elections

For his part as a former prime minister, Netanyahu has failed and went home

Barak presided over Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon

Fraud Squad interrogates Minister of Strategic Threats over his election campaign funding

Though both reports contain nothing crucially new, opponents will use them to oust Olmert and install ostensibly less corrupt government.

urge Olmert to step down. Livni lacks significant military experience, vowed to continue evacuation from Judea and Samaria, help create a Palestinian state. Winograd report doesn’t level crucial accusations at Olmert. The establishment hunts the Prime minister down after he proved insufficiently prompt in returning Judea and Samaria to Arabs.
The report criticizes Olmert for starting the war too rapidly.

Cabel (Labor) quits the unpopular government. Kadima is set to vote for Olmert to resign, clears the way for Livni.

As if Olmert has acted alone rather than on Kadima’s mandate. Kadima faction chairman Avigdor Yitzhaki, before quitting: “Everyone realizes that [Olmert] staying in power is not good for Kadima or the country”. Kadima first, the country distant second.

Livni refuses to resign, says she wants to signal leadership, not protest. Livni has supported Olmert’s wartime decisions. Now Livni wants none of the responsibility, but to remove Olmert and lead Kadima. Olmert’s other accomplices, including Peretz, refused to quit.

skirmishes in the Knesset aim at overthrowing Olmert. Netanyahu, who signed Wye River accords and gave Hebron to Arabs, wants to lead the country again.

Livni’s putsch, Dayan’s demonstrations failed to overturn Olmert. Friends and sponsors stick to Olmert rather than trying to salvage their investment in Kadima with Livni. Olmert is now the best prime minister for the right wing: unable to garner support for evacuation of Judea and Samaria and not pressured to do so by EU and US who prefer him to Netanyahu.

150,000 crowd in Tel Aviv demanded ousting Olmert for, as Winograd alleges, blindly following the army’s recommendations and fighting the Lebanese back rather than seeking political measures. Demonstrations against Gush Katif eviction didn’t gather that many people. Meretz, Likud, and NRP joined to organize the rally. Qui bono? Netanyahu.

After Israeli-Russian mogul Arkady Gaydamak announced his plans to run for Jerusalem mayor, the incumbent Uri Lupolyanski frustrated the WWII Victory Day march sponsored by Gaydamak. Gaydamak and Lupopyanski accuse each other of using the war veterans for personal reasons.

Olmert will support Peres for the president of Israel. Peres admitted in the Winograd testimony that he opposed the Lebanese war though he thought the state had no other choice. Peres shared Nobel Peace Prize with Arafat.

Shimon Peres, arguably the most influential Israeli power broker, announces he won’t claim prime minister’s position in exchange for Olmert’s support of him for Israeli president. Peres shared Nobel peace prize with Arafat, lost previous bids for party leadership, and is widely viewed as unelectable unless the political bosses make all major contenders for Israeli presidency withdraw. Peres campaigns on the peace process agenda and told Winograd commission he opposed the Lebanon war though voted for it. Shas’ Ovadia Yosef supports Peres. State Comptroller Lindenstrauss already had started hunting down Peres’ contender Rivlin (Likud). Shelly Yacomovich (Labor) openly blackmails another presidential contender, Rabbi Lau over unspecified stories from his past.

by a comfortable 11% margin. Still, more than a third of the Labor Party members will vote for Barak who left south Lebanon to Hezbollah and offshore gas field near Gaza – to Arafat.
Like Halutz, Ayalon lacks experience in ground combat: he has led Israeli vanity forces, the navy. Olmert, accordingly, offered the Labor to switch from Defense to Finance Ministry. Ayalon and trade-unionist Peretz are even less qualified to run Israeli finances.
Ayalon, as a chief of Shin-Bet security service, hunted down conservative Jews following Rabin’s assassination. Ayalon is notoriously cautious: from his days in the military to the disengagement-time’ dancing a narrow line between leftists and settlers.

Netanyahu called on Olmert to cut power, water supply to Gaza, blockade the place, and employ harsh military retaliation. Was it the same Netanyahu who sheepishly signed the Wye River Memorandum and gave the ancient Jewish capital of Hebron to Arafat?

In Jerusalem Post’s interview, says Russian Israelis lack a leader. Presumably, they need Gaydamak who, along with Lev Levaev and Vyartcheslav Kantor, is Putin’s man among Jews.

A likely murderer of Yitzhak Rabin, Arafat’s advocate, Oslo architect, and a corrupt thug runnign dozens of funds is Olmert’s choice for the President of Israel. A serial rapist would be a better choice.

Amir Peretz offered his voters to Ayalon in exchange for a welfare minister portfolio for Peretz. Peretz imagines his supporters will automatically vote for Ayalon on Peretz instruction rather than for Barak, who is closer to Peretz ideologically. Peretz expects Ayalon to keep the ultra-left Education Minister Yuli Tamir and the Arab “minister of science” with no high school education.
Barak courts Avodah’s Arab voters.

for outstanding achievements. Ayalon was careful to speak of Peretz’s “socioeconomic” achievements. Peretz didn’t conduct socioeconomic policies in Olmert’s government.