat Shalom