by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 1, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

         Sworn in Tuesday for his second time as prime minister, 59-year-old Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu promised to pursue “full peace” with Israel’s Arab neighbors, saying nothing about his support for an independent Palestinian state.  Regarded as a hawk, Netanyahu is a brilliant public speaker, very much Israel’s counterpart to U.S. President Barack Obama.  Speaking flawless English, Netanyahu graduated high school at Cheltenham High School in Pennsylvania., earning his bachelors degree in architecture at MIT and an MBA from the Sloan School.  He’s the first Israeli prime minister with deep American roots, serving for years as a Fox News Mideast analyst.  While the media has focused on his hawkish rhetoric, Bibi is a pragmatist seeking to capitalize as prime minister.  His first three-year stint as prime minister, from 1996-99, handed power to Labor Party’s Ehud Barak.

            Ehud Barak worked feverishly to broker a Palestinian peace deal with former President Bill Clinton in 2000, eventually ending in failure with the late PLO chairman Yasser Arafat launching a new “intifada” or uprising, collaborating with late founder of Hamas Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and launching endless waves of suicide bombing on the Jewish State.  While the blind, quadriplegic Yassin was assassinated by Israel March 22, 2004, Arafat died of mysterious causes Nov. 11, 2004.  Five more years of war pushed Israeli public opinion away from Labor to Netanyahu’s more conservative, security-minded Likud Party.  Labor suffered its worst defeat in 20 years, garnering only 13 parliament seats compared to Lidud’s 27 and Kadima’s 28.  Netanyahu’s closet rival former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livin refused Netanyahu’s offer to continue her old portfolio.

            Media reports misrepresent Netanyahu as anti-Arab, much the same way they did Kadima Party founder and former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.  Before Sharon joined the peace process and urged Israel to leave the Gaza Strip Sept. 12, 2005, he was regarded as anti-Arab, certainly anti-Palestinian.  Netanyahu now faces the same criticism because he puts Israel’s security above political concessions.  “I want to say to Mr. Netanyahu that the only way the Palestinians can rule themselves, by themselves, is through ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and establishing and independent Palestinian state,” said old-time Arafat press secretary Saeb Erekat, before Netanyahu could finish his oath.  Erekat didn’t say that Israel won the so-called “occupied” territories fair-and-square in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.  To be accurate, Palestinians currently occupy Israel’s spoils of war. 

            Erekat, a spokesman for Arafat’s successor Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, has no control of the 1.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza, led by Hamas chief Ismail Hanihyeh.  Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections Jan. 26, 2006, forcefully seizing Gaza in a violent coup June 15, 2007.  Erekat only speaks for West Bank Palestinians, where Israel continues to build settlements.  “Israel has always and today more than ever, striven to reach full peace with the entire Arab and Muslim world,” said Netanyahu at his swearing in ceremony.  While short of declaring support for an independent Palestinian state, Bibi acknowledged that he plans to follow Sharon’s path from warrior to peacemaker.  Erekat knows that Netanyahu can only do so much until Palestinians’ figure out who’s in charge.  Neither Fatah nor Hamas have shown any signs of compromise.

            When Livni dropped out and decided to go in opposition, she handed her portfolio to untranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu Party Leader Russian-born Avigdor Lieberman. Netanyahu has made it clear he plans to set Israeli foreign policy.  He knows that to be a successful prime minister he must align himself with the U.S.  “In this government there are parties that are racist and fascist and that is dangerous not only for the Palestinians but for the Israelis as well,” said Abdullah Abdulaah, a pro-Western Fatah spokesman.  Abdullah refers to comments during the campaign of Lieberman who urged the Knesset [the Israeli parliament] to require elected Arab officials to take a loyalty oath.  Israel currently allows Arabs with sworn vows to destroy the Jewish state to serve in parliament.  Lieberman wanted, as politicians do for U.S. for citizens, elected officials, Arab elected officials to sign a loyalty oath.  That’s considered “radical” or “fascist” by the Palestinian Authority.

            Netanyahu put the White House on notice that it must deal with Iran’s nuclear program or Israel will.  So far, Tehran shows no interest in compromising on its nuclear program.  Iran believes it's well within its rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to complete the fuel cycle, enriching uranium for “peaceful purposes.”  Iran insists it’s enriching uranium to generate electricity.  With Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatening to “wipe Israel off the map” and denying the Holocaust, Netanyahu views Iran as an existential threat.  Now that he’s seated as prime minister, Netanyahu needs to consult closely with White House and look for all possible ways to avoid confrontation with Tehran.  He needs to show the White House he’s a team player when it comes to working toward a two-state solution and capable of toning down the heated rhetoric.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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