Sharon's victory in yesterday's Israeli elections was a foregone
conclusion. The Israeli right wing's position in the Knesset [Israeli
parliament] has now been consolidated as never before. A superficial
examination of these voting patterns would indeed lead to a very
pessimistic view of the situation. But if we look a little closer at
the process a different picture emerges. On the basis of a closer
analysis no one can say that all the Israeli people voted for Sharon!
Far from it!
As the attention of the world is focused on the war in Iraq another war
is breaking out in Israel - the class war. The past two years have seen
Israel thrown into a severe economic crisis. As a consequence, a few
days ago Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced huge cuts from
government spending.
Israel is not a member of the powerful coalition, (which includes such giants as
Micronesia, Estonia and the Solomon islands) that has gone "to liberate" Iraq
under American leadership. Bush and Sharon in fact have no interest in reminding
people of the role of Israeli in this war.