Word: israelism
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Lieberman's hard line is the product of his past. His family moved to Israel in 1978 from the Soviet republic of Moldavia, now Moldova. His father fought in the Red Army in World War II but, like many other Soviet Jews, later spent years of forced exile in Siberia. "In my home, we spoke only about Israel," Lieberman says. "It was a dream that one day we would come here." Upon arriving, Lieberman enrolled at Hebrew University, moonlighting as a bouncer at a student nightclub and becoming active in the right-wing Likud Party. In the late...
...became his chief of staff. "Netanyahu trusted him," says Tzahi Hanegbi, who served as the Justice Minister at the time. "He was quiet, discreet and loyal." In 1999, Lieberman split from Netanyahu and Likud, forming Yisrael Beitenu, an unapologetically nationalist party that drew its support from Israel's Russian-immigrant community. The party's most explosive position is the call for all citizens to pledge allegiance to the Jewish state as a condition of the right to vote - a barely veiled challenge to the loyalty of Israeli Arabs. "It's unacceptable that on Independence Day they are burning the Israeli...
There's little chance the loyalty pledge will become law. Lieberman knows this. But by pressing the issue, he taps a growing impatience among Israelis with the country's Arab citizens, some of whom openly sided with Hamas during Israel's offensive against the militant group last winter. "His views have a constituency," says Hanegbi. "People want someone who will represent their fears and frustrations." Lieberman insists he supports an independent Palestinian state and says Israel is "ready to start negotiations without preconditions." But in Lieberman's view, peace doesn't mean cohabitation. "His governing idea is, Jews...
Read "Will Iran Take the Heat Off Israel over Settlements...
...Anti-Americanism and its handmaiden, anti-Zionism, have long been ideological tools used by the mullahs, both domestically and regionally, to reinforce the legitimacy of their rule. Iran's Islamist democracy and willingness to challenge the U.S. and Israel have resonated throughout the Middle East with Arab populations frustrated with their own autocratic leaders, whom they perceive as doing Washington's bidding. But Tehran's appeal required a fig leaf of democracy: for all its flaws, Iran has been one of the more democratic countries in the Middle East...