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Margaret Thatcher looks like Florence Nightingale in Comparison…

Last week, the Israeli government passed the state budget for 2008. This budget fits the dogma of total neoliberal deregulation. "It is a budget with a social message" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dared to say. And, though the budged does have a social message—one of complete disdain and disregard for the social wellbeing of the citizenry—it is quite a different meaning than he was portraying, proving once again that lying has become a modus operandi of his governorship. A sample of a few items from this budget will be enough to show how deeply anti-social it is: the price of water will increase by 10 percent; the minimum salary will not be raised this year, despite the four percent average rise in prices, and an increase in national insurance and other social allocations will be postponed for at least another year. In addition, the government made the decision to continue privatizing electricity and to increase competition in the transportation system, which means an increase in expenses for low income families.

The anti-social nature of the budget was confirmed even by economists such as MK Avishai Braverman, well known for his support for neoliberal policies, and yet is demanding an increase of 2.5 percent in the expenses of the government (instead of 1.7 percent), claiming that the state has plenty of (social) problems to resolve.

"But there is no choice," writes Nehemia Schtrassler, senior economic editor at Haaretz, "whoever wants stability and growth, must defend a constrained budget. The entire western world has understood for a long time that lasting growth needs limited intervention of the state in the economy. This is the only way to leave to the private sector enough means to enlarge its activities, to create growth and jobs. […] When there will be growth, the income from taxes will increase, and then (sic) the government will be able to take care of sick people, elders and everyone who cannot be part of the labor market."

This is classic neoliberal theology, which has never been confirmed by reality, anywhere in the world.

During the last four years, Israel has known high economic growth. What prevented the government from using this growth to "take care of sick people, elders, etc."? Why, after so many years of growth, which brought Israel to the level of the wealthiest countries in Europe, are 30 percent of Israeli children below the poverty line? Why is the situation of elderly so shameful according to the National Insurance survey? Why, for the majority of Israelis is the health situation worse today than it was two decades ago?

The answer is crystal clear: precisely because of the neoliberal economics Haaretz is advocating. Plus, one additional reason: Israel did not invent neoliberalism but adopted Reagan and Thatcher’s models. The specificity of Israel has always been to be a better student than its masters, and not to be restrained by any kind of compassion. As the Palestinians have tragically learned, cruelty is the name of the game. And indeed, compared to Benjamin Netanyahu, the father of the Israeli neoliberal counter reformation, and his followers, Margaret Thatcher looks Florence Nightingale in comparison. 

Military service: One Out of Four

"One Out of Four—The Run-Away Epidemic" is the title of a series of articles published by the Yedioth Aharonoth daily, concerning military service. Everyone knows that in Israel, military service is mandatory, for men as well as for women. During the last two decades, a large number of women have been released from military duties, under many pretexts. What is less known, is the high level of young Jewish men who are not serving in the Israel military: around 25 percent.

The majority of the men who are not serving in the military are orthodox Jews whose military service is postponed as long they spend their time in Jewish studies (or pretend to do so). Their share in the overall population rose from 3.4 percent in 1980 to 11 percent today.

The reason, however, for the series in Yedioth Aharonoth, and the dramatic statements by the minister of defense and the chief of staff, is the publicity made by some new heroes of the Israeli Star Academy, who made public that they have never served in the military. "Those who are escaping their military duties," said Major General Gaby Ashkenazi, "have lost their sense of shame. Our duty, for all of us, is to bring back the shame to the cheeks of those who are escaping their military duties, and the pride to those who are serving".

Too late! The "crisis of motivation" is twenty years old, and there is no shame anymore in not serving in the military, in a country where the only value is to make money, as quick as possible. Sometimes, neoliberalism and jingoism have difficulties living together.

In Brief

Israel and the Sudanese Refugees

Sixty-three Knesset members (more than a half of the Knesset) recently signed a petition to the Prime Minister, asking not to extradite Sudanese refugees who were looking for asylum in Israel: "Those refugees who came here from Sudan need protection and shelter, and their absorption is a supreme moral duty, if we take into account the history of the Jewish people and the values of democracy and humanity."

Needless to say that they were deported back to Egypt, which refused to accept them, and sent them back to Sudan.
 

Too Much Justice in Israel

The Minister of Justice, Professor Daniel Friedman, has declared war on the Supreme Court. Under the pretext of "improving the functioning of the judicial system" his intention is clearly to weaken the power of the Supreme Court—which indeed is very big in Israel, due to the absence of a constitution—and to allow more control by the executive over the judicial. In particular, Friedman’s reforms concern the appointments of judges, which, until today has been under the control of the judicial branch and not the executive.

Judge Dorit Beinish, Head of the Supreme Court, counter-attacked and openly accused Minister Friedman of attempting to substantially reduce, not only the power of the Supreme Court, but to put the whole judicial system under the control of the government.

In an article published in Haaretz on 3 August, former Minister, Yossi Sarid, wrote: "His objective is to crumble the walls of justice, of public control, of inquiry, of prosecution, and to bury the rule of law.”

Gaydamak News

"President Chirac has fabricated evidence against me…"

A criminal inquiry has been opened in France against Israeli-Russian oligarch, Arkadi Gaydamak, for illegal arms trade, part of what has been known as "Angolagate." In this scandal, where money, arms, secret services and diamonds are involved, several French politicians and business persons are suspected of arms trade in exchange for the right to export diamonds during the civil war in Angola.

According to Gaydamak, this inquiry is based on false evidences fabricated by former French President, Jacques Chirac. In addition, he announced recently in a press conference, that he will sue anyone who attempst to connect it to tax offenses or illegal arms trade. A clean image is definitely important for a man who has decided to run for the mayor of Jerusalem….

Israeli Media

"Keshev—Center for the Protection of Democracy in Israel," has issued a report on the Israeli media during the last summer’s war in Lebanon.  According to the report, the media didn't fulfill its role as a watch-dog over the government in the least. To the contrary, the report finds that the Israeli media endorsed all of the government’s false allegations and justifications.

In a petition published in Haaretz on 3 August, around fifty Israeli intellectuals, writers and artists called for a serious and deep balance-sheet by the media of its own functioning: "the conclusions of the report are no less severe than the provisory conclusions of the Winograd Commission: in the great majority of cases, the media provided to the public a mobilized, simplistic and often over-aggressive coverage, that tail-ended the moves of Olmert, Peretz and Halutz, and did not allow a public discussion on the crucial topics which were on the agenda." In their conclusions, the Israeli intellectuals call for "a serious reevaluation of the coverage habits in wartime. It is important to conduct such a reevaluation now, and not after the next war."