The travails facing Israel in the coming weeks and months will never inspire children’s lullabies.
With Hamas poised to capture Palestinian elections, illicit artillery flowing into the completely chaotic Gaza Strip and the calming presence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon indefinitely out of the picture, trouble may be on the horizon, and the 80 days leading up to the Israeli elections may feel like an eternity.
That, in a nutshell, was the consensus of a three-speaker panel at a town hall meeting held in San Francisco’s JCF headquarters Jan. 11.
In addition to both the S.F. and East Bay Jewish Community Federations, the event was co-sponsored by virtually the entire organized Jewish community: The Consulate General of Israel, the Jewish Community Relations Council, pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the Board of Rabbis of Northern California.
After pointing out the less-than-stellar history of Israeli political parties formed around a dominant figure, KGO talk show host and Israel activist John Rothmann predicted Sharon’s Kadima Party may yet survive, if only because it’s stocked with former Labor and Likud politicians who’ve burned their bridges and must move forward or “their whole futures are cooked.”
Rothmann noted that the wildest wild card in the road leading up to the Israeli elections is Palestinian terrorism.
“There are reports over the past two days of Katyusha rockets coming across the border with Egypt freely. They have a range of 35 miles, and Tel Aviv is 25 miles from Gaza, so if Hamas decides to create havoc in the next 80 days, they can,” said Rothmann to a packed room of about 80 attendees.
Katyushas already have landed in Ashkelon, and “Ashkelon is not Podunk, Ohio,” he said.
“Little can be done. Whatever you thought about the withdrawal, Gaza is in chaos. This is a very serious problem and anyone who’s underestimating it is making a huge mistake.”
Rothmann found the specter of a nuclear Iran even more nightmarish, though, which was little consolation.
Shavit Matias, Israel’s deputy attorney general for international issues and a fellow at the Hoover Institute, read genocidal excerpts of the Hamas charter — which has not been altered or moderated with the terrorist group’s foray into electoral politics.
Allowing unreformed, unrepentant terrorists to participate in elections wouldn’t just be a disaster for Israel, opined Matias, but would set a grave precedent for all Mideast nations.
Echoing the opening remarks of Consul General David Akov, Matias noted that Israel’s democratic procedure was equipped to handle a situation such as the one facing the nation today, and acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has every card in his hand that Sharon would.
Amid the near-apocalyptic scenario of Palestinian terrorists seizing control of the nation’s political offices while Iran threatens to lob nuclear bombs Israel’s way, Tom Dine sounded the most reassuring note of the night when he stressed that the U.S.-Israel relationship is still strong.
The CEO of the S.F.-based JCF and former longtime head of AIPAC, Dine said Sharon’s illness could and should draw the two nations even closer together, fostering cooperation between political, state and intelligence operations. The situation in Iran should also force a stronger alliance.
Dine wouldn’t speculate on who Washington would prefer to be Israel’s next leader, but did note that Benjamin Netanyahu is still despised in top U.S. government circles because of his attempts to play the Republican House of Representatives against the then-Democratic White House.
Of Netanyahu, Rothmann added “I’ve known him 25 years and we’ve been on innumerable panels together, and I’ve told him to his face that if we had both double-doors open in the back, his head wouldn’t fit in. This is a man who is tremendously talented but has the ability to alienate everyone without even trying.”
The radio host was slightly more charitable in his description of Olmert: “I had the privilege of being his host the last time he was here, but his ability to carry a national election is a big question.”
He paused for effect.
“A big question.”
While the attendees of the event walked away feeling well-informed, no one was skipping out buoyed on the wings of optimism. After all, the speakers’ message echoed the chorus of rock band Talking Heads’ aptly titled 1980s anthem “Life During Wartime”: “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around.”
Perhaps indicative of Israel’s situation in general was Matias’ assessment of the Jewish state’s scenarios with Hamas: “No option is a good option.”
Or, as Dine put it, “Hope for the best and hope the bad people behave.”