Israelis are probably as disinterested in what Alon Ben-Meir thinks as are readers on OLO. Israeli voters will make their own decisions as to whether Netanyahu should stand aside or not. The aggressive headings on this anti-Semite's articles save disinterested parties from wading through the whole thing.

Agree with most of this and the dumping of a self evidently corrupt, self-serving PM who should stand trial before a jury of his peers for what seems to be corrupt practise? Aided and abetted by war-mongering sabre-rattling rhetoric and the engineered confrontation with Iran and all its elements?

Sorry Alon, but I think you'd have much more success herding cats than getting the divided rabble that is Netanyahu's Israel to agree on anything, let alone a road map to peace and a two-state solution.

Put 10 Israelis in the same room and you'll get at least thirty different conflicting and adamant opinions.
Something we can absolutely agree on!?

Q: Why do Jews always answer a question with a question?
A: Why do you ask? Or alternatively, why shouldn't we?
Alan B.

It always predictable that liberal-left Americans, like Alon Ben-Meir, stick their noses in independent countries. In this case becoming frustrated with Israel's democracy.

Instead the Alon Ben-Meir's of this world prize a Palestinian takeover of much of Israel's Western democratic tradition.

What heritage could the Palestinians forcibly bring to the table? At best the standard Arab authoritarian dictatorship

- including rule by one Arab denomination (Shia or Sunni) over all other Arab minorities, including Christian Arabs.

and at worst anarchic fighting between different Arab mafia factions (as in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon much of the time).

Pete, Israel is not a democracy. Please stop stating it is, you render your posts a great disservice when you do.

Israel is the only democracy in the middle east, and as such is the only country that can change its leader by peaceful ballot.

The problem for the author is that the more vicious and belligerent the Palestinians and the more partisan the UN, the more likely that the Israelis will vote for a hawkish PM like BN.

Via Instapundit....

"NETANYAHU’S STRATEGIC GENIUS?: After Chad ties restored, Israel set to host Mali’s PM in coming weeks.

I have lots of reservations about the Israeli PM, but credit where credit is due. He has a strategic vision for the country, which he has been pursuing relentlessly:

(1) Preserve and expand market reforms to increase Israel’s wealth, thereby making emgiration less attractive, and immigration more so. Since 2001, Israel has moved from number 40 in the world in per capita nominal income to 20th.

(2) Expand ties with Arab neighbors who have a common fear of Iran and a common impatience with Palestinian extremism and intransigence. Reports of not-so-secret secret meetings of Israeli officials with Arab officials from countries with no diplomatic relations with Israel are frequent (e.g.).

(3) Instead of relying on fair-weather friends in Europe, expand diplomatic ties with India, China, and, as in the headline above, African countries, including Muslim-majority countries.

(4) Very much under the radar (because there is no domestic political gain from doing so), take significant, expensive measures to integrate the Arab population of Israel into the economic mainstream, including aggressive civil service hiring, additional spending on infrastructure in Arab towns, and perhaps most important, significant steps taken to close the education and career prospects gap between Arab and Jewish residents of Israel. If successful, such steps will dampen irredentist and secessionist views within the Arab population.

Admittedly, some of Bibi’s successes have been more luck than skill–Trump beating Clinton, and the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt were two very fortuitous events from his perspective. And he doesn’t seem to have any clue about what, if anything, can be done to alleviate the long-term conflict with the Palestinians, or how to stop the slide in Israel’s support among U.S. Democrats. But his successes shouldn’t be underestimated."