Jezebel: knesset

Foreign Minister Is In Position To Be Israel's First Female PM In 34 Years

Jessica — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:30:00 EDT

For the first time since Golda Meir stepped down in 1974, a woman could become Israeli Prime Minister, the BBC reports. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a former lawyer and spy for Mossad (the Israeli CIA equivalent), has won the leadership of the centrist Kadima party, the current ruling party in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. (The reason Livni will not necessarily become Prime Minister is complicated, but here's a summary.) Now that Livni has won the Kadima election — current PM Ehud Olmert is resigning amidst accusations of widespread corruption — she has 42 days to assemble a coalition of at least 61 of the Knesset's 120 seats from what the BBC describes as Israel's "mosaic of political parties." If Livni fails to gather this coalition, the President may give someone else another 42 days to come up with his or her own coalition, but more likely a general election of all the parties will take place in 3 months.

Livni could run up against trouble from certain factions of the Knesset, specifically the Shas party, because it advocates a hard-line stance against Palestine, and also wants even more child welfare because of that group's large families, the IHT notes. Livni is against an increase in child welfare allowances.

The BBC reports that Livni is much less hawkish than her primary rival, Shaul Mofaz, and has a strong foreign relations background — something that could aid her in potential peace talks with Palestinians. However, according to Al Jazeera, Palestinians are not confident that Livni's leadership would create a positive change for them. "They're all war criminals," a Palestinian woman tells Al Jazeera of the potential Israeli PMs.

Livni Wins Israel Party Primary [BBC]
Q&A: Israeli Leadership Change [BBC]
Israeli Foreign Minister In Position To Become Prime Minister [IHT]
Video: Palestinians Despondent As Israeli Polls Near [YouTube via Al Jazeera]

President Bullshit

Moe — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:30:00 EDT

George W. Bush is in Israel right now where he equated Obama with Hitler over his suggestion that he meet with Ahmadinejad. I guess in Israel they have to smile when he talks but Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik doesn't look like her heart is in it. [Wash Post]
Joe Biden and most Democrats not named Joseph Lieberman rejected and denounced Bush's "bullshit"/"malarkey." [Politico]
Oh wait, but the Bushes were actually great friends with the Nazis. So maybe he meant the Hitler thing as a compliment? [Guardian]
(Dear Jews: Just remember, no one forgets what they learned at summer camp!)

And what does the presumptive nominee of the political party equivalent of bad dog food have to say about the idiotic musings of the ignorant shit who not only most likely laid waste his own chances of being elected president but also did more in eight years to undermine democracy, world peace and stability than anyone who had ever held the office? Yeah, John McCain, you are an asshole. [Wonkette]
"If the fear of Baghdad and Falluja is what keeps foreign powers from saving huge numbers of Burmese from their own government's callousness, that will be one more tragic consequence of the Iraq war." [New Yorker]
I've been meaning to compile some fave Moments In Schlafly in honor of the honorary degree she's receiving tomorrow so...you know where to tip me. [TNR]

Fracas over at Ms.! Some Jewish feminists...

Jessica — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:40:00 EST

Fracas over at Ms.! Some Jewish feminists are up in arms because the magazine refused to publish a full page ad that featured 3 Israeli women in politics: Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, Dalia Itzik, the speaker of the Knesset (Israel's Parliament), and the president of Israel's supreme court, Dorit Beinisch. The American Jewish Congress called Ms.'s decision "hostile" and "contemptible" and accused the mag of anti-Israeli sentiment. Ms. executive editor Katherine Spillar told UPI, "Our role at Ms. magazine is not to promote countries, it is to report on what's happening to women in different countries." [UPI]