Sunday, December 11, 2005
Gaining Strength
This story from the AFP in Tel Aviv, Israel, reveals that Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has left the conservative Likud Party to join the new Forward Party recently started by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, also formerly of the Likud Party.
Two things: Benjamin Netanyahu is more likely to lead Likud in the near future; and, the Forward Party is looking less and less like the Bull Moose Party and Likud is looking more and more like the Whigs. Not necessarily a bad thing, but change is always a little painful.
The story's biggest surprise to me was that Likud was only founded a few decades ago in 1973. Before that, apparently, all political parties in Israel were leftist. (Just kidding, but for reasons that still escape me, way too many Jews are socialists in their politics when the overwhelming majority of the socialists are anti-Semitic--What the heck? Israel's best friends here in the United States are Republicans. The Palestinians best friends are Democrats. This would appear to be a no-brainer).
Two things: Benjamin Netanyahu is more likely to lead Likud in the near future; and, the Forward Party is looking less and less like the Bull Moose Party and Likud is looking more and more like the Whigs. Not necessarily a bad thing, but change is always a little painful.
The story's biggest surprise to me was that Likud was only founded a few decades ago in 1973. Before that, apparently, all political parties in Israel were leftist. (Just kidding, but for reasons that still escape me, way too many Jews are socialists in their politics when the overwhelming majority of the socialists are anti-Semitic--What the heck? Israel's best friends here in the United States are Republicans. The Palestinians best friends are Democrats. This would appear to be a no-brainer).
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 9:06 AM 
