The political love affair emerging between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters in the Arab public is causing many to wonder in awe at the pathetic political tactics adopted once again by the premier in an attempt to argue the words of intimidation he used on March 17, 2015, when he warned "Arab voters are arriving at the polling stations in droves" were merely aimed at those voting for the Joint Arab List.
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Anyone can see this is simply Netanyahu's fourth blatant effort at ensuring he has a majority in the Knesset and the cancellation or suspension of his trial. After decades spent criticizing any of the Zionist parties that sought the sector's assistance, he's now willing to employ any means, including certifying the Arab vote as "kosher," to that end.
It's too early to say whether his vigorous and transparent courting of the Arab vote will lead many Arabs to either vote for the Likud or stay home come Election Day. Nevertheless, Netanyahu has unintentionally made an important contribution to Israeli democracy: From now on, any criticism from the Right of those "relying on Arab votes" will be met with an outburst of laughter.
Loss of public trust
The Israel Democracy Institute has found the public has lost trust in the military, the president, the courts, and the Knesset. Yet this is not a phenomenon unique to Israel. In its annual "trust barometer" gauging public trust in 27 countries, not including Israel, the Edelman global communications firm found that in the first half of 2020, there was increased public trust in government institutions in most of the countries surveyed in the beginning of 2020. However, those countries have since seen a decline in trust due to government institutions' perceived helplessness in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. Respondents said they believed government institutions to be immoral and ineffective and nongovernmental organizations to be moral but ineffective. In fact, only businesses were described as moral and effective, according to the firm.
The research ties the lack of willingness to receive the coronavirus vaccine to a lack of trust in government institutions. The conclusion is not that every organization should replace its public-relations representative, but rather that lack of public trust could prove detrimental to public health.
A two-year grace period
At the ripe old age of 78, the oldest president in US history began his first term in office, Wednesday. After four tumultuous and widely-covered years, we now embark upon a period of calm. Former US President Donald Trump derisively called him "Sleepy Joe," but Biden caught him by surprise with three victories in the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate, that will provide him with at least two years during which he can govern without congressional opposition. This a two-year grace period, after which the situation may change during the midterm elections.
If Biden and his team have plans to transform America, to contend with unemployment and other pandemic wounds, to rehabilitate the country's neglected infrastructure and restore its global standing, they do not have a minute to waste. The same is true of the Middle East. Biden must not be fooled by the relative quiet that currently prevails in our region. This is a powder keg that could explode at the least convenient moment for the global superpower. The new US president is a man who listens to the counsel of his advisers, and they are telling him to avoid the conflict for as long as possible. However, Biden is a man of vast experience who knows all too well that the advisers have given this very same advice to all those that came before him.
His knowledge of the conflict far exceeds that of almost any of his predecessors. He believes it can be solved and that the US should not settle for "managing the conflict" since the term itself is an oxymoron. It is the calm, quiet Biden, of all people, who may surprise us all by bringing both sides back to the negotiating table, and not just for argument's sake.
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