Disengagement show

I reconnected my cable services after 5 years of being blissfully "disengaged", recently my only source of news is the internet. But there came the disengagement and I just had to watch it, just had to, and now the show is on, but my TV is off...Two days were enough for me.

People in Israel are aware of the dramatic flair added to this truly important event. We have to show the world that pulling out is painful, bloody and complex, otherwise the assessors from the White House will not give us all the money they promised. Some of us (I am among them) thought the "lynch" in Shafaram was orchestrated by the secret services, as were other provocative acts. The wisest advice I could think of therefore, was to ignore the show and go on with life's routine.

However, having said that, the disengagement DID open up certain Pandora boxes of feelings, mainly hatereds among the religious right and the secular left. Some of the less refined and not very sophisticated commentators couldn't hold back their joy. The joy of witnessing the collapse of the settlers and their holy occupation. Others, restrained and noble, forced out empathy and support, if only as lip service for public peace.

The main battles, surely, are happening elsewhere, in the USA, among the ministers in the cabinet and in the kitchens of mighty bureaucrats and millionaires . There is no media there...And whatever reaches the media here in Israel, is usually so "spun" you really have to apply Talmudic exegesis and kabbalistic interpretation rules to make up the grain of truth under the propaganda. I gave up on this guessing game long ago.

My initial position was to keep my distance and ignore this fiasco. However, one cannot remain totally insulated, and so I recorded my changing sympathies as events unfolded. Apparently, most of the Israelis had to contain changes and contradictions to the point of explosion OR of blessed enlightenment as the Buddha espoused (transcending oppositions).

In the second day, while still watching the very boring TV coverage, I had one moment of joy, seeing settlers throw eggs on Matan Vilnai's (Labor) shining bold head. Vilnai was going to capitalized on the events, by playing the noble opponent who goes down to the trenches, where even angels fear to tread. While receiving very positive comments from reporters and politicians, suddenly the camera moved closer to his envoy, the reporter's voice turned hysterical "Matan Vilnai is injured, he was attacked"...We all saw him covered by bodyguards and pushed fast into his car.

Later, it turned out it was just a rotten egg, on his shining bold scalp...Exposing the idiocy of the guards (it could have been a rock...) with their pompous postures and suits, and exposing Vilnai as well. Even to people like me, who support the end of all occupation, this was a moment of joy.
Those brazen brats, usually barely teenagers, made a fool of the ruling Junta, and acted on the secret wishes of many (to throw at least eggs on those pompous and self righteous generals regardless of their partisan affiliation).

For me, this was the highlight of the show, and as far as I was concerned, my cable services can be disconnected again for the next five years. I think I was lucky to catch the only spontaneous moment in this disengagement show, live in broadcast.

This moment captured the essence of this fiasco and the entire political scene in our "only democracy in the Middle East".

Who is running the show ?

Israelis have a sense of pride in their ability to control their leaders, and not the other way around. People will often use the pun about the word Sar (Minister) which in a different spelling means "Obliging". The minister, therefore, is not ruling us but the other way around, complying with our commands. Israelis are also very much involved in news and politics, much more than any other nation I happened to visit. This creates the illusion of control and a sense of familiarity and intimacy with the leaders. Since Israel is also fairly small, people usually know someone who knows the minister, or another "wheeler and dealer". This is all a very convenient illusion, hiding a reality of ignorance to the most important political facts. Partly, it has to do with the insulation of Israel from global information networks, the barrier of language, and a culture of secrecy and hierarchy.

But recently, the "truth behind the veil" began to leak, as it turned out that each politician or man in power is financed and "operated" by one or more Jewish millionaires living abroad. It started with criminal scandals during elections, revealing the connections between candidates and financiers and advisors from abroad. It then followed with the Cyril Keren charges against Ariel Sharon (Keren is a South African Jew with a lot of money). Earlier, there was the Weitzman scandal, namely, the scoop that exposed illicit financial dealings between the president Ezer Weitzman and his rich Jewish friend "who was only trying to help".

We always knew there are good and generous rich Jews who contribute to our economy, and that sometimes they get a favor in return, such as privileged tax status for their foreign investments. But most of the big money came to Israel through more or less official organizations, such as the Jewish Agency, INF etc. Later, the rules changed as each party or NGO started raising their own funds abroad and fostering personal "patrons" for their agenda. Finally, the "free market" prevailed, and in fact each person, official, general, politician began soliciting funds and favors from "his own donor". In order to "keep the donor", a culture of secrecy, manipulations, slander and spins began spreading. So much so, that Sharon reported last week that people from his own party, Likkud, were going around Washington trying to convince American politicians to stop the aid for the disengagement.

