Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has, to say the least, been criticized fairly heavily in this blog, and I think it’s about to time to show the other side of this debate. Most recently, you likely remember dear reader, I said Lieberman is irrelevant and repeatedly circumvented by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. And that was before I called for his ouster and Kadima chief Tzipi Livni to join the government in his stead.
Lieberman has, for example, said that the peace process will not be effective, completely undermining the White House’s biggest push for the region. That comment, coupled by several others, have Lieberman on the outs and he is ostracized for running counter to other high-ranking officials, including Netanyahu himself.
In a new Yediot op-ed, Lieberman is defended, and he is heralded as emblamatic of a thriving democracy, where controversial views of a politician supported by a large chunk of the population are expressed openly, even though Lieberman might not be making any friends in Jerusalem, or Washington for that matter.
The op-ed notes:
“Perhaps it is a good thing that such senior minister presents this view to the world? Maybe his messages are not so delusional as some claim, and the time has come to have a senior official who fears nothing and simply utters these words?
And the final, ultimate question: Isn’t this the essence of democracy? That is, seeing a man who because of his personality elicited so much support and won so many Knesset seats (Yisrael Beiteinu, more than any other party, including Shas, is about showing one’s trust in one man, Lieberman) expressing his views and opinions.”
I am all for Lieberman expressing his views. But he should do so outside the government. If he agrees to join the coalition, he should back the coalition, both privately and publicly. Otherwise, he is undermining the government’s efforts and the Netanyahu coalition will be speaking with different voices.
The peace process is mired by distrust on both sides, where Palestinian and Israeli leaders alike seize on any opportunity to blame their opponents for not being dedicated to peace. Competing voices from the Netanyahu government will only cloud the truth and fuel uncertainty and hesitation. If Lieberman can’t fall in line, he should get out (or be thrown out) to ensure that Netanyahu’s position on the peace process is not obfuscated by a largely irrelevant politician whose only impact is undermining peace.
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