Israel Veers Even Further Right

Click here to access article by Paul R. Pillar from ConsortiumNews. 

...Netanyahu is offering the Defense Ministry to former Moldovan nightclub bouncer (and resident of a West Bank settlement) Avigdor Lieberman. This will bring into the ruling coalition Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, which even within the Israeli context is usually described as “hard right.”

Bringing Lieberman into the government is indicative not only of the overall orientation of that government but also of some larger disturbing trends in Israeli attitudes that the government has fomented more than it has discouraged.

Jonathan Cook, a British author and journalist who spends a lot of time in Israel, agrees in his more recent article entitled "Religious zealots waging a quiet revolution in Israel":

In a surprise move, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week forced out his long-serving defence minister, Moshe Yaalon. As he stepped down, Mr Yaalon warned: “Extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel.”

He was referring partly to his expected successor: Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, whose trademark outbursts have included demands to bomb Egypt and behead disloyal Palestinian citizens.

You might also be interested in this article by an Israeli writer and peace activist Uri Avnery entitled "Israeli Weimar: It Can Happen Here".