Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman While many of his policies and ideas may be seriously questionable, one cannot help but admire Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman as a man of political courage and vision. Although coming under heavy scrutiny specifically by many in Western media outlets, Lieberman has remained steadfast in his policies and principles and it seems is making progress in their implementation. The man will consistently say what he means and mean what he says, a rare and respectable commodity in the world of Israeli politics.
What is most admirable about the man is that national pride is of central importance to his political positions and in his role as Israel’s top diplomat he has made every effort to instill this pride in those that fall under his jurisdiction. There are a number of stories that broke this week that illustrate this.
At the conclusion of a conference of Israeli Ambassadors held last week at the Foreign Ministry, Lieberman scolded those gathered for failing to significantly fulfill their duties in proudly representing Israel abroad.
"I have seen that some ambassadors identify themselves with the other side to such an extent that they are all the time trying to justify and explain [the position of the other side]" said Lieberman.
The problem with Israeli diplomacy over the years, Lieberman argued, is that it does not do enough to preserve the honor of the State of Israel. "Terms like 'national honor' have value in the Middle East," the foreign minister pointed out. "There is no need to provoke or exaggerate, but there must not be an attitude of obsequiousness and self-deprecation, and the need to always justify the other side. This is a wrong approach," Lieberman said.
"We will not seek reasons for confrontation and friction, but we will not turn the other cheek" he continued, “there will be a response to everything. This is the policy I want the ambassadors [to implement]. The era of groveling is over. We must be on good terms and respect the host nations, but we will not tolerate insults and challenges."
In most psychologically healthy countries a story like this would be unheard of, for this would be stating the obvious, but in Israel, Lieberman’s chastising provides a much needed stark reminder to submissive and timid diplomats that have forgotten their mandates.
Another incident that is connected to a position that Lieberman has consistently maintained took place last Thursday when MK Jamal Zahalka was escorted from a Channel 1 studio at the behest of Erev Hadash host Dan Margalit after he accused Defense Minister Ehud Barak of listening to classical music while children were being killed in Gaza.
The verbal spat continued after Zahalka left the set, with the MK yelling that the studio in Tel Aviv's northern Ramat Aviv neighborhood was itself on occupied land, and Margalit responding, on camera, that "that's just the point. You want to conquer here as well."
The open and impudent treasonous behavior of Arab MK’s has long been a festering sore that few have had the courage to address in any serious fashion, but Lieberman and other Yisrael Beiteinu MK’s have been at the forefront of the battle for legislation that aims to target and prevent such authority being granted to enemies of Israel.
A new bill that will be voted on shortly proposed by Lieberman’s party, suggests changing the wording of the current oath taken by MKs so that instead of swearing loyalty to "the State of Israel and its laws," MKs will be required to vow loyalty to the State of Israel as a "Jewish democratic state."
Lieberman has also famously called for the death penalty for any Arab Knesset member found to be collaborating with Hamas. He has also said that "[Israeli Arab MKs] Ahmed Tibi and Mohammed Barakeh are more dangerous than [Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled] Meshal and [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah, because they operate from within."
A recent opinion poll conducted by the Jerusalem Post showed that 84% of 500 respondents were in agreement that anyone who doesn't want to be faithful should not be a MK.
Although any future elections are a political eternity away I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lieberman make even more substantial gains in future elections. Simply because of his focus on the centrality of national pride, he boosts the collective self confidence of the Israeli electorate and Jews around the world.
The Author is the director of the Algemeiner and the GJCF and can be e-mailed at defune@gjcf.com
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