Fifty-Seven Percent of Israelis: Netanyahu Should Have Said “Yes” to Obama

The Maariv/Teleseker poll conducted yesterday after Netanyahu’s speech before Congress reveals that most of Israeli society is positive that the prime minister should have declared support for President Obama’s outline for peace.

That was not the speech of his life. It was doubtful whether it would be. Nobody in the world will change his attitude toward Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of this address. Nobody will change his attitude toward Israel in the wake of this address. There won’t be a break through in the peace process in the wake of this speech (A war? Possibly.). An outline for peace has not been drawn in this speech.

On the other hand, the coalition grew stronger, the right wing was exhilarated and the number of Likud’s* mandates (according to the Maariv/Teleseker poll from yesterday night) were upgraded. A vast part of the Israeli public was impressed by this speech. Quite fairly so.

It was a good address, presented in a brilliant way, with all the accessories and peaks in the right places. Even a lonely heckling thrown in the air turned into Bibi’s favor, who was at his best yesterday. Focused, charismatic, self-confident. These flourishes of speech are nothing new; he knows how to do that. Speaking is his strength, especially in English in front of a homey, cheering audience.

Indeed, Netanyahu had a completely winning evening yesterday in Congress. A sweeping personal victory. How about at the national level? Well, that depends whom you’re asking, from what direction you’re looking and of what you’re afraid. The request of those afraid of peace was fulfilled yesterday. Those afraid of the war are going to fear much more from this day on.

Netanyahu’s central message yesterday was sharp and clear: There’s no partner. We in fact want a peace process, but we’ve got no one to make it with. “No-No Bear,” as Ehud Barak tagged him, has softened up a little and became a “not really bear” or “not now” one. No, no and no — and perhaps after that, when and if, then a little bit of yes.

Netanyahu wore a silk glove on his hand and administered, with that very hand, a lethal injection to the twitching peace process afterward. The carrot he offered is a baby carrot. The stick he held in the other hand is a jumbo one. He has given an unequivocal, echoing headline on the Iranian issue. If you don’t take care of them, Bibi said to the Americans, then we’ll do it. This is self-defense, and Israel will have no hesitation in due course. When he issues an order to attack Iran — in case he has the guts and orders to do so — Netanyahu will use this speech as an alibi. “I told you,” he’s going to say to the Americans, “yet you’ve ignored it.”

The World Is Flying, Bibi’s Walking

Netanyahu knows perfectly well that the conditions he set yesterday for the peace process are a complete non-starter, that there is no Palestinian in the world who’ll accept them, there is no Arab state in the world that will support them, there is nobody in Europe who’ll take them seriously and Barack Obama will only get angry about them. Don’t get excited about the applause in Congress. The one to determine the United States policy is the president. Congress always sides with the Israeli prime minister.

Sometimes this is because of his beautiful eyes and sometimes because of his policy; these terms are given to changes. What’s never given to changes is the fact that Jewish money (and not the Jewish vote) is the one to move the wheels of the most American legislators’ campaigns. Also, the implied temptations Netanyahu posed as incentive are coming from an old, bygone world of terminology. The world is in a brand new place already. In a new reality. Netanyahu keeps on fighting a war of the past. Everybody’s progressing, including Bibi too, but at a completely different pace. The world is flying, he’s walking.

More than everything, Netanyahu gave a resonant “No” to Obama. The president’s specs, introduced last week, have gotten another loud slap from him. He hinted that he “would be generous” should the Palestinians recognize the Jewish state. He hinted that he’d agree that Israeli settlements remain beyond the [Green] Line, which therefore confirmed his “doctrine of enclaves” exposed in Maariv many months ago and adopted recently by President Shimon Peres.

He winked and made it clear. It was evident from his words that maybe, under certain circumstances, there are creative solutions; because the settlement blocks are densely populated and small in size, the territory that Palestinians will receive will be similar or will somewhat resemble the size of the territory they had before ’67. Pure Palestinian joy. In order to meet Netanyahu’s preconditions, they have to be Scandinavians — which they are not.**

Most People Think the Answer to Obama Should Have Been “Yes”

What does the public think? According to the survey of mandates, Bibi is getting stronger. Not considerably, but still stronger. From the standpoint of his being fit for premiership, there’s no meaningful change. Netanyahu has a slight lead over Livni*** (36.9 percent vs. 28.3 percent). As to the index of satisfaction with Netanyahu, the situation hasn’t changed significantly. The poll shows a total of 42 percent satisfied and 56 percent dissatisfied. Negative, but stable. In the previous poll, the percentage of satisfied Israelis was identical, while the percentage of those dissatisfied was less.

The most interesting findings were concerning the details of the “Obama initiative.” The participants of the survey were asked how Netanyahu should have responded to the Obama’s outline as it was presented in his speech last week. Ten percent believe he should have answered “Yes.” More than 36 percent think that he should have answered “No.” Nearly 47 percent believe he should have answered “Yes, but.”

Overall, those thinking “Yes” plus those thinking “Yes, but” make about 57 percent. A large majority. Netanyahu, as a reminder, answered “No.” Or, at the maximum, “No, but.” The public prefers, as it turns out, Sharon’s approach, as exemplified in presenting the road map.

Sharon thought that the Americans better be told “Yes, but” rather than “No, but.” Why emphasize the separator? It is preferable to let the other side say “No.” On Friday, in the Oval Office, Netanyahu preferred to go out for an open confrontation with Obama, which went on yesterday, too, and to say a reverberating “No” to him. The public, it seems, does not really like that.

Apparently, there are quite a few people whom Netanyahu’s move (courageous enough) made proud. On the same note, you can also say that there’s a great concern next to that pride (46.3 percent think that Netanyahu should have come out with public criticism, as he did, against 47.5 percent who believe that he should have saved the criticism for the closed door conversations).

Let’s Wait for October, and Then We’ll See

That’s it, the phase of speeches is over. A week of chatter comes to an end, and Bibi will be back home, glorified. A heavy burden, I assume, will be removed from his neck. For the first time since his election, he dissolved the ambiguity and stood by his credo. Benjamin Netanyahu got it that he is a premier of a right-wing government in Israel and behaved correspondingly. He shouldn’t be blamed for that.

The right-wing won in the last election, and it is its prerogative to implement its policy. As long as it doesn’t try to disguise itself as the left. The coalition is stable, the polls are encouraging, growth continues and the borders are quiet (relatively). You can keep enjoying our beautiful life here. The summer will break out soon and after that, September. And what after September? A war, a turmoil or just October? We’ll wait and see.

Editor’s Notes:

*Netanyahu’s party

**A section from this article was omitted because it dealt mainly with Israeli political factions. An extract of it regarding Netanyahu was compiled into the 1st paragraph of the 3rd section.

*** Head of the opposition party (Kadima)