Israel's political absurdity
Op-ed: Only in Israel, parties and leaders offering leftist solutions are referred to as centrists
In pre-election periods in Israel we often see the emergence of strange phenomena. One of the most prominent is the Israeli geometry failure – or in other words, a center that is found on the margins.
We see new and old parties that portray themselves as centrist parties, yet at the same time speak of leftist diplomatic solutions.
After them we see the pollsters who amazingly enough calculate the number of Knesset seats to be won by the Center-Left bloc (a term that has become natural in Israel.) It’s as though it would be impossible to have a centrist camp that happens to agree with the Right’s diplomatic doctrine of all things.
And so, some two weeks ago, Haim Ramon spoke about the many Knesset seats he may win as result of centrist voters who seek another diplomatic solution.
Similarly, we saw Ehud Olmert, who as a prime minister from a centrist party proposed a radical diplomatic solution that even members of the leftist Meretz party would have trouble endorsing.
Centrists become rightists
The same was true for the latest centrist leader, Kadima’s Shaul Mofaz, who chose to tell the New York Times about his willingness to agree to all the Palestinian demands pertaining to the territories.
So what would members of the centrist camp do if they happen to adhere to a national doctrine and a liberal school of thought? And what about the Israelis who do not believe in agreements with the Palestinians because the latter are not ready for them yet?
And how about those people who do not even believe in the political dispute between Left and Right over the future of Judea of Samaria, feeling that this argument is pointless?
And finally, what would be the fate of centrist voters who still believe in the laws of geometry? They will have to settle for being dubbed far rightists.
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