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Reader comment on item: Did Binyamin Netanyahu Predict 9/11?
in response to reader comment: Netanyahu's character

Submitted by Fay Voshell (United States), Mar 23, 2009 at 09:43

Dr. Pipes,

Thanks for your response. I did read the article you referred to.

I think there is much more to Netanyahu's vacillations, real or perceived, than meets the eye. His changes in policy are not due merely to a personal deficiency, though of course he is responsible for his decisions.

I recall an ashen-faced Yitzhak Rabin shaking hands with Yassar Arafat at the 1993 Oslo Accords while a smiling US president showed open delight at having "achieved" peace for the Middle East. Rabin had to concede things that revolted him while knowing full well that Arafat had no intention of giving up the terrorist policies he committed the PLO to from 1968 on.

As a matter of fact, a prevailing goal of nearly every president of the US since 1948 has been to achieve "peace." Of course, that goal has never been realized, but the link between American policy and Israel's policies has remained inextricable. Any prime minister has felt the weighty hand of the US in all major decisions. Some of those decisions have not always been what a given seated prime minister might have wanted, but in many respects, American policy has wagged the dog.

One other thing: Anyone familiar with Israel itself knows it is wildly fragmented and full of internal upheavals to which any prime minister has to respond in a multiplicity of ways which often seem contradictory. As Paul Johnson points out in his History of the Jews, the deep dividing differences in Israel's political parties most often yield to pragmatic compromises rather than to lofty ideals. Too, there is the deep divide between the secular Zionist state and the religious demands of Judaism itself. For instance, while secularists scratch their heads over Orthodox Jews' visionary belief in the importance of the appearance of a red heifer, deeply religious Jews are incensed over what they see as secularists' godlessness in general.

All of the above to say some of Netanyahu's vagaries are explicable while condeding that some are not. What will matter most in the long run for Israel, of course, is his committment to Israel's national security.

Fay Voshell

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Reader comments (9) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Even if he did predict 9/11 six years before it happened [124 words]SullyMar 23, 2009 02:10152617
1Not only did he predict [15 words]Buzz KMar 20, 2009 12:54152533
So What?! [32 words]FulghumInkMar 17, 2009 00:16152386
1995 prediction based on 1993 bombing of WTC [42 words]Edward in NYCMar 15, 2009 07:47152310
1To be honest, I voted for the Likud this time too [175 words]Ken BesigMar 12, 2009 11:32152163
Netanyahu's character [127 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Fay VoshellMar 10, 2009 10:19152022
Reply to Fay Voshell [11 words]jennifer solisMar 13, 2009 18:05152022
Imperfect People [290 words]Fay VoshellMar 18, 2009 09:54152022
Reply to Daniel Pipes [356 words]Fay VoshellMar 23, 2009 09:43152022

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