Israel's Fading Leftists

Earlier this week, I reported that a group of 'intellectuals' planned to sign a call for a 'Palestinian state' in the same hall in Tel Aviv in which Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence was signed. While I made plain in that post that I disagreed with them, I did not give you any indication of how many other Israelis did.

The 'signing' took place on Thursday, and the JPost reports that 'dozens' of Israelis came out to protest. We have no indication of whether the protesters exceeded the signers and their supporters, but it is possible that they did. Even in Tel Aviv, which is the last remaining bastion of the Left. But in an editorial today, the Post ties that event in Tel Aviv to the Left's deeply declining popularity in Israel.

At this writing that editorial is not yet online (I read it in the paper edition). I will try to post a link to it once it is online. But here are some key facts you need to know:

1. A survey taken in March shows that if elections were held today, the Right wing parties (including the ultra-Orthodox parties) would receive 71 seats in the Knesset, compared with 39 for the Left. In the current Knesset, it's 65-45. The other 10 seats are held by Arab parties. That means that more than two thirds of Israeli Jews identify themselves as Right.

2. If elections were held today, Defense Minister Ehud Barak's breakoff party from Labor, which is called the Independence party, would not win a single seat in the Knesset. Technically, that doesn't mean that he couldn't be Defense Minister. Practically, it makes it very unlikely. Given that Barak is blocking construction in Judea and Samaria, this could actually give the Right an incentive to bring the government down if Netanyahu says something they don't like in Washington.

3. Most Israelis disagree with Barack Obama's claim that this is the time for new 'peace initiatives.' The same March survey (taken by the Smith agency for Globes, which means it's about as neutral as you're going to get in this country) says that 70% of Israelis don't want any new 'peace initiatives' as opposed to 28% who do. That pretty much agrees with the Right-Left identification in paragraph 1.

4. The Post continues to believe that most Israelis would make significant concessions for 'peace,' but they don't see 'peace' happening. The reason that most Israelis are willing to make concessions is in order to keep Israel 'Jewish and Democratic,' although at least their willingness to make concessions doesn't extend to national suicide. In practical terms, that willingness to make concessions is meaningless, because (a) peace isn't happening and (b) Israelis have been sold straw rather than gold on the demographic issue. Most Israelis are still living in the Left's conception of demographics, which is based on the lies and half truths issued by the 'Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.' If Israelis knew the truth (which I view as my duty to get out), they would tell the 'Palestinians' to put their 'state' where the sun don't shine.

Labels: demographics, Ehud Barak, Israel's suicidal Left, Israeli Knesset, Tel Aviv

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:51 AM