The New York Times on Avigdor Lieberman, who comes across as misunderstood, tractable…
Mr. Lieberman ran a contentious election campaign that many here and abroad saw as racist, focusing
on the question of loyalty of the Arab citizens of Israel, who make up
about a fifth of the population. Yisrael Beitenu proposed an oath of
loyalty to the state that would be taken by all citizens, but that was
mainly directed at the Arab minority.
Gadi Wolfsfeld, a professor
of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said he had
been “incensed” by the campaign and how lightly it was taken by so many
Israelis. That Yisrael Beitenu won 15 seats, he said, did not make the
party “any less extreme.”
Mr. Lieberman’s positions are
sometimes contradictory and hard to fathom. A West Bank settler, he
advocates the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Yet he withdrew
his party from Mr. Olmert’s governing coalition more than a year ago in
anger over the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Next piece: What do you mean when you say, a viable Palestinian state?
