Woops – Apocalypse


"Today," Netanyahu said, "is the day Israel uprooted approximately 10,000 Israelis - men, women and children - from their homes. To our regret, Gaza has become a base for Hamas-led, Iran-sponsored terrorism. Thousands of rockets and missiles have been fired at us." (Binyamin Netanyahu, August 2009, who voted in favor of the "Disengagement" from Gaza in 2005)

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1248277950920

I did not imagine that we would leave Gaza and they would fire Qassams from there; I did not imagine that Hamas would show so strongly in the elections. (Shimon Peres, President of Israel, 5/7/2008)

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981392.html

Olmert has already said that his convergence plan, which called for a unilateral pullout from most of the West Bank, has been shelved, and he has described the withdrawals from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as failures. (9/1/07)

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/811319.html

To this day, the architects of the Oslo Accords (chiefly Peres & Beilin) between the State of Israel and Yasser Arafat's PLO, have not admitted the disaster they directly brought upon Israel, nor have they publicly acknowledged that over 1000 Israeli civilians died in the terror which resulted from their bad leadership.

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Why is it that politicians in Israel are hounded from the minute they enter office, to the moment they resign in disgrace, by those seeking proof of their petty corruption, whereas their enormous failures in policy, resulting in wholesale destruction and disaster, are overlooked?

Every Prime Minister I recall has been investigated for minor corruption while they are still in office. Barak's "straw NPOs" which were alleged to have gotten around election finance regulations; Netanyahu (first time around) was accused of accepting personal gifts from visiting dignitaries, rather than hand them over to the State vaults (remember the cigars?); Sharon was accused of financial irregularities relating to election expenses; Olmert resigned due to the stacking-up of files against him involving jobs-for-the-boys, and favour swapping, and non-declaration of cash donations.

These cases took up large chunks of these Prime Ministers time – and must have been a drain upon their personal resources & abilities to govern.

However, the catastrophic failures of the Oslo Accords (two intifadas costing over 1000 Israeli victims), of the Lebanon withdrawal (which necessitated the Second Lebanon War), the Disengagement from Gaza (which established Hamas and their missiles in Gaza) and the Second Lebanon War (which reduced Israel's deterrence to its lowest point in decades, and directly cost over 100 Israeli deaths) – left all those leaders guilty of gross negligence still holding the reins of power in Israel.

I propose that Israel creates a new law, which trades Immunity from Investigation for Minor Corruption for Israel's leaders, in exchange for the Full Accountability (including facing criminal charges) for Gross Negligence in taking reckless and irresponsible National Policy decisions.

If a Prime Minister is suspected of fiddling his travel expenses, we'll turn a blind eye (at least during his tenure).

However, if he recklessly or negligently leads the country into disaster, he will face charges in court with severe penalties. As with any other professional – full liability.

Comments

  1. Unknown3 September 2009 at 14:35

    This is one of the best commentaries on our current situation that i have read for a long time. I think you should submit it to JPost for the world to see.

    ReplyDelete

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