Defense Minister Moshe
Ya'alon apologized. He had to. Regular Israelis, however, are exempt
from such diplomatic etiquette, free to clarify to the Americans what
they know anyway, as anybody who regularly deals with Israeli popular
opinion polls knows: namely, that the vast majority of Israelis believe
that Ya'alon, before the apology, spoke the truth. They believe he was
right.
The Americans were
furious. Self-appointed experts in etiquette and propriety set out to
compete over rolling eyes and sanctimonious pronouncements (making sure
to be widely quoted).
But, as the dust
settles, the Americans deserve to know: The majority of us are with
Ya'alon, the man who spoke not only what he believes, but what most of
us believe too.
Ya'alon was never great
at civil talk or clean speech. He may even be a little naive. Actually,
he may be very naive. Ya'alon actually believed in the upstanding
quality of the people at Yedioth Ahronoth, that he could speak openly
without having to fear that his comments would be leaked. They promised
him that. But who believes a word Yedioth says anymore? Only a very
naive person.
As a politician,
Ya'alon differs from the norm, so much so that he has to strap on high
boots to avoid the snakes. He said what was on his mind without
sanctimony. He didn't play around. We're not used to people telling us
the truth. We aren't used to a politician who speaks the truth. Now that
Ya'alon has spoken the truth, we have to ask: What if he was correct?
Indeed, most Israelis
commonly agree that the Americans have a shoddy understanding of the
Middle East, and that the current administration has done a great job
utilizing the so-called Arab Spring to show that it has no clue what to
do, whatsoever.
If we all agree that
the prime minister cannot say in public what the majority of us are
thinking about Kerry's aloof endeavors, maybe it's fitting that somebody
else took it upon him or herself to explain to the Americans that their
conduct is questionable.
In the last few days,
the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, have made a
show of defiance, effectively flooring Kerry's proposal, trampling on it
and squashing it. Abbas let us all know he was unwilling to compromise
on anything, especially the dream of snuffing out the Jewish state.
So, what's so evil about Ya'alon laying these concerns out on the table?
Each and every recent
poll has shown that the majority of Israelis have no faith in the peace
negotiations. That's our crowd wisdom. We have no faith in Abbas, and we
don't believe that peace is just around the corner.
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