This weekend I saw a NY friend who grew up in an Israel-right-or-wrong family, and she said she can’t stand Netanyahu; she’s enraged that he stuck himself into our election. I continue to believe that Netanyahu will be gone within six months or so, that an Israeli leader can’t stay leader if he creates daylight between the U.S. and Israel, as Netanyahu has done in recent weeks. Some other indicators.
Dan Ephron reports at Newsweek that Netanyahu is losing public support in Israel:
Netanyahu has watched the polls move steadily against him for the past year. One of them, conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute in August, showed just 27 percent of Israelis support a unilateral strike—that is, an attack on Iran without a green light from the United States…
The rub for the Israeli leader is that even some Republicans are now thinking an Israeli strike before the U.S. election is a bad idea. Karl Rove, the GOP’s éminence grise, said on Fox News in August that a war now would cause Americans to rally around the president and likely clinch the election for him. The recent riots in the Middle East in response to an anti-Muslim video posted on the Internet seem to bear Rove out. Far from hurting Obama, they may have shored up his lead.
Here’s a survey by the American Jewish Committee of Florida Jewish voters. These people are hawkish: older Jews who are overwhelmingly in support of military action against Iran by the US and Israel to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. And even these old folks are lukewarm on Netanyahu:
What is your opinion of the way the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is handling the US-Israel relationship?
31% VERY FAVORABLE 41% SOMEWHAT FAVORABLE 13% SOMEWHAT UNFAVORABLE 8% VERY UNFAVORABLE 8% DON’T KNOW/NO RESPONSE
Compare that to Obama’s #s. The Florida Jews would vote 69-25 for the president, and they like how he’s doing his job.
Please tell me whether you approve or disapprove of the way President Obama is handling the following issues.
National Security
52% APPROVE STRONGLY 24% APPROVE SOMEWHAT 10% DISAPPROVE SOMEWHAT 12% DISAPPROVE STRONGLY 2% DON’T KNOW/NO RESPONSE The Economy
30% APPROVE STRONGLY 34% APPROVE SOMEWHAT 9% DISAPPROVE SOMEWHAT 24% DISAPPROVE STRONGLY 3% DON’T KNOW/NO RESPONSE
Oh and here is a comment from MJ Rosenberg. I know, Netanyahu lost Rosenberg a long time ago. But I like the paradigm shift here.
Under Bibi, Israel is becoming the new Rhodesia: the voice of the White Race (Bibi = Ian Smith)
Rosenberg was responding to a Max Blumenthal tweet: Israeli ambssdor to Australia: “Asia is basically the yellow race. Australia and Israel are not – we’re the white race” http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/israeli-envoy-rebuked-for-slanted-eyes-remark/story-e6frfkp9-1111112360142#ixzz27M7g7auS …
Gideon Levy from 2009 –
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/yes-we-do-drink-espresso-1.277459
“May God protect Israel if, heaven forbid, it ever turns into Yitzhar: violent, isolated, conservative, religious and backward. ”
It didn’t take long for Israel to become Yitzhar
Perhaps this explains why Young US Jews are falling out of love with Bibi .
I actually think that support for Israel is going to change public opinion on European Christian Nationalism, instead of the reverse. The legitimization of the Jewish State will legitimize the European Christian state.
You can already see the newer European Nationalist parties being big supporters of Israel. Some of the older parties are changing their tune on Israel.
Of course Islam has a greater role to play than Israel, but Israel legitimizes Religio-Ethnic Nationalism in the face of Islamic aggression. It is the vanguard in that respect, the example, which is staunchly defended as not just morally legitimate but in fact, morally imperative….as opposing the continuation of Israel as a Jewish state is ugly Anti-Semitism. Likewise when applied to the delegitimization of Euro-Christian states is ugly Anti-Euro-Christianism and therefore morally repugnant….ie the policies of indiscriminate immigration, multiculturalism, and diversity promotion are morally repugnant…because they are Anti-Euro-Christian.
Furthermore,
I dont see a broad coalition forming against Israel as was formed against Apartheid South Africa. Part of the reason for that is that the new government in South Africa is racist. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
These people [Florida Jewish voters] are hawkish
No need to use the “hawkish” euphemism. Use “war-mongers”.
RE: “I continue to believe that Netanyahu will be gone within six months or so, that an Israeli leader can’t stay leader if he creates daylight between the U.S. and Israel. . .” ~ Weiss
MY COMMENT: That is so 1990s! Take my word for it, Netanyahu will gain popularity in Israel by “standing up” to Obama. After all, our president is not at all popular with Israelis (less than 10% favorable), partly (I suspect) because he is not “white” and they therefore do not see him as being “one of them”.