Not unexpectedly, Moshe "Boogie" Ya'alon is reaping the whirlwind for his so-called 'right-wing' pronouncements. After all, he dared to call a spade a spade. He dared to say that the overwhelming portion of the non-elected elements of the country's power structure (Judiciary, Media, Academia, Business, Literary set) extert inordinate power over Israel's government and public discourse. A case in point is former Chief Justice Aharon Barak, who moved heaven and earth to de-judaize Israel while serving on the court and now admits that he thinks the idea of a Jewish State is fundamentally wrong. The problem is that no one elected him, but by legislating by legal fiat, he was more effective than the Knesset in advancing an agenda that is the very opposite of true democracy (as Judge Posner has pointed out).
He dared to criticize the Retreat from Gaza, and call the 'Territory for Peace' mantra into question.
And he dared to call Peace Now, which works to demonize settlers and encourages the violation of Israel's sovereignty, a 'virus.' His choice of words, and venue, may be debateable. The sentiment is not. Peace Now (and the rest of Gush Shalom) is (as a wag once noted) the Palestinian Right wing.
If they worked out of Ramallah, that would be one thing. They are, however, part of that same elite to which Yaalon referred.
Now watch them confirm that position by using all of their power to destroy the only decent Chief of Staff we've had since, I don't remember when; and the most honest, decent politician in over a generation. His crime: He doesn't think like us.
Jonah Goldberg should add a chapter to his book Liberal Fascism, based solely on this case.
'Can be debatable'? But isn't that the point: an intelligent man doesn't stir up debates, he wins them. On the Internet you can use "viral" to secribe a wildfire spread of a vid. In politics, it's being dumb to use "virus", especially as it has been done before.
ReplyDeleteInstead of "In order to "save the country," Ya'alon said, "we must deal with the issue of the virus that is Peace Now and, if you will, the elites, their damage is very great..." he could have just as easily said: "In order to save the country from a debilitating political orientation was weakness our ability to withstand our enemies' onslaught, we must deal with the issue of that harmful phenomenon (תופעה) that is represented by Peace Now and, if you will, the elites, their damage is very great."