Dear Ehud -
There is no other way to say this: Our country, the citizens of Israel do not believe in your leadership. There is a feeling of despair that permeates our national mood. The public thinks your government, you and everyone who surrounds you is corrupt. We have been treated to two sexual harrassment scandals of senior politicians and an utter lack of will to take accountability at any level.
The Army is a mess and it is lead by a feckless labor union leader who is endangering each and every one of our lives daily with his mismanagement, reckless comments and his disdain for input and constructive criticism. We have a government that does not have a coherent plan on any level and in any sphere of governance. The enormous government table is filled with ministers tightly seatbelting themselves in for fear of what another election might mean for their monthly paycheck. This will keep this government in power for a while longer. Worse yet, their butts are seatbelted into the wrong seats which will only be exacerbated when the musical chairs starts and you start repportioning the ministries.
If life is so bad you ask, why are there no riots in the streets? Citizens do not take to the streets because they feel it is hopeless and that one cannot change government policy. The press is asleep and instead of being the watchdog of democracy is engaged in cheerleading impotent politicans and guarding its own access to the honey-pot.
Saturday night at a gathering of people in despair in our neighborhood, I preached to all that gathered that all is not lost and I am optimistic. Citizens can make change from the grass roots. We will organize politically and
journalistically and retake and remake this country from today's morass. However, this will take time and some changes can't wait.
So I turn to you, Ehud - You can still save yourself and help our country but it will take resolve, risk-taking and a lot of will. I would not have written this letter and would have contented myself with waiting until the next generation arrives but you gave me some hope last week when you appointed Freedman to be your Justice Minister. So I am siezing the opening and building on Ramon's conviction, Freedman's appointment and the Muslim unrest about our archeological dig at the Old City's Mugrabi gate to give you my two cents. Don't point fingers at anyone else. Take the matters into your own hands and act. So here is a 5 point plan for remaking yourself, the government and our country.
1. Fire Amir Peretz. Do whatever it takes get him out, even at the risk of your government collapsing. The man is a daily danger to our national and personal security and if you think that waiting until the Labor primary will make it easier, Peretz, the great organizer of labor strikes, may still surprise you. So do the right thing and send him home now so he can work full time on his primary campaign and need not do it from the government table. You will save lives and regain some public trust.
2. Abandon the Palestinian "peace talks" and focus on internal matters. These imaginary and illusory talks are handcuffing you on many issues from Kassam rockets to archeology to the composition of your coalition. There is nobody to talk to on the other side and the Mecca "unity agreement" proves it. You can only solve diplomatic problems like this when the time is ripe and it isn't. Wait this problem out. While ignoring it won't make it go away, it will give you more degrees of freedom in addressing this and other issues.
3. Stand up to the Muslim world on the Mugrabi gate excavations. Unmask their riots for what they are. Do not simply release a statement that says these excavations are not near the Temple Mount. Instead, say "This is a red herring that is merely an attempt by the Palestinians and Israeli muslims to refocus attention away from their civil war and hatred of each other. Do not use Israel as a scapegoat for your poverty, incompetence and waste of billions of dollars of the world's money. We take care of our national treasures that are within our soveriegn state, which includes the Temple Mount and your incendiary remarks and rioting will get you nowhere." Showing some backbone on this issue will help put this genie back in the bottle.
4. Declare that your core domestic policy initiative for the next 2 years is healing rifts in our society: religious and secular, left and right, rich and poor, Ashkenazi and Sephardi. Then make a serious effort to heal these rifts. This includes engendering genuine level-headed dialog and making dialog a national priority with budgets that invest in programs (some of the private) that are building bridges. It should include public-private partnerships that invest in Education for the 21st century for have nots. It should include public-private programs for job creation and integration in the workplace. You should set measurable goals for success and you should deliver a semi-annual report on how well your government is meeting these goals.
5. To most of the country it will not come as a surprise that we are likely facing another 1-2 front war in the near future. We need to prepare for it without any distractions (abandoning the Palestinian track will help that focus) Commit yourself to rebuilding the army from its core. This should be the Prime Minister's priority. This is not about new weapons systems. It is about reinvigorating morale and desire to sacrifice in large segments of the population. That starts at the top.
So what do you say Ehud? Come out, say you made a mistake on your realigment plan; say you put the wrong guys in the wrong seats for the wrong reasons and say we can do better. Start jumping on the bandwagon to root out corruption. Then elevate yourself out of the pack by committing yourself to this new plan. To do nothing means your time will soon be up like all those around you. I Hope you will do it.
