Racing. Livni
Photo: AFP
Livni isn’t innocent
Aspiring Prime Minister Tzipi Livni is less saintly than she’s being portrayed
Tzipi Livni did not come from the sea. She has a past and she is a present; the question is whether she also has a future. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert accused her of stabbing him in the back, but certain elements are already defending her like a priceless artifact. They fix up her past and make the slight flaws that have been revealed disappear, lest her value drop. Yet as one who does not like to put his trust in all sorts of mirages replete with illusions of a utopian “peace,” I find it important to mention two points to the general public:
First, Livni stayed in Ariel Sharon’s government even after an indictment against him was being prepared. What was most important to her at the time, apparently, was to implement the expulsion of thousands of families from their homes in Gush Katif and northern Samaria. Hundreds of missiles have landed in Sderot, Ashkelon, and other regional communities since then; an Iranian-backed terror organization controls the Gaza Strip – yet no members of that government have taken responsibility for it.
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Livni appeared before the Winograd Commission as if she just landed here from outer space; yet the prime minister she aims to replace claims that she lied to the committee. This may be so. But what we know with certainty is that in real-time her voice was never heard. This was the case during the “disengagement,” and this was the case when Olmert decided to embark on a ground incursion even after the ceasefire decision was taken; a battle that left dozens of soldiers dead.
Different kinds of corruption
It is true that corruption by leaders usually prompts investigations, which sometimes lead to indictments – they also photograph well. Yet the corruption of leaders is not only manifested through illegal gifts or cash-filled envelopes, or questionable help offered to party members. Livni has apparently not been tainted by the abovementioned, if we forget about pushing forward that trip from Paris to Tel Aviv at the cost of tens of thousands of shekels. Yet this is not the essence.There are also different kinds of corruption, and they are much more dangerous to the future of this country. The foreign minister is in charge of one such element and has been promoting the “two-state solution” brand. It is difficult to know what exactly she means, but it is certain that in order to realize her vision, hundreds of thousands of Jews will have to be evacuated.
Yet the premiership candidate says nothing about what will happen after that: She’s not talking about the tens of thousands who will remain homeless for many years to come, just like the “disengagement” evacuees. She’s also not saying a thing about the many people who will remain jobless or mentally hurt, or about the many teenagers who will refuse to join the IDF in protest.
Livni certainly doesn’t want all this to happen, yet she needs to be honest enough to tell us all this may happen, and initiate general elections in order to win a mandate for her diplomatic plans. She should not be looking for shady deals with desperate Knesset members in order to gain a short term in office and replace the person who said what he thinks about her.
Dr. Haim Misgav is a law lecturer
