Israeli Moderates’ Leader Lashes Out at Right-Wing PM

Israel's Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni, a supporter of the two-state-solution, had dinner with Madonna when the Material Girl was in Tel Aviv for a concert in August.

The Israeli opposition leader and chair of the Kadima party, Tzipi Livni, has finally found her voice – and it is ripping, biting, and slashing – in the words of the Israeli media. After keeping mostly mum all summer as the the hawks, settlers, and ultra-Orthodox politicians who make up the ruling coalition feuded with U.S. President Barack Obama, approved 900 more illegal settlement units in occupied Palestine, and helped prevent Special Envoy George Mitchell from getting the peace process started, she has begun to speak out.

In a speech to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, she let Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu have it:

“‘ …You have managed as prime minister to do nothing…. A government needs a vision, and your vision for the people of Israel is that we should not be ‘frierim’ (suckers). This is real Zionism.’

Livni went on to criticize the prime minister in terms of the negotiations with the Palestinians. ‘You have caused Israel to be in the corner and lost more and more strongholds of support and understanding every day, but who’s counting? You have managed to beat the president of the United States, Israel’s greatest friend, or at least this is the impression you and your people tried to convey after the meeting. You have managed to humiliate the only partner for a peace settlement Israel has. In short: We have beaten America, humiliated the Palestinians, isolated ourselves. Raise your head from the small politics and see what has happened, see that Israel is excommunicated. Today Turkey, yesterday Britain, before that Europe.’”

Other members of her party, Kadima – which supports the two-state solution – told the Jerusalem Post that they were looking to replace the far-right Yisraeli Beitienu party of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in the ruling coalition if Lieberman is indicted, as expected, in for white collar crimes, following on a police investigation on allegations of bribery and money laundering unveiled in August. If Lieberman is indicted and forced to resign, it “would enable Kadima to join the coalition in return for Lieberman’s plum ministerial position,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

In her speech, Livni, according to press reports, “…. went on to slam the uproar over the Goldstone Report. ‘In your first conduct opposite (US special envoy George) Mitchell it appeared that you could act wisely and leave Jerusalem out of the dispute. The Americans exerted pressure and the Goldstone Report was taken off the table. Wonderful. But then Israel, led by you, had to boast of its performance, humiliate the Palestinians. And what happened is that the report is now back on the table. If hurting the Palestinians and humiliating Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) gives you pleasure, this shows that you are still in the field of ‘there is no partner’ and have not moved to the real negotiations field.’”

Prime Minister Netanyahu has other problems this week besides his suddenly vocal opponent. The PM is dealing with the newly-reinvigorated interest of his Palestinian counterpart, Mr. Abbas, in having the United Nations Commission on Human Rights discuss the Goldstone report on last year’s Israeli military campaign in Gaza – currently scheduled for Thursday. From his address to the Knesset:

“This distorted report, written by this distorted committee, undermines Israel’s right to defend itself,” Netanyahu said. “This report encourages terrorism and threatens peace. Israel will not take risks for peace if it can’t defend itself.”

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