by Daniel Doron
Obama was elected to a
second term, and Israel will likely face a tough diplomatic road due to
disagreements over a fitting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The American president has demanded in recent years that
Israel immediately fix the historical injustice to the Palestinians —
caused according to the president by the creation of Israel — by
creating an independent Palestinian state.
Such a step, however,
could lead to a Hamas takeover of the newly created state, attacks on
cities in central Israel and harsh Israeli retaliations that could
spiral the entire region into severe hostilities. Meanwhile, this
concern hasn't prevented prominent officials in Israel (mostly on the
Left), namely President Shimon Peres, from enthusiastically pushing the
measure forward, which could prove to be destructive for both peoples.
Unrestrained political ambition is capable of blinding some people.
Alongside the dangers
on the diplomatic front, Israel must prepare for a global economic
crisis during Obama's second term — a crisis that has already begun
hindering Israeli exports. The crucial measures on the diplomatic front
are obviously dependent on cooperation from outside factors that we
can't control. However, we have a great deal of control in regards to
dealing with our domestic problems, specifically the economy, which is
the basis for Israel's power, including its military strength.
But it seems that due
to the immense pressures caused by external problems (of which the
Likud-Yisrael Beytenu coalition is an indicator), the Israeli government
cannot find the time or strength to implement essential reforms which
have a proven ability to quickly improve our situation and which would
help the country to withstand the difficult pressures it will soon face.
The past has taught that delaying implementation of reforms can lead to
missing them altogether. Much damage has already been done relating to
the effectiveness of reforms in the concentration of wealth and market
control, despite it being a measure initiated by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu with the support of the Bank of Israel.
The time to prepare the
reforms is now, so that after the Israeli elections, the prime minister
can immediately devote part of his extremely busy schedule to moving
them forward. This way, the economy will become more efficient and
Israel will be able to successfully deal with the threatening global
economic crisis.
Daniel Doron
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=2838
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment