By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM –Though I’ve voted in Israeli elections whenever I’ve been in the country, I’ve never wanted to belong to a political party. But some of the critics of recent speeches by Ehud Barak and Moshe Ya’alon have helped to find one I might like: they call it the Party of the Frustrated.
However, my reasons for joining such a party aren’t the way the critics see it. They’re upset about the biting, perhaps even vicious, attack by Barak and Ya’alon on Netanyahu and his government. The critics try to persuade us to pay no attention to the content of the speeches because when the two were ministers of defense in Netanyahu governments, they said the opposite and spoke in strong support of the prime minister. Because they’re now outside and seeking a way back to power, they’re changing their tune. Their speeches are pathetic illustrations of personal frustration, not of a political alternative. (That’s why they’re accused of being the founders of the Party of the Frustrated).
Mine is also the result of personal frustration with the Netanyahu government – and with people like Barak and Ya’alon, because even when they speak the truth they seem less than trustworthy. A cause of great concern is that there seems to be no way out of the present political impasse that has thwarted peace, made relations with the United States complicated to the point of being risky – and the settlers in the West Bank and their supporters outside seem to be dominating the scene and putting Israel at risk. Many other evils in the land follow from these and make for the Party of the Frustrated.
Though it’s inelegant one cannot but add to the frustration a growing awareness of the current prime minister’s contacts with unsavory characters – one is currently under investigation in France – his and his wife’s alleged lifestyle of the Borgias when they travel – with fantastic facts and figures – the comings and goings in their official and private homes as well as pending lawsuits with journalists. Though none of it may cause the fall of Netanyahu, all of it adds to the frustration of ordinary citizens,
The fact that the situation elsewhere in the world is worse doesn’t diminish my frustration. The thought of a buffoon in the White House by next January and another at 10 Downing Street later this month (when David Cameron loses the referendum and Boris Johnson takes over) is no comfort: it only turns the frustration into a sense of panic leaving us with Vladimir Putin as our close ally and Avigdor Lieberman in charge of the Palestinians in the West Bank, which is one of the task of the defense minister. And an official opposition with an eye on joining the government instead of challenging it.
This means that I’m not convinced by the arguments of the so-called optimists (rumor has it that there still are such people in Israel today). They tell us that change in on the way. Ya’alon and Barak, both former chiefs of staff, may return to politics and win. They may be joined by two other former chiefs of staff: Gabi Ashkenazi and Benny Ganz. The former is already eligible for political office; the latter has to wait a little longer before he has “cooled off” from his previous post. The first couple may lead a centre-right party, the other two a centre-left one.
Mercifully, you’re not likely to notice any of it when you visit the country. Things seem fine – especially when you ignore the fact that more resources are being poured into the settlements in one guise or another and the further efforts to put Jews in Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem under one pretext or another. That’s why my vote stays with the Party of the Frustrated.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. Now residing in Israel, he may be contacted via dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)