Is Israel a 'Tea Party Nation'?

On the evening of Oct. 20, I attended a Manhattan forum organized by AlterNet, on the Tea Party---the populist but rabidly right-wing movement that has helped energize the Republican electoral wave set to sweep the nation today.  The AlterNet writers who spoke (forgive me for having forgotten their names) had reasonable observations to make on the Tea Party; one of them has just edited a book on this subject. 

Also participating was Max Blumenthal, a writer primarily for The Daily Beast and The Nation (and a fellow at The Nation Institute) and the author of "Republican Gomorrah: Inside The Movement That Shattered The Party."  I first became aware of Blumenthal's existence at last year's J Street conference, where he participated in the unofficial bloggers' panel, which mostly sniped at J Street from the left (with the notable exception of Palestinian-American Chicagoan Ray Hanania who praised it).

Blumenthal's an articulate and acerbic speaker and is especially vitriolic regarding Israel, which he dubbed "the Tea Party Nation."  This came up because he mentioned having just returned from Israel researching a new book, which is likely to be a vicious hatchet job. (Yet I did appreciate his quip that the Anti-Defamation League should be called "the Defamation League.")

I've read Time magazine's controversial Sept. 13th cover story, "Why Israel Doesn't Care About Peace" by Karl Vick, its Jerusalem bureau chief.    Time's cover page headline was meant to be provocative and was probably not the writer's choice; the tamer title on the inside is "The Good Life And Its Dangers," followed by this summary: "Israelis feel prosperous, secure---and disengaged from the peace process.  Is that wise?" Time's editors have chosen to frame the story in a way that can be read as hostile to Israelis.

But Vick makes the point that most Israelis are bitterly disappointed by the bloody intifada that followed the peace process of the 1990s: "....Yasser Arafat turned down a striking package of Israeli concessions at Camp David. What came next was the second intifadeh, a watershed of terror for an Israeli majority who, watching and suffering waves of suicide bombings, saw no reason to keep hope alive." The article indicates that most Israelis are resigned to the situation, and getting on with their lives while largely profiting from a vibrant economy.  Unlike Blumenthal, Vick focuses on the mainstream, not its right-wing fanatics.   

Last Thursday, Oct. 28, Meretz USA welcomed a favorite frequent guest, the former Meretz Member of Knesset, Avshalom (Abu) Vilan.  Abu directly addressed this matter of Israeli attitudes.  Like Vick, he sees a desire for peace and even a majority opposition to settlements, but he also observes a lack of trust in the intentions of the Palestinians.   If there is a breakthrough in negotiations, he sees this cynicism as changing.

And he sees Netanyahu (whom he knew as a young man when both served in an army unit commanded by Ehud Barak), as having a hard time deciding whether he's willing to risk the necessary steps for peace.  Netanyahu is weighing his options, partly because he doesn't want a breach with the Obama administration, and (according to Abu) because he would very much like the achievement of peace to be his legacy.   At the same time, Abu sees Netanyahu as very much influenced by Barak, who as minister of defense is taking over most of the important functions of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman---the latter being unwelcome in most international diplomatic circles.  Abu characterizes Barak as the most unpopular figure in Israeli politics, but sees Netanyahu as his last fan.

Abu is skeptical of the potential of the Kadima party, which he discounts as "Likud light."  As for the left, he sees the need for a "broad front," and warns against the left-wing tendency to split the vote for new electoral lists.  He does not see new elections in the near term, as he regards Netanyahu's coalition as stable.