Posted on 03/21/2006 5:10:30 PM PST by Nachum
JERUSALEM – With national elections here just one week away and public rhetoric noticeably heating up between politicians, some candidates and parties have been bringing the family of acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – running for top office – into campaign ads.
In a television commercial last week, the opposition Likud party pointed out Olmert's son deserted Israeli army service and his children, including a declared pacifist, live abroad. Some ads attacked Olmert's wife, who has been active in organizations that promote the division of Jerusalem for a Palestinian state.
Olmert, running as head of the newly formed Kadima party, claims to be a "moderate."
The Likud broadcast begins with a scene of Olmert at a speech exclaiming, "I want our children to have a better future." A background voice then asks which children Olmert is referring to: "perhaps his own children, Olmert's sons and one of his daughters, who refused to serve in the IDF; moreover, his sons live overseas and do not see their future in Israel ... if Olmert's children who live abroad knew of his withdrawal plan, they would not return to Israel at all."
Olmert announced last month if his administration wins upcoming elections, he would seek to withdraw Israel from most of the West Bank, which borders major Israeli cities, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Olmert's oldest son Shaul lives in New York full time. After he finished compulsory Israeli military service, Shaul signed a petition of the pacifist organization Yesh G'vul, which calls for soldiers to refuse specific orders or serve in the Israeli military all together.
The acting prime minister's youngest son Ariel reportedly refused to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces.
Israel has a mandatory draft for all Jewish men and women over the age of 18.
Olmert's daughter Danna is active in Machshom Watch, an Israeli leftist organization that monitors and often acts against Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank. The IDF says the checkpoints are necessary to stop terrorists from infiltrating Israeli cities.
Some politicians running for office also have pointed out in ads and debates that Olmert's wife Aliza long has been involved in extreme leftist activism.
Aliza Olmert reportedly is a member of Israeli Women in Black, an activist group that calls for Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, West Bank and parts of Jerusalem. Articles in the Israeli media have stated Aliza has been involved in the leftist Peace Now group and reportedly has voted for the Meretz party, whose platform includes the division of Jerusalem.
Aliza Olmert refuses to tell the media which party she will vote for next week.
The use of Olmert's family in ads drew the ire of some Kadima supporters.
"Bibi [Netanyahu] is still the same Bibi," said Kadima strategist Lior Horev regarding the Likud television ad.
A Kadima spokesperson told WND "family members are irrelevant in elections. The attacks are inappropriate and immature."
But Mitchell Barak, managing director of Kidron Strategies, an Israeli-based political consulting firm, said while he thinks attacking Olmert's family is "not in good taste," the technique is legitimate.
"Olmert needs to lead by example and that means what you do and what your family does," Barak told WND. "In that sense it is legitimate and something voters should consider. Having family in another country may affect decision-making and loyalty."
Sasha Klein, head of Likud's immigrant section, said, "Olmert talks of the future of my children, why can't I talk about the future of his?"
Olmert announced last month Israel will unilaterally withdraw from most of the West Bank and make other moves aimed at changing the Jewish state's borders.
The West Bank is considered landlocked territory not officially recognized as part of any country. Israel calls the land "disputed," while the United Nations says the West Bank is "occupied" by Israel. The Jewish state maintains overall control of most of the area while the Palestinian Authority has jurisdiction in about 40 percent.
Many villages in the West Bank, which Israelis commonly refer to as the "biblical heartland," are mentioned throughout the Torah.
Withdrawal from the West Bank may place Jerusalem and Tel Aviv within Palestinian rocket range depending on which territories are evacuated. Military strategists long have estimated Israel must maintain the West Bank to defend its borders from any ground invasion.
In a widely circulated WND article, leaders of every major Palestinian terror organization warned last month they will soon launch a massive violent campaign against Israel focused mainly on West Bank Jewish communities.
One senior terrorist said now that Olmert announced a West Bank withdrawal, terrorism against Israel must be stepped up "to prove we are chasing out the Israelis like we did in Gaza."
His wife and children are all Left-wing useful idiot pacifists.
This is what they will get if they vote for Olmert and the Korrupt Kadima Klan.
This is what Israelis will get if they vote for Kadima.
Good thing they aren't extremists.
If I had lost a child in IDF I would be rabid. I am so sorry if this is so. I cannot bear the thought of Jerusalem given over to the Palis.
Ping...
Obviously a vote for Olmert is a vote for national suicide.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
The folks running Kadima now are the ones who had Ariel Sharon and his son over a political barrel, and used them to reign in Likud AND form Kadima.
Kadima looks like it's operated by some good old time backstabbing Hellenists.
FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel/Russian Jewry ping list.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Olmert is sleeping with the enemy (his wife) and making new enemies (his children)
The future is not looking too good for the West Bank or anyone in rocket range of it. How the hell does Olmert have this much support? I realize he is trying to get as many miles as possible out of Sharon's name but can't people see through this?
bttt
” Olmert was never in a combat unit, he was a shmuck jobnick desk humper, working for the IDF newsletter. “
Thanks for the ping. BTTT!
Thanks.
Olmert needs to go.
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