The author Ehud Olmert
is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006. [source: Wikipedia]
The author Ehud Olmert
is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006. [source: Wikipedia]
It’s incredible. I protested against him in 2006 for his war crimes, and now he’s come around to admitting they’re happening.
I don’t know what it is with Israeli PMs. Ariel Sharon, himself a convicted war criminal, agreed at the end of his term that pulling out of Gaza was the only way to save Israel and keep their West Bank settlements. Olmert succeeded him and now admits Israel does war crimes. Does that mean in 2050 Netanyahu will admit war crimes took place and that he was against them?
I think this is a case of “things can always get worse”.
He isn’t saying that Israel committed war crimes under his leadership; just that it is doing so now. With the subtext of what is going on now is far worse than what happened back then. Which, as far as I can tell, is accurate.
I keep bringing this up to show how far Israel has slid. Back in 2007, Israel convicted a man for supporting a terrorist organization. In 2022, that man was appointed as the Minister of National Security; and he is a lynchpin holding together Israel’s current governing coalition.
His political party, Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) is the successor of the Kach party, which was barred from public office in 1994 under Israeli anti-terrorism laws.
Prior to the 2018-2022 political crisis, the far right parties like Otzma Yehudit were a political third rail and essentially left out of governing coalitions in favor of relatively moderate parties.
They’ve been committing war crimes at least since the 60s and never had any consequences. The international community gives tacit approval day after day, month after month, year after year. It’s no wonder they’ve become bolder and bolder over time.
Gaza is apparently the line where people start saying “steady on now”.
It’s like they all have to try it, personally, to figure out it doesn’t work.