Not in front of the kids
Op-ed: Lieberman tells world what many Israeli politicians prefer to keep to themselves
Tempers were flaring a few weeks ago in the wake of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s speech at the United Nations. Self-righteous editorials expressed shock over his words, as if the doubts expressed by the minister in respect to the outcome of talks with the Palestinians are the only obstacle to regional peace.
Prominent in some of the articles was the moral outrage over the notion that the foreign minister is expressing his views to our neighbors: It’s one thing to think that this round of negotiations will also end with nothing, as happened before, but why would he openly declare this?
“Shabtai,” I remember my mother’s whispered pleas to my father on numerous occasions, “not in front of the kids.” Indeed, the role of Israeli politicians has always been to resort to doublespeak, the same tactic they often accuse their Palestinians counterparts of adopting. When speaking in front of the adults, that is, amongst ourselves, we can reveal that peace is not quite our heart’s desire.
The objective of negotiations is usually to avert global pressure, or more accurately, to improve our standing in the United States, rather than to resolve the conflict. Yet this top secret is not meant for the ears of the “world.” When we speak to the world we utter empty declarations, make hollow promises, undertake minor gestures, and then announce the absence of a partner with bogus sadness.
After that, the situation calms for some time (that is, those naggers in the West leave us alone until the next war, which in recent memory had been taking place every year and a half at most.)
Lieberman speaks in one voice domestically and abroad. I say this to his credit; he is not double-faced. There is, of course, the issue of the substance of his words. If a person tells you to your face that he is a pyromaniac, he may not be double-faced, but he is also not someone you would like to hire as head of the local fire department. And this is precisely what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did. He appointed Lieberman, who never hid his views, as foreign minister.
The Begin test
As he tends to do, Netanyahu places his own political interests and ideological obsessions ahead of our national interests. Those who truly wish to secure a historic agreement with the Arabs cannot do it when their coalition comprises Yisrael Beiteinu, Habayit Hayehudi and Shas. The PM can certainly work out dubious deals with these partners, and as long as it is about a complex show meant for the eyes of the gentiles, it will work. And why not? According to Jewish tradition, Jacob deceived Esau.
Signing a peace treaty with the Palestinians and evacuating settlements is not within the realm of possibilities. The moment things will get serious, there will be a need to redraw Israel’s political map. For the time being, there is no sign that Netanyahu is interested in such change, let alone a genuine resolution of the conflict. The price to be demanded of Israel is clear. Netanyahu is unwilling to pay it. Lieberman says so openly. Others say it in other, no less obvious ways.
Following the Bar-Ilan speech where Netanyahu explicitly uttered the terrible words “two states for two peoples,” as Kadima voters cheered on while heralding peace, I proposed a simple way to examine the seriousness of the PM’s intentions: Take a look at Binyamin Ze’ev Begin – a modest, honest and reticent man.
Begin’s views on the conflict are no less extreme than Lieberman’s; he just speaks less than the foreign minister. If you see Begin packing his bags, I wrote at the time, that would be a sign that a true change is taking shape in Israel’s policy. Yet if he remains at his office, regardless of what the prime minister gloriously declares, that would be a sign that the PM’s statements are just empty words. For the time being, we see no shifts at the office of minister without portfolio Begin.
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