Israel's rightwing shift is giving J Street more room to run in the US. Here's Isaac Luria of J Street interviewing the great Akiva Eldar:
… Labor is not in the mood to become number 3 or 4 in the next coalition… More and more voices are calling on Labor to be opposition. "It's going to be like an oriental bazaar. But at the end of the day I'm afraid that the Israeli center-left doesn't have much to sell." The process will take several weeks. If Livni fails over 3 weeks, then Netanyahu gets 3 weeks.
Lieberman?
"His success reflects the mood in the Israeli public. It shows a lot of xenophobia, lack of trust in the Arabs…. We shouldn't take democracy for granted in Israel. It's still very young and fragile…"
Gaza's effect:
"The message of the left– especially what has happened in Gaza– has paralyzed the Israeli left. Even Meretz felt that they had to support the war at the beginning."
Peace process effect?
I think it's too early to answer…. The answer is waiting for us somewhere in the Oval Office. The next government is not going to voluntarily offer concessions to the Arabs. The pressure is not going to come from the inside… The only way is if it will come from the outside… If it doesn't come from there, nothing is going to happen…. If [Netanyahu] gets a clear message from Obama that he is not going to tolerate… dragging his feet… I think that he will have to take it very seriously. I'm not sure that Obama is not serious about what he said publicly… I think that this right wing ultra right wing government will not survive very long… There is going to be a pricetag [Obama must say]. 'We are wating for you with a full basket of rewards if you go our way. But if you don't, don't expect it to be business as usual.'
Message to Jewish Americans who want two states:
"The Israeli public has decided that they want to give a chance to the right… You have to respect this, but at the same time, United States has clear interests. And if those interests don't meet with the policies of the new government, you have to react as if Israel is a country that needs a guideline… Israel needs to know that the United States has interests in the Middle East that goes beyond it."
