Dear Friends,
I received a great number of responses to my December 28 Letter entitled, “Has Prime Minister Olmert Lost His Marbles?” (This Letter is not my usual weekly Letter. Please, watch for it on Thursday. I think you will find it quite interesting.)
I get an uncomfortable feeling that I have failed to convey to you, my readers, what the real situation is in Israel. Many of you ask why the Israelis are not marching in the streets? Why is there so little interest in bringing down the government? Why don’t the Israeli voters remove Olmert from power? In fact, why don’t we impeach Olmert? The real misunderstanding, however, is that the people of Israel voted for Olmert to be Prime Minister.
First of all, the people of Israel did not vote for Olmert to be Prime Minister. Ariel Sharon, Olmert’s predecessor, created the position of Vice Premier specifically for Olmert, knowing that he would be able to count on his political support. However, on January 4, 2006, Sharon suffered a stroke, too major to be able to recover from. Therefore, on April 11, the Israeli cabinet appointed Vice Premier Olmert to the office of Interim Prime Minister effective until April 14, unless Sharon’s health improved. Only when Sharon did not recover from his stroke, did Olmert become Prime Minister of Israel.
The majority of Israelis are more than anxious to get rid of Olmert. Despite his fantasies of having won last summer’s war with Hizbullah, he is justly blamed for mismanaging the war. He has failed in his demands to have the abducted soldiers, Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldvasser and Eldad Regev, returned to Israel, and agreed to a ceasefire in spite of his failure. Even though the enemy is continuing to attack us with Kassam rockets, Olmert observes the “ceasefire” while the Arabs continue to fire.
We certainly do demonstrate, but the Israeli leftist media ignore us for their own ideological reasons. The media further ignores that the Olmert government arrests political activists and jails them without due process of law. There are daily arrests of the leaders of Jewish settlements without them being charged. Even though they have not been either tried or convicted, they are not allowed to return home to live with their families.
The judicial system in Israel does not protect freedom of speech. A case in point is the persecution of my Co-leader of Women in Green, Nadia Matar. She has been indicted by the State of Israel on the ludicrous charge of “insulting a public servant”, which, by the way, carries a possible jail sentence. The Trial Court dismissed the charge against Nadia, implying that there was a political component to this indictment. The State appealed this decision, and a three judge Appeal Court has not yet handed down their decision. Thus does the government discourage free speech and disagreement with its policies.
It is clear to me from your many replies that many people are unaware of the real situation in Israel.
•“The title of your message should have been: Has ISRAEL Lost Its Marbles?”
•“Why aren’t people marching in the streets to pull down Olmert and his phony government?”
•“What is the use of preaching to the choir? Unless Israel finds a way to remove this fool and traitor (Olmert), as well as Peres and Peretz, we will have more of the same until the ball game is lost. It’s up to the voters or generals to take out these fools.”
•“Impeach the idiot Olmert or have the IDF force him to resign, and indict him for the complicity for the murder of Jews because the IDF cannot fight the Arab enemy.”
•“Everybody says Olmert needs to be removed, but nobody seems to know how to do it.”
•“What can we do to get him out of power?”
•“We already know that Olmert is a true enemy of the Jewish People. Why repeat what we already know? Deja vu. Repeating what we already know becomes tiresome.”
•“You have hit the nail on the head. This man is a true danger to our survival here. I was sick to my stomach watching him kiss Abbas, who did not welcome his overdone gesture…But Olmert is oblivious to anything which might interfere with his maniacal need for power. On a practical level, what can we do?”
•“The problem only begins with Olmert. There seems to be little interest in bringing down the government. Where are the people?”
•“When will ‘the children of Israel’ finally realize that their self-appointed, self-perpetuating leaders do not like Jews in general, and practicing (religious) Jews in particular?”
Dear friends, we really appreciate and enjoy your feedback. It is essential that we know if we are really connecting!
Here are a few simple suggestions as to how you can help Israel! Get in touch with your government representatives and stress how strongly you feel about the survival of Israel as a Jewish State! Write letters to your local paper in support of Israel! Organize informative meetings in your home, your synagogue or your church.
For updated information and upcoming activities of Women in Green, make it a habit to visit our website! http://www.womeningreen.org
With Blessings and Love of Israel,
Ruth Matar
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on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007 and is filed under opinion.
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