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Olmert's Peace Spin
By Gilad Atzmon
ccun.org, May 29, 2008
Few days ago, (the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert assured
Haaretz that the negotiation with Syria is nothing less than an
‘historic breakthrough’. He is absolutely correct. It’s the
first time in Israel’s history that a PM initiates a peace
negotiation just to escape a police probe into his own unlawful
doings. Apparently, Olmert is seeking a quick escape route that
would bring the investigation of his corruption to an immediate
halt.
The Israeli Knesset has always been a haven for Israeli criminals
and Jewish gangsters who seek to take advantage of the immunity
membership guarantees. This is nothing new, unlawful activity is
rather common amongst Israeli leaders.
The list of villains and convicts within Israel’s political world is
endless. A few years ago an Israeli survey revealed that 60% of
Israeli Knesset members had a criminal record. As we know the
previous President of the Jewish State, Mr Moshe Katsav lost his
prestigious post because he was charged for sex crimes, rape and
sexual molestation, no less, as well as the more banal offence of
wire-tapping. Sharon’s son Omri, Knesset member under both Likud and
Kadima, has been indicted for bribery. Ariel the father was lucky
enough to become a vegetable just in time to save himself the
embarrassment of being thrown out of the PM office for involvement
in the same criminal affair.
Olmert is no different, he is as corrupted as anyone else. However,
he may be in a position to determine his fate. All he has to do is
raise enough pressure on police officers to stop the probe into his
wrongdoing.
Olmert is no Tolstoy, yet he had two options to choose from: war and
peace. Not a single Israeli police detective would put pressure on a
serving PM in time of a war. Similarly, no one would mount pressure
on a PM in the midst of an historic peacemaking effort with Israel’s
most hostile neighbour. Though we were preparing for Olmert to
flatten Gaza or strike Hezbollah, he went for the peace option. He
obviously remembered the colossal defeat of the IDF in Lebanon less
than two years ago, so in doubt, Olmert has decided to not put his
trust in generals. To all appearances, the latter do not trust
themselves either, they realise that Arabs are not easy targets
anymore, Arabs fight back and are getting very good at it.
With no army to fight his wars, Olmert is left with no more peace
spin. He obviously doesn’t have the political power to undertake a
withdrawal from the Golan Heights. He runs this spin knowing that
the Israelis are desperate enough to buy it. The Israelis know the
truth, the days of the Jewish State are numbered, the so-called
‘window of opportunity’ has been closed a while ago. Israel is
surrounded by hostility and the Jewish majority on the land is now
becoming a matter of history.
The Americans and the Brits are desperate enough to support Olmert’s
spin. Bush, Blair and Brown need to get a diplomatic achievement
even if it doesn’t lead anywhere. In Western politics everything is
measured in a short time perspective. Hence we move from spin
to spin.
By bearing in mind the recent Israeli military defeat in Lebanon and
the cowardly tactics the IDF performs in Gaza to avoid a ground
battle, taking into no account the presence of civilians and the
inevitable innocent victims that are the outcome of each and every
raid, any Israeli withdrawal in Golan would be considered by
Israelis and Arabs as a white flag. Not many people would support
such an initiative in Israel politics, nor in its military and
intelligence branches. Hence, we have to conclude that the
emerging peace spin is there to serve Olmert’s immediate personal
needs. It is there to postpone criminal investigation of his
activities. It is there to give the corrupt man a few more days in
office.
According to Haaretz, “sources close to Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad on Friday said that he was unable to conceal his
disappointment and surprise at the news of renewed Israeli-Syrian
peace talks.”
My dear President Ahmadinejad, do not hold your breath. Nothing has
changed and nothing is going to happen. The Israelis are not going
to buy the new spin. They just can’t. Israel thrives on conflict, it
defines itself by negation. By the time the Israelis start to seek
peace for real they won’t be Israelis anymore.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/05/25/olmert%e2%80%99s-peace-spin/
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