Posted on 03/09/2006 12:53:31 PM PST by anotherview
By Guardian Unlimited / World news 12:07pm
The elections here are just under three weeks away. If the polls can be believed, Kadima, Ehud Olmert's party, will get the largest number of seats and form the next government. Since November, surveys have shown Kadima well in the lead, and it has remained there despite the seemingly incredible turns of event - from Ariel Sharon's debilitating stroke to Hamas's unexpected victory in the Palestinian elections.
I, for one, am not surprised.
I come from a long-time Labor family. During the '90s I supported the Oslo accords and the peace process with the Palestinians. Then came September 2000 and the second intifada. Like many Israelis who once identified with the left, I became disillusioned with Oslo. My politics shifted rightward with every Palestinian suicide bombing. But I have never been an advocate of the Greater Land of Israel approach. I favour a two-state solution, but one that ensures Israel's security.
In short, I am the classic Kadima voter.
Kadima's basic appeal can be summed up as disengagement and strong centrism. Let's start with the former.
[...]
For all its faults, unilateral disengagement from the Palestinians currently seems like the least worst option available. Israel withdraws from the West Bank, save for a number of large settlement blocs; we finish putting up the separation barrier to help keep Palestinian suicide bombers out; the de facto borders will eventually become official ones; and eventually, the deep hatred both sides have developed towards each other will fade.
Is this better than a final, negotiated solution to the problem? No. Is a final, negotiated solution currently possible? Unlikely. Long-term conflict management, then, is the next best thing...
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.guardian.co.uk ...
ping
and eventually, the deep hatred both sides have developed towards each other will fade.
I am the classic Kadima voter.
Indeed, a classic Kadima voter: Previously wrong, delusional of the future. Crazy.
Hamas and Fatah have endorsed Kadima, based on their being naive and "useful idiots".
Their assessment is correct.
Is anyone really this stupid?
This is not just an election, it's a National competency test.
While it may be delusional to think that hatreds will fade over time, the Kadima program certainly makes a lot more sense than trying to the continue with the dramatically misnamed "peace process."
Don't believe Israeli polls--they are more crooked than ours. Kadima may not get 5 seats by the time the election occurs--Olmert might not even make to the election as they are finding dirt on a daily basis....
He left his time frame open, which is not "this stupid". Try to read his "eventually" as "five, or eight hundred years from now, maybe later".
The "Peace Process" involves Arabs sitting at negotiations while laughing at Israel's suicidal concessions
The "Kadima Process" involves the Arabs laughing and cheering from the sidelines.
One would hope.
But at the height of OSLO, just before the recent violence was unleashed, a poll found that 28% of Israelis trusted Arafat.
There is a significant number of Israelis who are out of their minds. You'll know the exact number by those who vote Kadima.
The "classic Kadima voter" thinks he can vote Fantasyland into existence. What lunatic is going to be interested in embracing reality?
Kadima is running on a Platform that they are Sharon.
How tragically ironic that the heart and soul of the party lies in a coma oblivious to anything and everything.
Kadima the party is corrupt, unethical, delusional, and dangerous.
The Kadima voter is in fact Sharon like- Brain Dead.
Very nice bit of wishful thinking on your part. The polls in 2003 proved to be very accurate. I do not believe that you are at all correct. Kadima will win this election. The only open question is whether Likud/Netanyahu will do another flip-flop and join the coalition (my preference) or if Prime Minister Olmert will have to look to the left for coalition partners (bad for our economic future, probably means disengagement will be overdone).
If the current polls hold (and I expect they will shift a little but not much) the parties that favor disengagment will have a little over 2/3 of the seats in the Knesset.
Of course you are the only sane one and the rest of us are all insane. I know this because you keep repeating it over and over like a broken record.
The dean at the college of journalism my wife attended fought in the Israeli War of Independence back in '48.
He came back here because he couldn't tolerate the bias in their news media ;-D
Indeed, a classic Kadima voter: Previously wrong, delusional of the future. Crazy.
Reminds me of the post-Dukakis democrats... "Maybe we should try being a little MORE liberal...
Bwahahahaha!
Possibly. What are your ideas for dealing with the situation?
Criticism is easy. Solving problems is hard.
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