Even in my son's kindergarten, a public facility owned and managed by the municipality of Tel Aviv, the same phenomenon happens. The teacher found a nice retired Jewish Canadian millionaire who sponsors "her" facility, and the kids are forced to draw painting and send cards to their kind "Santa clause" (Or sugar daddy long legs), to keep him interested in their place, rather than another. Nobody knows how much money comes this way, who gets is and what actually happens to it.

Bibi Netanyahu went even further. His "operators" (Lauder, finkelstein etc.) don't even bother to stay in the dark, behind the scene. Their interference is blatant, to the point that Bibi is presented as a marketing rep for their financial and "spiritual" interests in Israel.
Thus, the "real show" is taking place elsewhere and far from the Knesset or the Cabinet. Decisions are made in the offices of the rich, each according to his ability, money and ties in Washington or other government. Chabad, for instance, a movement that opposes the disengagement from its headquarters in NY, has more influence (money wise and otherwise) than local constituencies, no matter how large they are in numbers. In a similar way, Reformed Jews from the USA - who push their religious and political agenda to the left of the center - operate directly on Israeli institutes, using their money and personal "reps" here. Thus, although the number of Reformed Jews in Israel is negligible, they have scored legal and administrative battles that impose their identity politics on the Israelis.

Looking at the larger picture, it seems that Israel is a test field and playground - not only for American made weapons, but - for rich Jews who project their darkest desires on this war torn land. Each, according to his "visions", fantasies or financial interests, personal frustration, or simple boredom/leisure/hobby, moves his "pawns" on the board. Now we have the new Russian oligarchy, with their agenda adding to the general confusion and corruption of values and government. People who are official charged with crimes and murder in their country of origin, get involved in Jewish affairs, holocaust commemoration, right wing politics, possibly to gain Israel's protection from extradition.

The common Israeli - now and following Netanyahu's reforms brought down to the level of miserable poverty - has very little, if any, control over his fate. Even his or her poverty is nothing but another "grantwriting op" for resourceful entrepreneurs, in search of their own "patron".

I wrote all this, to answer some of the critique, coming from liberal corners abroad. Since the real game is happening in your arena, go straight to your leaders, financiers and politicians and challenge their decisions. Certainly, don't join that scam and beat up the Israelis for something they can't change anyway, even if the Israelis themselves are in denial of this fact and move around as if they control the world.

Bibi Netanyahu Resigns

The hottest news in this hot week here in Israel, has been the sudden resignation of Bibi Netanyahu. Instinctively, many sighed with relief, however, at second thought they became concerned. Such an inexplicable timing raised near paranoia=like symptoms among commentator - what is HE up to, now ? Despite the numerous commentaries and editorials, the reasons remain a mystery, to some extent. My guess, it has to do with events in the USA.

Americans and other foreigners rarely understand the Israeli reality. I believe that primarily they fail to perceive how little Israelis know about their own government and leaders. Americans assume that Israelis know what they know, but therein lies their grave mistake. This month has given me a good opportunity to witness this phenomenon. The entire AIPAC-Gate situation is hardly known here. In fact, very few people here know what AIPAC is. This might come as a surprise to Americans, who perceive Israel is part of the global village of news and analysis. However, the media in Israel has a different agenda. Most Israelis do not read English and would certainly not make the effort to read long commentaries and complex items. The government can easily control the flow of news, and the emphasis given to any event, and practically withhold information from the public - without taking any legal measure. If something is not published in the three large newspapers, or in the networks, it does not exist. Conveniently, the Israelis can be easily manipulated, especially with regards to Israel's operations abroad. Thus, Israelis are also quite ignorant of the Jack Abramoff scandal or the Rove/CIA scandal. Certainly, they would not see the connection between those events and Bibi Netanyahu's decisions, or any major move here in Israel. The "wall of separation" erected between what happens here and what happens in the real world, reduces public awareness, scrutiny and influence over the real power and money games in Washington DC.

Netanyahu gave an official address to the public, saying that he decided to follow his conscience and protest against the disengagement. This is weird even on his terms, because he immediately said he sees the disengagement as a done deal. He just now passed the 2006 budget, and was going to implement the last part of his grand reform, the cutback in the defense budget and the appointment of his man to the office of general director. And then he left. More surprising is his announcement that he is leaving for a "pampering vacation" with this family in NYC. Netanyahu is aware of the impact, of his absence during the crucial days of the evacuation. If he left now, he HAD to be in NYC, and better still, not in formal capacity as a minister.

This is just my personal guess.